What is a Stock? When a person owns stock in a company, the individual is called a shareholder and is eligible to claim part of the company’s residual assets and earnings (should the company ever have to dissolve). A shareholder may also be referred to as a stockholder. The terms “stock,” “shares,” and “equity” are…
What is the Sharpe Ratio? Named after American economist, William Sharpe, the Sharpe Ratio (or Sharpe Index or Modified Sharpe Ratio) is commonly used to gauge the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The higher the ratio, the greater the investment return relative to the amount of risk taken, and thus, the…
What is ROAS? ROAS stands for “Return on Ad Spend,” a very popular financial metric in the world of digital marketing in particular, and a similar alternative metric to ROI, or “Return on Investment.” ROAS is commonly used in eCommerce businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. It should be noted that having a…
What is Risk Averse? Someone who is risk averse has the characteristic or trait of preferring avoiding loss over making a gain. This characteristic is usually attached to investors or market participants who prefer investments with lower returns and relatively known risks over investments with potentially higher returns but also with higher uncertainty and more…
What is a Negative Correlation? A negative correlation is a relationship between two variables that move in opposite directions. In other words, when variable A increases, variable B decreases. A negative correlation is also known as an inverse correlation. Two variables can have varying strengths of negative correlation. The variable A could be strongly negatively…
What is LTM (Last Twelve Months)? LTM (Last Twelve Months), also sometimes known as the trailing or rolling twelve months, is a time frame frequently used in connection with financial ratios, such as revenues or return on equity (ROE), to evaluate a company’s performance during the immediately preceding 12-month time period. This is not necessarily related…
What is the One-Period Dividend Discount Model (DDM)? The one-period dividend discount model is a variation of the dividend discount model. The one-period dividend discount variation is used to determine the intrinsic value of a stock that is planned to be held for one period only (usually one year). Similar to the general dividend discount…
What is Direct Security? Direct security is typically collateral that can be used to secure a loan. Securities can be broadly divided into two distinct types: asset securities and collateral securities. Asset security represents ownership interest held by shareholders in an enterprise, realized in the form of shares of capital stock. Holders of equity securities…
What is Duration Drift? Duration drift represents the change in duration as a result of the passage of time. It is a problem in asset-liability management, which makes it necessary to regularly monitor and recalculate the duration of a financial instrument. To better understand duration drift and its effects, you need to first understand what…
What is a General Security Agreement (GSA)? A General Security Agreement (GSA) grants a security interest over personal property or assets, the collateral pledged for many types of financing. The contract is executed by a debtor (borrower) in favor of a creditor (lender). A GSA can support various lender obligations, including personal and commercial loans….
