Accrual class
A CMO class that accrues interest that is not paid to the investor during the time of accrual. The accrued interest is added to the remaining principal amount of the bond and is paid at maturity. A Z-bond of a CMO is an accrual bond.
Active Investing
Fund’s manager attempts to beat the market and create alpha with various investing strategies and buying/selling decisions. See Alpha.
ACWI ex-US
See MSCI All Country World ex-US Index.
Agency mortgage-backed security
A mortgage-backed security issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae.
Alpha
most often referred to as the measure of return in excess of the compensation for the risk borne, so the return over a specified benchmark or active return due to an active portfolio mandate and not passive. See Active Investing.
Alternative assets
Class or classes of investment assets that do not fall in the major conventional asset groups (cash equivalents, fixed income investments, and equities). Generally refers to investments in securities and/or assets that are not publicly traded, including Private Equity investments, or to special trading strategies involving publicly- or institutionally-traded securities.
Application specific risk
The portion of total risk in a derivatives application which is due to factors unique to the application as opposed to more systematic, market-related factors. For example, in an option on a specific stock, the risk associated with the specific business results of the company which issued the stock underlying the option would be application-specific risk, as opposed to the overall risk of the stock market which would be Systematic Risk.
Arbitrage
Generally, the simultaneous buying and selling of the same security trading at two different prices in two different markets, with the intention of producing profits from the price difference with little or no risk. Perfectly efficient markets present no arbitrage opportunities. Perfectly efficient markets seldom exist. See Convertible arbitrage; Fixed income arbitrage; Risk arbitrage.
Asset-backed security
A security supported wholly or mainly by a pool of assets in which the assets are separated through use of a trust or other special purpose entity from the credit risk of any entity (other than credit enhancers) involved in the financing. The collateral for asset-backed securities may include any asset with a relatively predictable payment stream such as commercial bank loans, franchise loans, royalty payments, home-equity loans, manufactured housing loans, trade receivables, credit card receivables, automobile loans, equipment leases, high yield bonds, subordinated classes of asset-backed securities, subordinated classes of mortgage-backed securities, etc.
Asset class
A major investment group that exhibit similar risk and return characteristics over an investment time frame; among asset classes are equity, fixed income, real asset/real return, and strategic assets.
Assets/equity ratio
The total assets of a company divided by the total stockholder equity of the company; a measure of financial leverage.
Asset mix
Specifies the percentage of assets in a portfolio invested in each major asset class.
Baseline portfolio
The cash-market based portfolio which will serve as the basis for calculating the relative risk level of an equivalent derivatives application.
Benchmark index
An index that measures the performance of a specific group of assets or subgroup of assets.
Basis Point
Equal to 1/100th of 1 percent; 100 basis points equal 1%.
Bear Market
period of weak performance and falling prices
Beta coefficient
Measure of a stock’s volatility relative to that of a specified index. The beta is the covariance of a stock in relation to the overall stock market. Any stock with a higher beta is more volatile than the market, and any stock with a lower beta can be expected to rise and fall more slowly than the market.
Bull Market
period of increasing prices and strong performance
Buyouts (or “corporate restructurings”)
Refers to an investment strategy through which a fund invests sufficient sums to acquire some degree of influence and control over existing operating company. Also referred to as “going private” or, when debt is incurred, “leveraged buyout.” Financial returns come from (a) improving the management, operations, and performance of the company and/or (b) using the acquired company as a platform for further acquisitions to increase the company’s profitability through growth in operating scale and market position (known as a “buy-and-build” strategy).
Call option
The right to buy shares of a particular security or security index at a predetermined (strike) price over some preset time period.
Cash equivalents
Highly liquid and very safe assets which are readily convertible to known amounts of cash such as money market holdings, short-term government bonds, or Treasury bills.
Cash market
The physical market for a commodity or financial instrument.
Closed-end fund
A type of investment company that invests in the securities of other issuers. Closed-ended funds have a fixed number of shares outstanding that trade publicly. Closed-end fund shares may trade at either a discount from or a premium to their respective underlying net asset values.
Co-investment
In private equity investing, a direct private investment in the same issuer alongside a private equity fund or investment vehicle in which the investor has also invested. That is, the investor invests directly in the issuer when it may also invest indirectly in the same issuer through the fund or vehicle. Co-investing permits the investor to acquire more exposure to the issuer’s business prospects and facilitates the raising of needed capital by the issuer.
Collateral
Assets pledged to secure payment of a party’s obligation under a transaction. Collateral is a risk reduction tool, which like many other such tools mitigates risk by reducing credit exposure.
Collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO)
A security that directs the total payment of principal and interest of the collateral pool (mortgage pass-through securities or pools of such securities) to structure different types and maturities of securities with different priority claims. The individual bond classes of a CMO are referred to as "tranches." An agency CMO is issued or guaranteed by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), or the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”). Agency CMOs are backed by pools of agency pass-through securities. A “Private Label CMO” is a CMO issued by a private entity and whose underlying collateral is a pool of pass-throughs guaranteed by an agency of the United States or a government-sponsored enterprise. See Tranche; Mortgage-backed security.
Commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS)
A bond or other debt instrument collateralized by loans which are secured by commercial real estate.
Commingled account
An account where the investor purchases a share of a fund, such as a mutual fund, that others are invested in and each investor has an individual cost basis on the securities in the portfolio. This differs from a separate account where the account is created specifically for the investor.
Commissions recapture
A form of institutional discount brokerage that rebates a portion of trading commissions directly to the institutional investor.
Commodities
Bulk goods such as grains, metals, and foods traded on a commodities exchange or on the spot market.
Companion class (support class)
A CMO bond that absorbs the prepayment volatility of bond classes which pay according to a principal payment schedule. The companion class provides prepayment protection to other classes (PACs and TACs) as follows: the companions either absorb principal payments in excess of the PAC schedule (when prepayments are fast) or they delay in amortizing (when prepayments are slow).
