Investing glossary
Here’s our investing glossary – a treasure trove of the key terms and phrases you need to know to become a confident investor.
b
- Bear marketA market where prices have been steadily declining over time, and have fallen by 20% or more from a previous market peak. Learn more
- Bull marketA market where prices have been rising over time - and haven’t fallen by more than 20% from their most recent peak. Learn more
d
- DiversificationThe act of spreading your risk over a number of different asset classes, sectors or countries.Learn more
- Dividend per shareShows how much of a company’s total dividend is paid out for each share that an investor holds.Learn more
- Dividend yieldHelps you to understand how much a company pays out as a dividend each year compared to its share price.Learn more
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- Earnings per shareUsed to calculate the value of each publicly traded share in a company relative to the company's earnings. Investors can use EPS to show how profitable a company is on a share-by-share basis. Learn more
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- Market capitalisationA company’s market value, calculated as the total number of shares in circulation multiplied by the price to buy one share.Learn more
- Market indexA benchmark that tracks the collective performance of a group of different companies and other assets.Learn more
p
- P/E ratioCan help you compare a company’s current stock price to its current earnings - helping you to decide whether the stock is currently over or undervalued. Learn more
- Passive investingAn investment strategy that focuses on building wealth gradually by investing in funds that track the performance of market benchmarks. These funds are called tracker funds.Learn more
s
- Stock marketThe global network of stock exchanges that lets investors buy and sell shares in publicly listed companies.Learn more
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- Tracker fundAn investment fund that tracks the price of an asset or group of different assets. They can track a range of different areas, from an individual sector to an entire stock market index. Learn more
It's important you know
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest.
