Business / Taxes Glossary

Beneficial Owner: When your stocks are registered in street name, the brokerage firm has title to the stocks but you are the beneficial owner, or the person who actually benefits from owning the stock.

Beneficiary: A beneficiary is the person or organization who receives assets that are held in your name in a retirement plan, or are paid on your behalf by an insurance company, after your death. If you . . . View Full Definition

Beta: Beta is a measure of an investment's relative volatility. The higher the beta, the more sharply the value of the investment can be expected to fluctuate in relation to a market index. For ex . . . View Full Definition

Bid: The bid is the price a market maker or broker is willing to pay for a security, such as a stock or bond, at a particular time. In the real estate market, a bid is the amount a buyer offers t . . . View Full Definition

Bid And Ask: Bid and ask is better known as a quotation or quote. Bid is the price a market maker or broker offers to pay for a security, and ask is the price at which a market maker or dealer offers to . . . View Full Definition

Big Board: The Big Board is the nickname of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the oldest stock exchange in the United States and the one with the largest trading floor. Common and preferred stock, bo . . . View Full Definition

Blind Pool: If the general partner of a limited partnership does not say which investments the partnership will make, the investment is known as a blind pool. In a blind pool equipment leasing partnersh . . . View Full Definition

Blind Trust: A blind trust is created when a third party, such as an investment adviser or other trustee, assumes complete control of the assets held in a trust. Elected officials often set up blind trus . . . View Full Definition

Block Trade: When at least 10,000 shares of stock or bonds valued at $200,000 or more are bought or sold in a single transaction, it is called a block trade. Institutional investors, including mutual fun . . . View Full Definition

Blue Chip Stock: Blue chip stock is the common stock of a large, well-regarded US company. The companies in that informal category are collectively known as blue chips companies. Blue chips have a long-estab . . . View Full Definition

Blue Sky Laws: Blue sky laws require companies that sell stock, mutual funds, and other financial products to register new issues with the appropriate public agency. They must also provide financial detail . . . View Full Definition

Boiler Room: A boiler room is a location used by con artists to contact potential victims out-of-the-blue — an approach known as cold calling — in an attempt to sell high-risk investments that may or may . . . View Full Definition

Bond: Bonds are debt securities issued by corporations and governments. Bonds are, in fact, loans that you and other investors make to the issuers in return for the promise of being paid interest, . . . View Full Definition

Bond Fund: A bond mutual fund sells shares in the fund to investors and uses the money it raises to invest in a portfolio of bonds to meet its investment objective — typically to provide regular income . . . View Full Definition

Bond Rating: Independent agencies, such as Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's Investors Service, assess the likelihood that bond issuers are likely to default on their loans or interest payments. Rating . . . View Full Definition

Bond Swap: In a bond swap, you buy one bond and sell another at the same time. For example, you might sell one bond at a loss at year's end to get a tax write-off while buying another to keep the same . . . View Full Definition

Book Value: Book value is the net asset value (NAV) of a company's stocks and bonds. Finding the NAV involves subtracting the company's short- and long-term liabilities from its assets to find net asset . . . View Full Definition

Book-Entry Security: Book-entry securities are stocks, bonds, and similar investments whose ownership is recorded electronically rather than in certificate form. When you sell the security, the records are updat . . . View Full Definition

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