Convertible arbitrage
Convertible bond arbitrage involves buying a fixed income security that is convertible into stock while simultaneously selling short the corresponding stock. Pricing inefficiencies between such related securities may permit the investor to profit whether the stock price rises or falls because of the cash flows involved and the residual investment value of the convertible security. An investment strategy designed to buy undervalued instruments that are convertible into equity and then hedge out the market risk through a short sale of the equity security or its functional equivalent.
Corporate restructurings
See Buyouts.
Correlation of return or correlation coefficient
A statistical measure, denoted by the letter “r”, ranging from -1.0 to +1.0, of the degree to which the returns of two assets are related. Perfect negative correlation (-1.0) indicates the returns of two assets move in exact opposite directions, i.e., when one asset’s return is positive, the other’s is negative. Perfect positive correlation (+1.0) means that the two assets’ respective returns move exactly in the same direction. No correlation (0.0) indicates that the respective returns of two assets fluctuate randomly.
Counterparty
The offsetting party in an exchange agreement.
Counterparty risk
The risk of loss surrounding the unwillingness or inability of a counterparty to honor their obligation.
Covariance
A statistical term computed as the correlation between the return of two securities multiplied by the standard deviation of returns for each of the securities; a measure of the co-risk of two securities.
Covered option writing (option overwrite)
An option contract backed by the shares underlying the option, i.e., the seller (the writer) of the option owns the underlying shares to deliver to the purchaser in the event the option is exercised by the purchaser. A seller of covered options is selling options against owned stock to collect premium income. The seller will benefit from the premium income when the stock price remains stable or drops.
Custodian
is a financial institution that is responsible for safeguarding firm’s financial assets.
Debt service
Ongoing expenses associated with maintaining a debt position; the amount of debt service equals the sum of interest expenses and non-capitalized lease expenses.
Depositary receipt
A receipt issued by a custodial bank that represents indirect ownership of a certain number of shares of a specific foreign-based company held by the bank. American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, allow U.S. investors to buy foreign shares in the U.S. Global Depositary Receipts, or GDRs, are issued and cleared by Euromarket depositaries. Global Depositary Receipts are a Euromarket analog of ADRs.
Derivative
Financial product whose value or return is based on, derived from, or linked to the value of a reference rate, exchange rate, interest rate, index, or currency or an underlying security, asset, commodity, or any combination of underlying rates, indices, currencies or securities. These investments include but are not limited to future contracts, swap contracts, options contracts, and forward foreign currency exchange.
Derivative application
A definition of the intended use of a derivative-based position such as replication or enhancing index returns, asset allocation or completion fund strategies, and various alpha transport strategies.
Derivative application portfolio
The portfolio including derivative instruments, cash equivalents, and other cash market assets established to replicate a specified baseline portfolio.
Directional strategy
utilize market movements, trends or inconsistencies when picking securities across a variety of movements. Strategy includes long/short strategies. See Long/Short strategy.
Distressed securities
Debt or equity securities of an issuer in bankruptcy or perceived by the markets to be near bankruptcy or insolvency, frequently as a result of claims made or judgments awarded against the issuer or through mismanagement. In such cases, investors may conclude that the market price may not fully reflect the intrinsic or realizable value of the enterprise going forward.
Diversification
Spreading a portfolio over many investments to avoid excessive exposure to any one source of risk.
Divestiture
The partial or full disposal of an investment or asset through sale, exchange, closure or bankruptcy.
Due Diligence
is generally the care a reasonable person should take before entering into an agreement or transaction with another party and serves to confirm all material facts.
Duration
A measure of the average life of a bond, defined as the weighted average of the times until each payment is made, with weights proportional to the present value of the payment.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is a commonly used measure of the operating cash flow of a company.
EAFE
See MSCI EAFE.
Economic exposure
The total effective exposure of a derivative position. The economic exposure is the product of the dollar value of the exposure and the market or systematic risk level of the exposure. A common method of measuring economic exposure is with risk management tools such as “value at risk.”
Equity
an investment in which an investor has a residual claim or interest in the assets of a company, after all liabilities are paid. Its value is driven by the companies’ ability to utilize capital in order to create a unique product and or service that can be sold in the market place at a profit.
Equity-linked security
A security that tracks the performance of another security or portfolio of securities. An equity-linked security sometimes can be used to track the performance of foreign securities in countries for which direct investment is difficult.
Equity market neutral
A hedge fund strategy that seeks to exploit differences in stock prices by being long and short in stocks within the same sector, industry, market capitalization, country, etc. This strategy creates a hedge against market factors. To be successful, equity market neutral strategies require frequent portfolio rebalancing, liquidity, frequent trading, and effective cost controls.
Event-driven strategies
Strategies where the key deciding factor is some kind of capital market transaction or event.
Exchange traded derivatives
A derivative instrument traded on an established national or international exchange. These instruments “settle” daily in that cash exchanges are made between the exchange clearing house and parties to the contracts consistent with the change in price of the instrument. Fulfillment of the contract is guaranteed by the exchange on which the instruments are traded. Examples include S&P 500 Index futures contracts and Goldman Sachs Commodities Index futures contracts.
Exchange-traded fund (ETF)
A basket of securities that trades like an individual stock listed on a public exchange. An ETF is analogous to a retail mutual fund, except that the holder sells the shares on the exchange instead of redeeming them through the fund, has lower costs and fees, and is passively managed. ETFs usually, but not always, trade at a market price approximating the net asset values of the underlying securities held by the ETF. Exchange-traded funds track a wide variety of sector-specific, country-specific, and broad-market indexes. Common of ETFs include SPDRs and i-shares. See i-shares; SPDRs.
