Finance terms starting with S

199 terms

Smishing A combination of “SMS” and phishing. Smishing uses cell phone text messages or SMS (Short Message Service) to deliver a message in order to get you to…
Social Security Social Security is a federal government program designed to provide income for qualifying retired people, their dependents, and disabled people who meet…
Social Security Tax Provides benefits for retired workers and their dependents as well as for the disabled and their dependents.
Socially responsible fund When socially responsible mutual funds, also known as green funds or conscience funds, select securities to meet their investment goals, the securities…
Soft dollars Soft dollars are amounts that money managers, including mutual fund managers, pay out of their clients' accounts to a brokerage firm to cover the cost of…
Soft market A soft market, also known as a buyer's market, is one in which there is inactive trading in an individual stock or the market as a whole at current prices.
Software Developer Develops software for the purposes of (1) formatting electronic tax return information according to IRS specifications, and/or (2) transmitting electronic…
Sole proprietor A sole proprietor is the owner and operator of a business that isn't registered as either a corporation or a limited liability company.
South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) This is the name of the retirement system covering state employees, public school employees, public higher education personnel, and employees of other…
South Carolina Retirement Systems This is the name commonly used to refer to the Retirement Division of the State Budget and Control Board .
Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) An area defined on a Flood Insurance Rate Map with an associated risk of flooding.
Special Government Employee (SGE) SGEs are defined at 18 U.S.C. 202(a): Generally, employees performing temporary duty for 130 days or less in any 365 day period, including Reserve and…
Special situation An undervalued stock that one or more analysts expects to increase in price in the very near future because of an anticipated - and welcome - change…
Specialist A specialist or specialist unit is a member of a securities exchange responsible for maintaining a fair and orderly market in a specific security or…
Specialist's display book A display book was traditionally a written chronological record of all limit, stop, and short sale orders that had been placed with a specialist for an…
specialty fund A Specialty Fund is a mutual fund that focuses its holdings in specific types or geographic areas.
Speculator When you make a financial commitment because you believe something will happen in the market where you're trading that will provide a profit, you are…
Spending plan A spending plan can help you manage your money more effectively, live within your income limits, reduce your reliance on consumer credit, and save for the…
Spin-off In a spin-off, a company sets up one of its existing subsidiaries or divisions as a separate company.
Split-funded annuity A split-funded annuity lets you begin receiving income from a portion of your principal immediately, while the rest of the money goes into a deferred…
Spoofing Some market analysts maintain that the increased volatility in stock markets may be the result of an illegal practice known as spoofing, or phantom bids.
Spot market Commodities and foreign currencies are traded for immediate delivery and payment on the spot market, also known as a cash market.
Spot price The spot, or cash, price is the price of commodities and foreign currencies that are being sold for immediate delivery with payment in cash.
Spread In the most general sense, a spread is the difference between two similar measures.
Stacking of UM or UIM This coverage allows you to either multiply the amount of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage by the number of vehicles on your policy, or to…
Staff adjuster Employee of the insurance company’s claims department.
Stale-Dated Check Presented to the paying bank 180 days (6 months) or more after the original issue date.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) Standard & Poor's (S&P) is an investment services company that rates bonds, stock, commercial paper, and insurance companies.
Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index, widely referred to as the S&P 500, tracks the performance of 500 widely held large-cap US stocks in the…
Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipt (SPDR) When you buy SPDRs - pronounced spiders - you're buying shares in a unit investment trust (UIT) that owns a portfolio of stocks included in Standard &…
Standard & Poor's/BARRA Growth and Value Indexes Some investors favor growth stocks while others favor value stocks. Since 1992, results of those investment styles, which tend to produce different…
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) A financial services company which is one of the best known bond rating agencies in the country.
standard deduction Reduces the income subject to tax and varies depending on filing status, age, blindness, and dependency.
Standard deviation Standard deviation is a statistical measurement of how far a variable quantity, such as the price of a stock, moves above or below its average value.
Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) Policy issued to insure a building and/or its contents.
Standard payment instructions You must pay your credit card bill in a manner that meets all the following conditions: You must pay in U.S.
Startup While any new company could be considered a start-up, the description is usually applied to aggressive young companies that are actively courting private…
State Banking Department (also State Supervisory Authority) The organization in each State that supervises the operations and affairs of State financial institutions.
State Chartered Credit Union A credit union organized under the laws of a State and chartered by that State to conduct the business of banking.
State Code A two-digit FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) code that identifies the state where the property is located.
State guaranty funds State guaranty funds, which are offered in every state, protect contract owners against the insolvency of an insurance company that has issued insurance…
State Optional Retirement Program A defined contribution retirement plan offered as an alternative to SCRS . The State Optional Retirement Program ( State ORP ) is available to all state…
Statement A summary of all transactions that occurred over the preceding month and could be associated with a deposit account or a credit card account.
Statutory voting When shareholders vote for candidates nominated to serve on a company's board of directors, they usually cast their ballots using statutory voting.
Step-up in basis When you inherit assets, such as securities or property, they are stepped-up in basis.
Stochastic modeling Stochastic modeling is a statistical process that uses probability and random variables to predict a range of probable investment performances.
stock A share of stock that represents ownership in the company that issues it. The price of the stock goes up and down, depending on how the company performs…
Stock certificate A stock certificate is a paper document that represents ownership in a corporation.
Stock Life Insurance Company A life insurance company owned by stockholders who share in the company's surplus earnings.
Stock market A stock market may be a physical place, sometimes known as a stock exchange, where brokers gather to buy and sell stocks and other securities.
