| Sales
Load (charge) |
The
sales fee that the buyer pays in order to acquire an asset. The fee
varies according to the type of asset and the way it is sold. Many
mutual funds impose a sales charge. As a result of the load, only
a portion of the investor’s funds go into the investment itself. |
| Scale
Order |
An
order to buy (or sell) a security, that specifies the total amount
to be bought (or sold) at specified price variations. |
| Scripophily |
A
term coined in the mid-1970s to describe the hobby of collecting
antique bonds, stocks and other financial instruments. Values are
affected by beauty of the certificate and the issuer's role in world
finance and economic development. |
| Seat |
The
traditional term for the right to trade on the Trading Floor of the
NYSE. The owners of seats are considered members of the NYSE. |
| SEC |
The
Securities and Exchange Commission, established by Congress to help
protect investors. The SEC administers the Securities Act of 1933,
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Securities Act amendment
of 1975, the Trust Indenture Act, the Investment Company Act, the
Investment Advisers Act, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act.The
SEC is a watch-dog agency created by the U.S. Congress to monitor
the securities industry and enforce punishments of those that violate
the industry's regulations. |
| Secondary
Distribution |
Also
known as secondary offering. The redistribution of a block of stock
some time after it has been sold by the issuing company. The sale
is handled off the exchange by a securities firm or group of firms
and the shares are usually offered at a fixed price related to the
current market price of the stock. Usually the block is a large one,
such as might be involved in the settlement of an estate. The security
may be listed or unlisted. (see Investment
Banker, Primary
Distribution) |
| Secondary
Market |
When
stocks or bonds are traded or resold, they are said to be sold on
the secondary market. The majority of all securities transactions
takes place on the secondary market. |
| Securities
Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC) |
A
safeguard for investors capital created by Congress. The SIPC insures
that cash and securities on deposit with a brokerage are insured
up to $500,000 per customer, in the event that the brokerage goes
out of business. |
| Self-Regulation |
The
way in which the securities industry monitors itself to create a
fair and orderly trading environment. |
| Sell
Side |
A
broker/dealer who sells expertise in research, order execution or
any other service to an individual or institution. |
| Seller's
Option |
A
special transaction on the NYSE, that gives the seller the right
to deliver the stock or bond at any time within a specified period,
ranging from no less than two business days to no more than 60 days. |
| Serial
Bond |
An
issue that matures in part at periodic stated intervals. |
| Series |
For
options - All option contracts of the same class that also have the
same unit of trade, expiration date, and exercise price.
For stocks - shares which have common characteristics, such as rights to
ownership and voting, dividends, par value, etc. In the case of many foreign
shares, one series may be owned only by citizens of the country in which
the stock is registered. |
| Settlement |
Conclusion
of a securities transaction when a customer pays a broker/dealer
for securities purchased or delivers securities sold and receives
from the broker the proceeds of a sale. (see Cash
Sale) |
| Settlement
Date |
The
date on which payment is made to settle a trade. For stocks traded
on US exchanges, settlement is currently 3 business days after the
trade. For mutual funds, settlement usually occurs in the U.S. the
day following the trade. In some regional markets, foreign shares
may require months to settle. |
| Seven-Day
Yield |
Yield
for seven day period including the day reported. |
| Shares |
Certificates
or book entries representing ownership in a corporation or similar
entity. |
| Shares
Outstanding |
The
number of shares of capital stock that have been issued and are in
public hands. (see Float) |
| Short
Covering |
Buying
stock to return stock previously borrowed to make delivery on a short
sale. |
| Short
Position |
Stock options,
or futures contracts sold short and not covered as of a particular
date. Short position also means the total amount of stock an individual
has sold short and has not covered, as of a particular date. (see Long
Position) |
| Short
Sale |
A
transaction by a person who believes a security will decline and
sells it, though the person does not own the security. For instance:
You instruct your broker to sell 100 shares of XYZ. Your broker borrows
the stock so delivery of the 100 shares can be made to the buyer.