External manager
An investment manager that is hired by LAGERS for the purpose of constructing and managing investment portfolios consistent with the investment philosophy and disciplines they were hired to implement. An external manager assumes fiduciary responsibilities with respect to LAGERS assets.
Falling growth risk
The risk of loss surrounding weaker-than-expected growth, which will impact companies via a fall in revenues and narrowing margins resulting in a decrease in profits.
Falling inflation risk
The risk of loss surrounding lower-than-expected inflation, which will lead to a decline in interest rates, an increasing present value of future earnings, and reducing debt cost.
Fiduciary
See Investment Fiduciary
Financial assets
See Asset Class
Financial futures contract
An agreement that obligates the buyer to purchase and the seller to sell a specified quantity of a particular financial instrument or security (such as U.S. Treasury bonds) on a specified date at a specified price. A futures contract is typically standardized (traded on organized exchanges), involves depositing margin, and affords the investor the opportunity to avoid actual delivery of the securities through an offset or liquidation procedure. Futures are normally used as a price-fixing mechanism for anticipated transactions or as a means of profiting from market movements without buying or selling physical securities.
Fixed income
an investment in which its value is primarily based on a regular stream of cash flows over an agreed upon period of time.
Fixed income arbitrage
A type of arbitrage through which an investor seeks to profit from mismatches in price and yield of fixed income securities. The arbitrage may consist of buying one fixed income security while selling another in anticipation of market changes in interest rates. An investment strategy seeking to exploit pricing anomalies among fixed income securities. See Arbitrage; Convertible arbitrage.
Floating rate class
A CMO bond class whose coupons reset periodically based on an index and may have a cap or a floor. The coupon varies directly with changes in the index. A floating rate class is in contrast to a fixed rate class in which the coupon is fixed throughout the life of the bond.
Forward contract
A non-standardized contract for the physical or electronic (through a bookkeeping entry) delivery of a commodity or financial instrument at a specified price at some point in the future.
Fund
Refers generically to an investment vehicle that is created as a separate legal entity, frequently a limited partnership, for the purpose of conducting and managing a program of investments pursuant to stated investment guidelines or objectives. A fund typically has independent management and is not a common-law agent of the investors, who are generally passive, although investors in the fund may have certain rights with respect to fund management. Unless an exemption applies, funds are generally required to register as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940. See Hedge; External manager.
Fund of funds
An investment vehicle that itself invests in other investment vehicles. For example, a mutual fund that invests in other mutual funds would be a “fund of funds.” A fund of funds may be useful as a means of providing an investor with an efficient means of employing or blending multiple investment strategies through one investment vehicle. Funds of funds may have lower volatility of returns and a correspondingly higher predictability of returns as a result of the blending of strategies.
Fundamental analysis
The analysis of financial statements of companies, industry considerations of companies, industry consideration, and broad economic and market factors in order to forecast their future stock price movements. Fundamental analysts consider past record of assets, earnings, sales, products, management, and markets in predicting future trends in these indicators of a company’s success or failure. By appraising a firm’s prospects, these analysts assess whether a particular stock or group of stocks is undervalued at the current market price.
Futures contract
A standardized contract for either the physical delivery of a commodity or instrument at a specified price at some point in the future, or a financial settlement derived from the change in market price of the commodity or financial instrument during the term of the contract.
General investment consultant
Advisor who helps with long-term investment planning and conducts in depth work on formulating investment strategies in helping fulfill needs and goals of client’s overall portfolio.
General partner
When used in reference to an investment limited partnership, which refers to the partner having general personal liability and responsibility for management and conduct of the investing business of the partnership. A general partner is frequently an entity affiliated with or created and controlled by a sponsor of the investment vehicle or series of investment vehicles. In contrast, a limited partner in an investment limited partnership enjoys limited liability for partnership obligations and is not personally liable for the tort liabilities or contract obligations incurred by the general partner on behalf of the partnership. However, general partners typically seek to limit or reduce their personal liability through risk-allocation provisions in the partnership and transaction documents to the extent permitted by applicable law. See Limited partnership; Limited partner.
Global macro strategy
Strategy that takes sizable positions in share, bond or currency markets in anticipation of global macroeconomic events in order to generate risk-adjusted return. Use macroeconomic analysis based on global market events and trends to identify opportunities for investment that would profit from anticipated price movements.
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)
An entity that was established and chartered by the federal government to facilitate the flow of credit, primarily in the areas of housing, agriculture, and higher education.
Hedge
A term generally used to describe investment strategies other than the conventional long (buy and hold) investments in bonds and equity securities. “To hedge” generally means to reduce risk. Hedging strategies may employ the use of short sales, arbitrage, options, futures or forward contracts, leverage (margin), or out-of-favor, distressed, or undervalued securities, or special situations. Generally, hedging strategies may be expected to reduce a portfolio’s total risk by virtue of having a relatively low correlation to the other assets in the portfolio. See Arbitrage; Fund; Convertible arbitrage; Risk arbitrage; Special situations.
Hedge fund
An investment fund that can undertake a wider range of investment and trading activities than other funds. As a class, hedge funds invest in a diverse range of assets but most commonly trade liquid securities on public markets and may also use techniques as short selling. Examples of hedge fund strategies include global macro, event-driven, directional, distressed, etc. See Short sale, Global macro strategy, Event-driven strategy, Directional strategy, Distressed securities.
High-yield debt
Fixed income securities rated below investment grade due to the higher credit risk of the issuer, and accordingly the issuer must pay a higher yield to investors to raise capital.
