Archive for November, 2009
type of insurance vehicle in which the policyholder purchases units at their net asset values and also makes contributions toward another investment vehicle. Unit linked insurance plans allow for the coverage of an insurance policy, and provide the option to invest in any number of qualified investments, such as stock, bonds or mutual funds.
A unit linked insurance plan acts just like a savings vehicle, but also has the benefits of an insurance contract. When an investor purchases units in a ULIP, he or she is purchasing units along with a larger number of investors, just like an investor would purchase units in a mutual fund.
Different ULIPs offer different qualified investments. Be sure to read the plan’s prospectus before purchasing any ULIP.
Firms that provide currency traders with access to a trading platform that allows them to buy and sell foreign currencies. A currency trading broker, also known as a retail forex broker, or forex broker, handles a very small portion of the volume of the overall foreign exchange market. Currency traders use these brokers to access the 24-hour currency market.
Forex brokers are usually compensated through the bid-ask spread of a currency pair. For example, a retail forex broker may buy euros for 1.5475 U.S. dollars and, at the same time, sell euros for 1.5478 U.S. dollars. The spread in this case is $0.0003, or 3 pips.
It is valuable to do some research to find out whether a broker has a good reputation and has the functionality that you are looking for. Most major forex brokers will allow prospective clients to use a practice account so that they can get a good understanding of what the system is like. It is a wise idea to test out as many platforms as possible before deciding on which broker to use.
debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (corporate or governmental) that borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states and U.S. and foreign governments to finance a variety of projects and activities.
Bonds are commonly referred to as fixed-income securities and are one of the three main asset classes, along with stocks and cash equivalents..
The indebted entity (issuer) issues a bond that states the interest rate (coupon) that will be paid and when the loaned funds (bond principal) are to be returned (maturity date). Interest on bonds is usually paid every six months (semi-annually). The main categories of bonds are corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and U.S. Treasury bonds, notes and bills, which are collectively referred to as simply “Treasuries”.
Two features of a bond – credit quality and duration – are the principal determinants of a bond’s interest rate. Bond maturities range from a 90-day Treasury bill to a 30-year government bond. Corporate and municipals are typically in the three to 10-year range.
An investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets. Mutual funds are operated by money mangers, who invest the fund’s capital and attempt to produce capital gains and income for the fund’s investors. A mutual fund’s portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.
One of the main advantages of mutual funds is that they give small investors access to professionally managed, diversified portfolios of equities, bonds and other securities, which would be quite difficult (if not impossible) to create with a small amount of capital. Each shareholder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. Mutual fund units, or shares, are issued and can typically be purchased or redeemed as needed at the fund’s current net asset value (NAV) per share, which is sometimes expressed as NAVPS.
An investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio’s assets according to an individual’s goals, risk tolerance and investment horizon.
The three main asset classes - equities, fixed-income, and cash and equivalents - have different levels of risk and return, so each will behave differently over time.
There is no simple formula that can find the right asset allocation for every individual. However, the consensus among most financial professionals is that asset allocation is one of the most important decisions that investors make. In other words, your selection of individual securities is secondary to the way you allocate your investment in stocks, bonds, and cash and equivalents, which will be the principal determinants of your investment results.
Asset-allocation mutual funds, also known as life-cycle, or target-date, funds, are an attempt to provide investors with portfolio structures that address an investor’s age, risk appetite and investment objectives with an appropriate apportionment of asset classes. However, critics of this approach point out that arriving at a standardized solution for allocating portfolio assets is problematic because individual investors require individual solutions.
1. Investors may switch their assets between funds in the same family or into a different family entirely. Generally, no-load funds do not charge for these transactions. However, some brokerages may charge a commission.
2. When investors switch securities, they essentially use the cash received from the liquidation of their initial securities to purchase new securities.
In futures, an investor will switch futures contracts by closing an open position and simultaneously entering a new, similar futures contract with a longer maturity.
The market in which currencies are traded. The forex market is the largest, most liquid market in the world with an average traded value that exceeds $1.9 trillion per day and includes all of the currencies in the world.
There is no central marketplace for currency exchange; trade is conducted over the counter. The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week and currencies are traded worldwide among the major financial centers of London, New York, Tokyo, Zürich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and Sydney.
The forex is the largest market in the world in terms of the total cash value traded, and any person, firm or country may participate in this market.
An examination of the changes in the forex market that are used by a trader to determine whether to buy or sell a currency pair at any one time. Forex analysis could be technical in nature, using charting tools, or fundamental, using economic indicators and/or news-based events.
Forex analysis can be either manual or automated. A manual system involves a trader sitting at the computer screen, analyzing signals and interpreting whether to buy or sell. In automated trading analysis, the trader teaches the software what signals to look for and how to interpret them. It is thought that automated analysis takes the element of human psychology out of trading.
A trading strategy that is used by forex traders who attempt to make a profit on the inefficiency in the pricing of currency pairs. The strategy involves reacting quickly to opportunities, and is usually accomplished through the use of computers.
As with other arbitrage strategies, the act of exploiting pricing inefficiencies will actually correct the problem in the market. For this reason, these opportunities are often only around for a very short time. Arbitrage currency trading requires the availability of real-time pricing quotes and the ability react quickly as opportunities present themselves.
Forex arbitrage calculators are available to help find these opportunities more quickly, but as with all software, programs and platforms used in retail forex trading, it is important to try them out in a demo account if possible. Trying out multiple products before deciding on one is the only way to determine what is best for the forex trader.
An exchange-traded contract to buy or sell a specified amount of a given currency at a predetermined price on a set date in the future. All forex futures are written with a specific termination date, at which point delivery of the currency must occur unless an offsetting trade is made on the initial position.
Forex futures serve two primary purposes as financial instruments. First, they can be used by companies or sole proprietors to remove the exchange-rate risk inherent in cross-border transactions. Second, they can be used by investors to speculate and profit from currency exchange-rate fluctuations.
Arun Vijayaraghavan is a Senior QA working for one of the world's largest Investment Banks. Arun has extensive experience in Retail Banking, Investment banking and non-life insurance domains.