The money value of the shares borrowed is deposited by your broker
with the lender. Sooner or later you must cover your short sale by
buying the same amount of stock you borrowed for return to the lender.
If you are able to buy XYZ at a lower price than you sold it for,
your profit is the difference between the two prices - not counting
commission and taxes. But if you have to pay more for the stock than
the price you received, that is the amount of your loss. Stock exchange
and federal regulations govern and limit the conditions under which
a short sale may be made on a national securities exchange. Sometimes
people will sell short a stock they already own in order to protect
a paper profit. This is known as selling short against the box. |
| Short
Term Gain |
The
profit realized from the sale of securities or other capital assets
held twelve months or less. |
| SIAC |
Securities
Industry Automation Corporation, an independent organization established
by the New York and American Stock Exchanges as a jointly owned subsidiary
to provide automation, data processing, clearing and communication
services. |
| SIC
Code |
Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) code. A numbering system established
by the Office of Management and Budget that identifies companies
by industry. It is used to promote the comparability of economic
statistics from various facets of the U.S. economy. |
| Sinking
Fund |
Money
regularly set aside by a company to redeem its bonds, debentures
or preferred stock from time to time as specified in the indenture
or charter. |
| SIPC |
Securities
Investor Protection Corporation, which provides funds for use, if
necessary, to protect customers' cash and securities that may be
on deposit with a SIPC member firm in the event the firm fails and
is liquidated under the provisions of the SIPC Act. SIPC is not a
Government Agency. It is a non-profit membership corporation created
by an Act of Congress. |
| Slippage |
The
difference between estimated transaction costs and actual transaction
costs. The difference is usually composed of revisions to price difference
or spread and commission costs. |
| Sole
Proprietorship |
Any
business that is owned and operated by a single individual. |
| Specialist |
A
member of the NYSE who has two primary functions. First, to maintain
an orderly market in the securities assigned to the specialist. To
do this, the specialist must, to a reasonable degree, buy or sell
for their own account when there is a temporary disparity between
supply and demand. Second, the specialist acts as a broker's broker.
When commission brokers on the Exchange Floor receive a limit order,
say, to buy at $50 a stock then selling at $60, they cannot wait
at the post where the stock is traded to see if the price reaches
the specified level. They leave the order with the specialist, who
will try to execute it in the market if and when the stock declines
to the specified price. At all times the specialists must put their
customers' interests above their own. |
| Speculation |
The
employment of funds by a speculator. Safety of principal is a secondary
factor. (see Investment) |
| Speculator |
One
who attempts to anticipate price changes and, through buying and
selling contracts, aims to make profits. A speculator does not use
the market in connection with the production, processing, marketing,
or handling of a product. (see Trader) |
| Spin
Off |
The
separation of a subsidiary or division of a corporation from its
parent by issuing shares in a new corporate entity. Shareowners in
the parent receive shares in the new company in proportion to their
original holding and the total value remains approximately the same. |
| Spread |
The
spread for a company's stock represents the difference between the
best bid and best ask price. For example, if a stock's best bid is
$14.50 and best ask (or offer) is $14.55, the spread is $ 0.05. |
| Standard
and Poor’s 500 |
The
S&P 500 index - ($SPX), more formally known as the S&P 500
Composite Stock Price Index, is a european-style, capitalization-weighted
index (shares outstanding multiplied by stock price) of 500 stocks
that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange
and Nasdaq National Market. The advantage of "cap-weighting" is
that each company's influence on index performance is directly proportional
to its relative market value. It is this characteristic that makes
the S&P 500 such a valuable tool for measuring the performance
of actual portfolios. |
| Stock |
(see Capital
Stock, Common
Stock and Preferred
Stock) |
| Stock
Exchange |
An