I-shares
A series of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to track the performance of certain domestic and international indexes (the international ETFs were formerly known as World Equity Benchmark Shares or WEBS). Funds of i-shares are available for all major indexes. The term "ishares" is a registered trademark of Barclays Global Investors, N.A. See Exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
ISDA netting agreement
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) is the global trade association representing participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry, covering swaps and options across all asset classes. ISDA has produced generally accepted “Master Agreements,” a 1992 ISDA Master Agreement (Single Currency – Local Jurisdiction) and a 2002 Master Agreement (Multicurrency – Cross Border), which all contain a Schedule thereto and may contain a Credit Support Annex attached thereto, that are used by most counterparties in OTC derivatives transactions.
Index
A statistical composite that measures the changes in financial markets. A stock market index measures the ups and downs of stocks generally, reflecting market prices and the number of shares outstanding for companies in the index. See S&P 500 Index.
Index Fund
See Passive Investing.
Industry sector
For purposes of the diversification requirements for the active domestic stock portfolios, industry sectors are defined as the economic sectors in use by S&P for the benchmark indices, the S&P 500, the S&P 400, and the S&P 600, respectively, as amended from time to time. Currently these industry sectors are as follows: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, Telecommunication Services, and Utilities.
Inflation
The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and subsequently, purchasing power is falling.
Inflation-linked bond
Type of bond or note that links its capital appreciation, or coupon payments, to inflation rates. This security guarantees a return higher than the rate of inflation if it is held to maturity. Example of such bond is Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). See TIPS. Interest only strip (IO) - A CMO bond class that receives some or all of the interest from the underlying collateral and little or no principal. The IO strip of a CMO can be formed by stripping all or part of the coupon interest from a class or by stripping part of the coupon flows from the collateral before dividing it into classes. IOs benefit from slowing prepayments.
Interest rate risk
The risk of loss surrounding the fluctuation in interest rates, resulting in yield changes, duration changes, changes in the yield curve slope, and changes in market-based measures of interest rate volatilities.
Internal rate of return (IRR)
The discount rate at which the present value of cash outflows of an investment equal the present value of cash inflows from the investment; a commonly used performance measure for private equity funds.
International funds
With respect to the Alternative Assets Portfolio, refers to private or institutional investment funds that invest primarily in the securities of issuers domiciled outside of the U.S. and Canada and whose primary markets are outside of Canada and the U.S.A. A fund that invests primarily in issuers domiciled in Canada will not generally be considered to be in the international funds category.
Inverse floater
A floating rate CMO class whose coupon rate varies inversely with changes in the index.
Investment grade debt
Fixed income securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories (AAA or Aaa, AA or Aa, A, and BBB or Baa) by an independent rating agency.
Investment fiduciary
a person who exercises discretionary authority or control in the investment of assets, or who renders, for a fee, advice for the System.
Investment Management Company
is a firm that provides professional asset management services and collectively includes all underlying platforms provided under its same name.
Investment Manager
is an individual or team of individuals who directs fun management decisions in order to construct and manage an investment portfolio for LAGERS.
Initial public offering (IPO)
The first sale of stock to the public by a previously private company; that is, a primary market equity security offering by a company whose stock is not publicly traded before the offering date.
Leverage
A condition where the net potential monetary exposure of an obligation exceeds the value of the underlying assets, which support the obligation. Leverage is inherent in derivatives since only a small cash deposit is required to establish a much larger economic impact position. Thus, relative to the cash markets, where in most cases the cash outlay is equal to the value of the asset acquired, derivatives applications offer the possibility of establishing substantially larger market risk exposures with the same amount of cash as a traditional cash market portfolio. Therefore, risk management and control processes must focus on the total risk assumed in a derivatives application, which is the sum of the application-specific risk and the market (systematic) risk established by the derivative application.
Leverage or margin
Leverage in investments is a means of attempting to enhance return or value through the use of borrowed funds. Buying securities on margin is an example of leverage./dd>
Leverage risk
The risk of loss surrounding the measure of market leverage within assets.
Limited offering
See Private placement.
Limited partner
Refers to an investor in a limited partnership who receives a limited partnership interest in exchange for investment of capital and the investor’s agreement to fund certain partnership obligations.
Limited partnership
A limited liability entity formed under the laws of a particular state to operate a business, hold assets, or conduct investment-related activities. A limited partnership must have at least one general partner who is responsible for management and operations of the partnership, but may have one or more limited partners whose liability for partnership obligations is limited. An interest in a limited partnership is usually, but not always, a security. See General partner; Limited partner.
Liquidity
the degree to which an asset or security can be bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset’s price. It is characterized by the high level of trading activity. Assets that can be easily bought or sold are known as liquid assets.
Liquidity risk
The risk of loss surrounding the liquidity of assets and the ability to raise the necessary cash to cover debts and capital withdrawal requirements.
Long/short strategies
Strategies designed to invest in equity and/or fixed income securities, and combine long investments with short sales (using securities borrowed from others for the purpose) to reduce market risk exposure.
Margin transaction
The purchase of an asset using borrowed funds.
Mark-to-Market
A method of determining the value of securities by applying current trading prices of similar or identical securities to the securities being valued.
Market capitalization or “cap”
Value of a corporation as determined by the market value of its issued and outstanding common stock. It is calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares times the current market price per share.
Market cycle
typically 3-5 years and is the movement from a period of increasing prices and strong performance (bull market), through a period of weak performance and falling prices, or bear market, and back again to new strength.
Market neutral strategies
Strategies that attempt to exploit pricing inefficiencies between related securities. Balancing long and short exposures is intended to reduce the market risk.
Maturity date
The date on which the principal amount of a note, draft, acceptance, bond, or other debt instrument becomes due and payable.
Mezzanine financing
Late-stage venture capital, usually one of the final rounds of financing prior to an Initial Public Offering. Generally the financing is in the form of unsecured debt provided by merchant banks and development capital fund managers to companies that are in a growth phase, but that may not have access to equity capital or are unwilling to dilute their existing equity shareholders. Mezzanine financing may also have attached warrants, rights or options that allow the lender to participate in equity appreciation, usually in connection with an initial public offering. See Initial public offering; Subordinated debt.