Stock option A stock option, or equity option, is a contract that gives its buyer the right to buy or sell a specific stock at a preset price during a certain time…
Stock split When a company wants to make its shares more attractive and affordable to a greater number of investors, it may authorize a stock split to create more…
stock yield The annual dividend as a percentage of the price of the stock. For example, a stock selling at $40 a share with an annual dividend of $2 a share yields…
Stop order You can issue a stop order, which instructs your broker to buy or sell a security once it trades at a certain price, called the stop price.
Stop Payment An order not to pay a check that has been issued but not yet cashed. If requested soon enough, the check will not be debited from the payer's account.
Stop Payment Fee A charge for a stop-payment order, which is a request by a customer that the institution not pay a particular check previously written by the customer.
Stop price When you give an order to buy or sell a stock or other security once it has reached a certain price, the price you name is known as the stop price.
Stop-limit order A stop-limit is a combination order that instructs your broker to buy or sell a stock once its price hits a certain target, known as the stop price, but…
Straddle A straddle is hedging strategy that involves buying or selling a put and a call option on the same underlying instrument at the same strike price and with…
Straight life A straight life insurance policy is a type of permanent insurance that provides a guaranteed death benefit and has fixed premiums.
Straight Life Insurance (See Whole Life Insurance.)
Strangle A strangle is hedging strategy in which you buy or sell a put and a call option on the same underlying instrument with the same expiration date but at…
Street name The term used to describe securities that are held in the name of your brokerage firm but that still belong to you.
Strike price The strike price, also called the exercise price, is the price at which you as an options holder can buy or sell the stock or other financial instrument…
STRIPS STRIPS, an acronym for separate trading of registered interest and principal of securities, are special issues of US Treasury zero-coupon bonds.
Structured product Financial institutions create investment products, known generically as structured products, that trade on a stock exchange and link the return on an…
Stub stock When a company has a negative net worth as a result of being bought out or going bankrupt, it may convert some of the bonds it has issued into shares of…
Student Loan Loans made, insured, or guaranteed under any program authorized by the Higher Education Act. Loan funds are used by the borrower for education purposes.
Subaccount The separate account funds to which you allocate your variable annuity premiums are sometimes called subaccounts.
subclass Each asset class - stock, bonds, and cash equivalents, for example - is made up of a number of different groups of investments called subclasses.
Submit-for-Rate An application for flood insurance on a building for which no risk rate is published in the Flood Insurance Manual.
Submitted The term used to collectively describe those FDM disclosure report Review Statuses that are not Draft.
Submitted Date The original date the filer electronically submitted a financial disclosure report.
Subordinated debt Subordinated debt generally refers to debt securities that have a secondary or lesser claim to the issuer's assets than more senior debt, should the…
Subprime “Prime” and “Subprime” refers to the interest rate and terms of the loan based on the borrower’s credit history.
Subprime Mortgages A classification of mortgages with a higher perceived risk of default than prime and Alt-A loans.
Subrogation The process of recovering the amount of claims damages paid out to a policyholder from the legally liable party.
Subscription price The subscription price is the discounted price at which a current shareholder can buy additional shares of company stock before these newly available…
Subscription right If a corporation's charter has a preemptive rights clause, before the company offers a new issue of securities to the public, it must offer existing…
Substitute check A substitute check is a paper copy of the front and back of the original check.
Substitute Check or Share Draft A substitute check is a paper copy of the front and back of the original check.
Suitability rules Self regulatory organizations (SROs), such as NASD, securities exchanges, and individual brokerage firms require that stockbrokers ensure that the…
Supervised Lender A person authorized to make or take assignments of most consumer loans and residential mortgages, either under a license issued by the Administrator…
Supervised Loans Consumer loans, including loans made with open-end credit, in which the finance charge is greater than 12.
support For dependency test purposes, support includes food, clothing, shelter, education, medical and dental care, recreation, and transportation.
Surcharge An extra charge applied to the premium by an insurance company, usually applied as a result of at-fault accidents or moving violations.
Surplus lines Coverage from out-of-state companies not licensed in Texas but legally eligible to sell insurance on a "surplus lines" basis.
Surrender fee A surrender fee is the penalty you owe if you withdraw money from an annuity or mutual fund within a certain time period after purchase.
Survivorship life Survivorship life insurance, also known as a second-to-die policy, is permanent insurance that covers the lives of two people and pays the death benefit…
Suspended trading Suspended trading means that an exchange has temporarily stopped trading in a particular stock or other security.
Suspension The temporary disqualification of a firm or individual from contracting with the government or participating in government programs, pending the outcome…
Swap When you swap or exchange securities, you sell one security and buy a comparable one almost simultaneously.
Sweep account A brokerage firm or bank may automatically transfer - or sweep - a client's uninvested or surplus funds into a designated account.
Syndicate When a group of investment banks works together to underwrite and distribute a new security issue, they are acting as a syndicate.
Syntactical Edits The loan applications will not be loaded to the FFIEC database. If they should be included on the FFIEC database, the data must be corrected.
Synthetic investment A synthetic investment simulates the return of an actual investment, but the return is actually created by using a combination of financial instruments…
Systematic risk Systematic risk, also called market risk, is risk that's characteristic of an entire market, a specific asset class, or a portfolio invested in that asset…
Systematic withdrawal Systematic withdrawal is a method of receiving income in regular installments from your mutual fund accounts, retirement plans, or annuity contracts.
systematic withdrawal plans A withdrawal feature offered by companies whereby unit holders can receive regular payment from their investments.