organized marketplace for securities featured by the centralization
of supply and demand for the transaction of orders by member brokers
for institutional and individual investors. |
| Stock
Dividend |
A
dividend paid in securities rather than cash. The dividend may be
additional shares of the issuing company, or in shares of another
company (usually a subsidiary) held by the company. |
| Stock
Index |
A
way of using a select group of stocks for long term evaluation. The
performance of a group of stocks that experts regard as important
is averaged, and over time that average serves as an indicator of
the market's general movement. |
| Stock
Index Futures |
Futures
contracts based on market indexes. |
| Stock
Split |
The
division of the outstanding shares of a corporation into either a
larger or smaller number of shares, without any immediate impact
in individual shareholder equity. For example, a 3-for-1 forward
split by a company with 1 million shares outstanding results in 3
million shares outstanding. Each holder of 100 shares before the
split would have 300 shares worth less, although the proportionate
equity in the company would stay the same. A reverse split would
reduce the number of shares outstanding and each share would be worth
more. |
| Stock
Symbol (Ticker) |
Every
corporation whose transactions are reported on the NYSE or AMEX
ticker or on Nasdaq has been given a unique identification symbol
of up to four letters. These symbols abbreviate the complete corporate
name and facilitate trading and ticker reporting.
Nasdaq
securities have a unique four- or five-letter symbol assigned.
If a fifth letter appears, it identifies the issue as other than
a single issue of common stock or capital stock. A list of fifth-letter
identifiers and a description of what each represents follows:
A - Class A
B - Class B
C - Issuer qualifications exceptions*
D - New
E - Delinquent in required filings with the SEC
F - Foreign
G - First convertible bond
H - Second convertible bond, same company
I - Third convertible bond, same company
J - Voting
K - Nonvoting
L - Miscellaneous situations, such as depositary receipts, stubs, additional
warrants, and units
M - Fourth preferred, same company
N - Third preferred, same company
O - Second preferred, same company
P - First preferred, same company
Q - Bankruptcy Proceedings
R - Rights
S - Shares of beneficial interest
T - With warrants or with rights
U - Units
V - When-issued and when distributed
W - Warrants
Y- ADR (American Depositary Receipt)
Z - Miscellaneous situations such as depositary receipts, stubs, additional
warrants, and units.
* The letter "C" as a fifth character in a security symbol,
indicates that the issuer has been granted a continuance in Nasdaq under
and exception to the qualification standards for a limited period.
|
| Stockholder
of Record |
A
stockholder whose name is registered on the books of the issuing
corporation. (see Registrar) |
| Stockholders'
Equity |
The
value of all the stock owned by the shareholders of a particular
company. Also known as net worth. |
| Stop
Limit Order |
A
stop order that becomes a limit order after the specified stop price
has been reached. (see Limit
Order, Stop Order) |
| Stop
Order |
An
order to buy at a price above or sell at a price below the current
market. Stop buy orders are generally used to limit or protect unrealized
profits on a short sale. Stop sell orders are generally used to protect
unrealized profits or limit loss on a holding. A stop order becomes
a market order when the stock sells at or beyond the specified price
and, thus, may not necessarily be executed at that price. |
| Street
Name |
Securities
held in the name of a broker instead of a customer's name are said
to be carried in "street name." This occurs when the securities
have been bought on margin or when the customer wishes the security
to be held by the broker. |
| Strike
Price |
The
stated price per share for which underlying stock may be purchased
(in the case of a call
option ) or sold (in the case of a put
option ) by the option holder
upon exercise of the option contract. (see Excercise
Price) |
| Swapping |
Selling
one security and buying a similar one almost at the same time to
take a loss, usually for tax purposes. |
| Syndicate |
A
group of investment bankers who together underwrite and distribute
a new issue of securities or a large block of an outstanding issue. |
| Syndicate
Bid |
A
Syndicate Bid can be entered in the Nasdaq System to stabilize the
price of a Nasdaq security prior to the effective date of a registered
secondary offering. |