MidCap SPDRs
Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts that are designed to track the performance of the S&P 400. These securities are similar to Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs) except that the underlying security for the Mid Cap SPDR is the S&P 400, while that for the SPDR is the S&P 500. See Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs).
Modern Portfolio Theory
Theory on how risk-averse investors can construct portfolios to optimize or maximize expected return based on a given level of market risk, emphasizing that risk is an inherent part of higher reward. See Risk.
Money market fund
An investment fund that provides investors with a safe place to invest easily accessible cash-equivalent assets characterized as a low risk, low-return investment. Mutual funds and banks offer these funds. Portfolios are comprised of short-term (less than one year) securities representing high-quality, liquid debt, and monetary instruments.
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Indices
MSCI Indices are used worldwide to measure the performance of international securities. Over 3,500 indices are calculated consistently to allow comparisons across regions, countries, and industries. MSCI’s consistent approach to index construction is intended to ensure the proper representation of the countries' underlying industry distribution and market capitalization, and allows investors to accurately compare equity performance across markets, regions, and sectors. The consistent construction methodology of the country indices allows for simple aggregation of the country indices to form regional indices. The regional indices published by MSCI represent investable areas in both developed and emerging markets as determined by global investment managers.
Mortgage-backed security
An obligation that is secured by or represents an interest in residential or commercial mortgages that have been assembled in a pool to represent or secure payment of the obligation. Mortgage-backed securities may be structured as pass-through securities (an undivided ownership interest in the mortgage loan pool securing the securities); pay-through securities (debt obligations which are secured by a pool of mortgage loans pledged as collateral); or mortgage backed bonds (a general obligation of the issuer collateralized on the basis of the liquidation value of the property). Mortgage-backed securities may be structured as single class or multi-class obligations such as an investment trust pool. See Tranche.
MSCI All Country World Index Free ex-US (ACWIF ex-US)
Equivalent to the EAFE Index plus the MSCI Canada country index plus the MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index. See Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Indices.
MSCI EAFE
Formerly the EAFE index- Europe, Australia, Far East Index which is currently based on stock performance in the following 21 countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore. This index is maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and may change occasionally. See Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Indices.
MSCI Emerging Markets Free (EMF)
MSCI defines emerging markets generally as those markets that have low GDP per capita relative to EAFE markets. Other important factors are considered including local government regulations, limits or bans on foreign ownership, adequacy of the regulatory environment, and even general perception of the markets risk by the investment community. Free indices reflect the actual buyable opportunities, adjusted for local market restrictions on share ownership by foreigners. See Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Indices.
Mutual fund (open-end fund)
A type of investment company that invests in the securities of other issuers. Mutual funds have a variable number of shares outstanding that can be purchased and redeemed only through the respective funds at net asset value.
Naked call (put) option
See Uncovered call (put) option.
NASDAQ
National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) Automated Quotation (“AQ”) market. The market where most domestic over-the-counter (unlisted) securities are traded. The NASDAQ National Market System (NMS) is the market that comprises the greatest portion of over-the counter trading.
National Market System (NMS)
See NASDAQ.
Net asset value (NAV)
The market value of securities held by an investment company minus the amount of liabilities; often expressed on a per share basis. See Closed-end fund; Mutual fund.
Netting
The process set forth in the ISDA Master Agreements by which the parties aggregate the amounts owed by each of them under all outstanding transactions under such ISDA Master Agreement and replace such amount with a single net amount payable by one party to the other party. See ISDA Master Agreement.
Non-U.S. dollar bonds
Government, supranational, subnational, or corporate debt issued and payable in currency other than U.S. Dollars.
Non-agency mortgage-backed security
Any mortgage-backed security, the principal and payment of which are not guaranteed by any government agency or government-sponsored entity or enterprise. Also referred to as “whole loans,” these loans consist primarily of home mortgage loans that do not meet federal agency purchase or pooling criteria, frequently because of their size or underwriting standards.
Normal Fee
The fee the manager earns when the portfolio return meets its performance objective which is set by the required annualized excess return for its respective mandate.
Notional value
The value of a derivative's underlying assets at the spot price. In the case of an options or futures contract, this is the number of units of an asset underlying the contract, multiplied by the spot price of the asset. For example, one S&P 500 Index futures contract obligates the buyer to 250 units of the S&P 500 Index. If the index is trading at $1,000, then the single futures contract is similar to investing $250,000 (250 x $1,000). Therefore, $250,000 is the notional value underlying the futures contract. In the case of a swap, the “notional value” may be the agreed principal amount on which the swap is based, but which neither party is obligated to pay to the other.
Operational risk
The risk of loss surrounding inadequate or failed internal processes, people or systems.
Opportunistic investment
compelling tactical or non-traditional investment opportunities that may be short-term or otherwise time-constrained, or may not fit within the generally accepted risk/return parameters of specific asset classes or strategy groupings. Such opportunities may involve capitalizing on short-term market dislocations or unique situations.
Option
An instrument that conveys the right but not the obligation to buy or deliver the subject of the contract, which may be a financial instrument, at a specified price, at a specified future date. An “American-style option” may be exercised on any business day prior to expiration. A European style option may be exercised only on a specified day or days, usually near or on expiration date. Notwithstanding the name, most options listed on European exchanges are “American-style.”
Over the counter (OTC) derivatives
A derivative instrument which result from direct negotiation between a buyer and a counterparty. The terms of such instruments are non-standard and are the result of specific negotiations. Settlement occurs at the negotiated termination date, although the terms may include interim cash payments under certain conditions. Examples include currency swaps and forward contracts, interest rate swaps, and collars.
