Definition: A derivative is a contract between two parties which derives its value/price from an underlying asset. The most common types of derivatives are futures, options, forwards and swaps. Description: It is a financial instrument which derives its value/price from the underlying assets. Originally, underlying corpus is first created which can consist of one security […]

Definition: Earnings per share or EPS is an important financial measure, which indicates the profitability of a company. It is calculated by dividing the company’s net income with its total number of outstanding shares. It is a tool that market participants use frequently to gauge the profitability of a company before buying its shares. Description: […]

Definition: Insider trading is defined as a malpractice wherein trade of a company's securities is undertaken by people who by virtue of their work have access to the otherwise non public information which can be crucial for making investment decisions. Description: When insiders, e.g. key employees or executives who have access to the strategic information […]

Definition: When a company declares a stock split, the number of shares of that company increases, but the market cap remains the same. Existing shares split, but the underlying value remains the same. As the number of shares increases, price per share goes down. Description: Stock split is done to infuse liquidity and to make […]

Definition: Preference shares allow an investor to own a stake at the issuing company with a condition that whenever the company decides to pay dividends, the holders of the preference shares will be the first to be paid. Description: Dividend payment of the preference shareholders is fixed and if somehow company liquefies, the owners of […]

Definition: Standard deviation is the measure of dispersion of a set of data from its mean. It measures the absolute variability of a distribution; the higher the dispersion or variability, the greater is the standard deviation and greater will be the magnitude of the deviation of the value from their mean. Description: The concept of […]

Definition: Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University. Description: Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio […]

Definition: In financial terms, yield is used to describe a certain amount earned on a security, over a particular period of time. It refers to the interest or dividend earned on debt or equity, respectively, and is conventionally expressed annually as a percentage based on the current market value or face value of the security. […]

Definition: A stop-loss can be defined as an advance order to sell an asset when it reaches a particular price point. It is used to limit loss or gain in a trade. The concept can be used for short-term as well as long-term trading. This is an automatic order that an investor places with the […]

Definition: It is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Description: […]