Passive investing
a style of management associated with mutual or exchange-traded funds where portfolio mirrors a market index. It is the opposite of active management. Passive investing may also be known as investing through an index fund.
Planned amortization class (PAC)
A CMO bond class that has a principal payment schedule which can be maintained over a range of prepayment rates. The schedule is based on the minimum amount of principal cash flow produced by the collateral at two constant prepayment rates known as the PAC bands. Because a PAC bond pays according to a pre-established schedule from segregated cash flows, it protects against prepayment risk (reinvestment risk) and weighted average-life volatility associated with prepayments.
Portfolio attributes
Features or characteristics of a portfolio that distinguish the portfolio from the comparative benchmark. These portfolio attributes often are identified through the use of quantitative analysis. Common attributes include such features as price-earnings ratio, dividend yield, price-to-book ratio, earnings growth rate, market capitalization, etc.
Portfolio optimization
Constructing a portfolio in order to achieve the best, or optimal, risk-return profile for a given objective.
Prime Broker
acts as settlement agent, provides custody for assets, and has ability to borrow and lend securities.
Principal-only strip (PO)
A CMO bond class that does not receive any interest. The PO is formed by stripping coupon-bearing collateral into interest-only and principal-only segments. Since POs represent a stream of principal payments purchased at a discount, POs benefit from faster than expected prepayments.
Private equity investments
Refers generally to private investment transactions between issuers of unregistered equity securities such as common and preferred stock, but the term is also used with respect to debt having some equity characteristics or that are convertible into equity securities through warrants, rights, options, or a conversion feature. By definition, a private equity transaction involves a limited number of qualified investors pursuant to a private placement or limited offering by the issuer. Although an issuer may have sold other securities to the public pursuant to a public offering, the securities purchased in a private transaction are typically not offered to the public and may not be publicly traded in the public securities markets until an effective registration occurs under the securities laws (hence, “private”). Because the securities are unregistered and transferability is limited, private equity investments tend to be illiquid. Qualified institutional investors may invest in private equities directly or through funds such as limited partnerships or similar investment vehicles that in turn invest in private equity or equity-like securities that, at the time of the investment, are not publicly traded or offered to the public. See Co-investment; Fund; Fund of funds; Initial public offering; Limited partnership; Mezzanine financing; Private placement; Subordinated debt.
Private real estate investment
An asset class consisting of equity and debt investments in property. Investments typically involve an active management strategy ranging from moderate reposition or releasing of properties to development or extensive redevelopment. Investments are typically made via private real estate fund, which pools capital from investors. These funds typically have seven to ten year life span consisting of a two to three year investment period which properties are acquired and a holding period during which active asset management will be carried out and the properties will be sold.
Private placement (or “limited offering”)
An issue of securities that is exempt under applicable regulations from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 because of the manner in which the offering is made. As a general rule, securities sold to the public pursuant to a general solicitation must be registered. The exemption from registration for a private placement is available only if requirements under SEC and state regulatory agency regulations are met. SEC regulations permit certain limited offerings (in number and type of investors as well as dollar value of the issue) of unregistered securities to a limited number of qualified investors.
Proxy
An agent legally authorized to act on behalf of a shareholder that cannot attend a company’s annual meeting and the proxy allows someone else to cast votes on the shareholder’s behalf. A proxy discloses important information about issues to be discussed at an annual meeting, lists the qualifications of management and board members, serves as ballot for elections to board of directors, lists the largest shareholders of a company’s stock and provides detailed information about executive compensation.
Put option
The right to sell shares of a particular security or security index at a predetermined (strike) price over some preset time period.
Quantitative analysis
Analysis dealing with measurable factors as distinguished from such qualitative considerations as the character of management or the state of employee morale. A valuation methodology that relies on the analysis of historical and/or predicted data to identify portfolio attributes that have added value to a portfolio over a business cycle. By tilting the composition of the portfolio toward these positive attributes, the expected return of the portfolio relative to the return of the benchmark index is enhanced.
R² or r-squared
A statistical measure of how much of a portfolio's performance can be explained by the returns from the overall market (or a benchmark index). A measure of how much of a portfolio’s risk characteristics is explained by the market (systematic risk). If a portfolio's total return precisely matched that of the overall market or benchmark, its r-squared (relative to the chosen variable) is 1. If a portfolio's return bore no relationship to the market's returns, its r-squared is 0. In technical terms, the coefficient of determination, which is the square of the correlation coefficient between two variables, measures the explanatory power of the regression (i.e., a statistical technique for fitting a straight line to a set of charted data points). R-squared measures the percentage of the total variation in the dependent variable (i.e., the portfolio) that is explained by the variation in the independent variable (i.e., the benchmark index), as shown by the regression line.
Real asset/real return
an investment which its value is primarily based on the ownership or utilization of a tangible asset or cash flows derived from an agreed upon measure of tangible assets.
Real estate investment trust (REIT)
A publicly-traded company or business trust that invests its equity capital and debt in income-producing real estate and/or mortgages and that meets Internal Revenue Code requirements for qualification as a REIT.
Regulatory risk
The risk of loss surrounding the material impact of changes in laws and regulations regarding a security, business, sector or market.
Repurchase agreement
An agreement (contract) by one party to purchase securities at a specified price from another party and a simultaneous agreement by the first party to sell the securities back to the other party at a specified price and a specified time or on demand. The resale price includes "interest" on the implicit secured loan. A repurchase agreement from the investor's perspective always begins with a purchase of securities and ends with a resale.
Residual
The cash flows of a CMO which remain after meeting all debt service, deal structure, and trustee expenses. A residual may be retained by the CMO issuer or be sold. The residual may be structured as a payment or "no payment" residual.
Return (rate of return)
The sum of current income such as interest or dividends on a security or capital investment and the change in the value of that security or capital investment, usually expressed as an annual percentage rate.
Rising growth risk
The risk of loss surrounding stronger-than-expected growth, which will impact companies via a rise in revenues and widening margins resulting in an increase in profits.
Rising inflation risk
The risk of loss surrounding higher-than-expected inflation, which will lead to a rise in interest rates, a decreasing present value of future earnings, and raising debt cost.
Risk
In investing, the measurable possibility of losing or not losing value, particularly in the shorter term. Risk is not the same as uncertainty, which is not measurable. Using statistical measures of risk, Modern Portfolio Theory attempts to structure a portfolio on the “efficient frontier” so as to produce maximum returns without incurring risk that is not commensurate with the expected return. It is impossible to eliminate risk, which is inherent in every investment transaction. As a general proposition, a prudent investor who incurs additional risk in a single investment expects a higher corresponding return from that investment. A prudent investor may also seek to reduce overall portfolio risk through diversification, which might result in higher-risk single investments that have a low correlation of market risk with other elements of the portfolio, thereby reducing overall portfolio risk.
Risk arbitrage (or “merger arbitrage”)
Arbitrage that includes the element of risk by virtue of the strategy employed, such as when a trader buys the stock of a company being acquired in a merger (expecting an increase in value) while simultaneously selling the stock of the acquiring company (expecting a decrease in value). If the merger does not occur, significant losses may occur. Risk arbitrage does not have the relatively low-risk characteristics associated with buying and selling the same security on two different markets in order to exploit immediate price differences (market inefficiency). A strategy seeking to capture the price spread between current market prices and the value of securities upon successful completion of a takeover or merger transaction. See Arbitrage.
Secondary investments
Secondary investments (“Secondaries”) refer to the acquisition of existing private equity limited partnership interests from investors motivated to sell their positions for liquidity, shifts in investment strategy, or other portfolio management objectives. Secondaries provide the investor with an opportunity to conduct due diligence on not only the general partner, but also on existing portfolios of portfolio company investments. Secondary opportunities may be presented in the form of an individual, “one-off” limited partnership interest or in a collective pool of limited partnership interests.
Securities lending
Refers to the lending of securities by one party to another. An agreement between parties requires the borrower provide lender with collateral that is equal to or greater than the loaned securities. As payment for the loan, the parties negotiate a fee on the collateral which is known as the short rebate. The lender will receive the difference between what it earns by investing the collateral and the short rebate fee.
Sequential pay class
A type of CMO that allocates cash flow sequentially to a series of bonds whereby all initial principal amortization and prepayments from the collateral are paid to the shortest maturity class until it is fully retired, then to the next shortest class and so on until all classes are paid down, i.e., the bond classes or tranches pay down in sequential order with no concurrent pay components. Each regular class receives interest payments beginning in month one except for the accrual class. See Accrual class.
S&P 500 Index (S&P 500)
WA recognized standard for measuring large-cap U.S. stock market performance that is used extensively by money managers. The S&P 500 includes a representative sample of leading companies in leading industries. The S&P 500 is calculated using a market capitalization index methodology, meaning the level of the index reflects the total market value of all 500 component stocks relative to a particular base period. The index holds each stock in proportion to its total value, or market "capitalization," in the stock market. Therefore, if a stock rises in price, its market capitalization rises and its share in the S&P 500 increases. Likewise, if a stock price falls, its market value and its weight in the index decline.
S&P MidCap 400 Index (S&P 400)
Similar to the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 600 SmallCap Index, this index measures the performance of the mid-size company (generally $250 million to $1 billion capitalization) segment of the U.S. equities market. See S&P 500 Index.
S&P SmallCap 600 Index (S&P 600)
Similar to the S&P 500 and the S&P 400, this index measures the performance of the small company (generally under $250 million capitalization) segment of the U.S. equities market. See S&P 500 Index.
Sharing ratio
The percent of outperformance shared with the respective manager. It is calculated by taking the normal fee divided by the required annualized excess return needed to earn such fee.
Short sale
The sale of an asset not owned by the seller in order to take advantage of an expected decline in the asset’s price or to protect a profit position in an owned asset. For example, in a short sale of stock the investor borrows shares of stock from someone who owns them and sells the stock in the market for the current price, hoping to repurchase the stock later (to return it to the person from whom the stock was borrowed) at a lower price than the price at which the shares were originally sold. The profit or loss on a short sale is the difference between the price at which the stock was sold and the price at which it was repurchased.
Short-term investment fund (STIF)
a type of fund that invests in short-term investments of high quality and low risk. Goal of such fund is to protect capital with low-risk investments while achieving a return that beats a relevant benchmark such as Treasury Bill Index or Cash.
Soft dollars
Means of paying brokerage firms for their services through commission revenue, rather than through direct payments, known as hard-dollar fees.
Special situations
Refers to company-, securities-, market-, or industry-specific strategies designed to exploit mispricing, corporate financial conditions, or market reactions or misunderstandings in a way that has affected short-term values so as to create significant investment opportunities. Targets of a special-situations strategy may include companies or securities that are under-researched, involve newly-deregulated industries, are turnaround, merger, buyout, or bankruptcy reorganization candidates, or are simply out of favor in the markets.
Spin-off
Form of corporate divestiture that results in a subsidiary or division becoming an independent company. In a traditional spin-off, shares in the new entity are distributed to the parent corporation’s shareholders of record on a pro rata basis.
Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs)
Exchange-traded securities that represent an ownership interest in a long-term unit investment trust that holds a portfolio of common stocks designed to track the performance of the S&P 500. The market value of a SPDR should approximate 1/10th the value of the underlying S&P 500. A SPDR entitles a holder to receive proportionate quarterly cash distributions corresponding to the dividends that accrue to the S&P 500 stocks in the underlying portfolio, less trust expenses. See Exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Standard deviation of returns
Statistical measure of the degree to which an individual value in a probability distribution tends to vary from the mean (average) of the distribution; a commonly used measure of variability of return.
Strategic Assets
an investment in which its value is primarily based on its ability to create value beyond traditional asset classes, capitalizing on market dislocations, market timing, and/or unique situations.
Stratified sampling
A common investment technique used in passive portfolio construction and maintenance to replicate a portion of the targeted index. The portfolio manager chooses a subset of stocks within the targeted index instead of holding each and every stock in its index proportion. The subset of stocks is chosen using an optimization technique that takes stock return, risk, and economic sector into consideration. This technique is particularly cost and time efficient when there are a large number of stocks with low liquidity in the targeted index.
Style
A specific type of investment approach employed to select assets.
Style Drift
Divergence of mandate from its stated investment style or objective. See Style.
Subnational
Any issuer that is a political subdivision of a nation, including provinces, regions, states, and local authorities and municipalities, or an enterprise owned by a subnational entity whose debt servicing capacity is directly dependent on or strongly supported by its links to that governmental unit.
Supranational
A multilateral development bank, multilateral lending institution, or European Union institution.
Swap
A contract whereby the parties agree to exchange cash flows of defined investment assets in amounts and times specified by the contract.
Systematic risk
The non-diversifiable risks associated with an investment in a particular asset market. For example the financial, political, and other risks associated with a portfolio of common stocks are known as “market” or systematic risks.
Tactical trading
An investment strategy based upon the prediction of the short- or medium-term direction of market prices for various securities.
Targeted amortization class (TAC)
A CMO bond class that repays principal according to a predetermined schedule derived by assuming a single constant prepayment rate. Like PACs, TACs provide protection against contraction risk, i.e., the risk that prepayments will occur when interest rates decline and force the investor to reinvest the cash flow at a lower rate. Unlike PACs, TACs do not protect against extension risk, i.e., the risk that prepayments will slow down when interest rates increase, causing the investor to realize less cash flow than could otherwise be realized by reinvesting the cash flow at a higher rate.
Technical analysis
Research into the demand and supply for securities and commodities based on trading volume and price studies.
Tenor
The agreed term or maturity of a privately-negotiated, over-the-counter derivative instrument.
TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities)
are inflation-linked bonds issued by the US Treasury. The principal is adjusted to inflation. See Inflation-Linked Bond.
Tracking error
Tracking error predicts the difference in returns between the managed portfolio and an equal investment in the market. Tracking error includes the effect of residual risk (risk not attributable to market influence) and market or systematic risk (beta is a measure of market risk).
Tranche
One of a related series of security issues, each with different cash flows, expiration dates, or return patterns, created to meet differing investor or issuer requirements or to carve up the returns from a set of underlying cash flows, such as from a pool of mortgages, in a marketable way. Different tranches will have different payment and market risks. For example, a principal-only tranche has a higher risk of prepayment before stated maturity. If market interest rates drop, borrowers generally pre-pay their underlying mortgages in greater numbers, and the holder of the tranche may have its investment terminated before maturity. See Collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO); Mortgage-backed security; Z bond.
Turnover
The percentage of purchases and sales of securities in a portfolio during a given period of time.
Uncovered call (put) option
The purchase or sale of a call (put) option without owning the offsetting long (short) position in the underlying security.
Value at risk (VAR)
An established method of measuring economic exposure risk. The measure conveys the maximum potential loss (in dollars or percent of total assets) for a particular investment position, for a particular period of time, for a particular level of confidence.
Variability of return
The degree to which an asset’s value fluctuates over time; the beta coefficient and standard deviation of returns are commonly used statistical measures of variability of return.
Venture capital
Generally refers to a fund’s investments in relatively small, young companies that develop new products, services and processes, primarily in technology-oriented ventures in varying stages of development (e.g., seed, early-stage, mid-stage, later-stage). Investments are made in diverse areas of anticipated growth such as information technology (hardware and software), internet-related technology, life sciences, biotechnology, and medical services.
Very accurately defined maturity class (VADM)
A type of CMO that is derived from the Z-bond accrual, i.e., derives all of its cash flows from the interest accretions of a Z-bond. VADMs protect against extension in average life if rates rise and prepayments are lower than expected. VADMs also protect against increases in prepayments because the Z-bonds that support them are usually the last classes to begin repaying principal. VADMs are also known as “accretion-directed bonds.”
Vintage year
A term used in relation to a fund or investment vehicle and referring to the calendar year in which the fund or vehicle had its first capital call.
Warrant
A security entitling the holder to buy a proportionate amount of underlying stock at some specified future date at a specified price. A subscription warrant typically has an exercise price higher than the current market price of the stock, while subscription rights or rights have an exercise price lower than the current market price of the stock. Warrants are most commonly traded as securities whose price is closely related to the value of the underlying stock. Issuing companies often bundle their warrants with another class of security to enhance the marketability of the other class. Unlike call options, which typically have terms of less than one year and are not written by the issuer of the underlying security, warrants usually have terms longer than one year. Warrants are usually issued by the corporate issuer of the underlying stock, but may be issued by third parties against an underlying stock, basket of stocks or an index of stocks. See Derivative.
Yankee bond
The debt of a foreign issuer denominated in U.S. dollars.
Yield
The current income (dividends or interest) generated by a security expressed as a percentage of the market value of the asset; yield is one component of return.
Z-bond
A CMO class (tranche) with a period of interest and principal lockout on which interest accrues, with the accrual amount added to the principal balance of the bond. The Z-bond holder begins to receive principal and accrued interest after the classes which precede the Z-bond are fully paid down. A Z-bond is also known as an accrual bond or accretion bond. See Collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO); Tranche