Personal Finance terms starting with I

86 terms

Identity Theft Identity theft is the unauthorized use of your personal information, such as your name, address, Social Security number, or credit account information.
Immediate annuity You buy an immediate annuity contract with a lump-sum purchase. You begin receiving income from the annuity either right away or within 13 months.
Implied Guarantee The assumption, prevalent in the financial markets, that the federal government will cover GSE debt obligations.
Imputed interest Imputed interest is interest you are assumed to have collected even if that interest was not paid.
In-the-money An option is in-the-money at any point up to expiration if the exercise price is below the market price of a call option or above the market price of a…
Inactive Account An account that has little or no activity; neither deposits nor withdrawals having been posted to the account for a significant period of time.
Inactive Member A member who is no longer employed by a public or governmental entity that participates in one of the South Carolina Retirement Systems’ plans and does…
Incentive stock option (ISO) Corporate executives may be granted incentive stock options (ISOs), also called qualifying stock options.
Income Includes but is not limited to the following items: earned income such as compensation for services, fees, commissions, salaries, wages and similar items…
Income annuity An income annuity, sometimes called an immediate annuity, pays an annual income, usually in monthly installments.
Income fund Alternatively called a bond fund. Income funds are a type of mutual fund that holds debt instruments such as government bonds and corporate debentures.
Income in respect of a decedent Any income your beneficiary receives after your death that would have gone to you if you were still alive is described as income in respect of a decedent.
Income statement An income statement, also called a profit and loss statement, shows the revenues from business operations, expenses of operating the business, and the…
Income stock Stock that pays income in the form of regular dividends over an extended period is often described as income stock.
income taxes Taxes on income, both earned (salaries, wages, tips, commissions) and unearned (interest, dividends).
Incorporation When a business incorporates, it receives a state or federal charter to operate as a corporation.
Incumbent An incumbent filer is an employee who has worked for more than 60 days during the previous calendar year in a position which required filing of an SF 278.
Incumbent and Termination An incumbent and termination filer is an employee who anticipates terminating his/her covered position employment within 90 days of the annual filing…
Indemnity insurance An indemnity insurance policy pays up to a fixed amount when you make a claim, often on a per day basis.
Indenture An indenture is a written contract between a bond issuer and bond holder that is proof of the bond issuer's indebtedness and specifies the terms of the…
Independent 401(k) The independent 401(k) - also known as a solo 401(k), indy-k, or uni-k - is a variation of the 401(k) designed for people who are self-employed or operate…
independent contractor Performs services for others. The recipients of the services do not control the means or methods the independent contractor uses to accomplish the work.
Index Statistical measure of the state of the stock market or economy based on the performance of stocks or other components.
Index fund A mutual fund that matches its portfolio to that of a specific financial market index, with the objective of tracking the general performance of the…
Index of Leading Economic Indicators This monthly composite of ten economic measurements was developed to track and help forecast changing patterns in the economy.
Index option Index options are puts and calls on a stock index rather than on an individual stock.
Index-linked Share Certificate (SC) An index-linked SC is a deposit obligation of the issuing credit union. Index-linked SCs provide the member the ability to participate in the…
Indexed annuity An indexed annuity is a deferred annuity whose return is tied to the performance of a particular equity market index.
indirect tax A tax that can be shifted to others, such as business property taxes.
Individual Account An account in the name of one individual.
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) A retirement savings program for individuals to which yearly tax-deductible contributions up to a specified limit can be made.
Individual retirement annuity An individual retirement annuity is one type of individual retirement arrangement.
individual retirement arrangement (IRA) An individual retirement arrangement (IRA), which may be set up as either an account or an annuity, allows people with earned income to contribute to a…
Inefficient market In an inefficient market, investors may not have enough information about the securities in that market to make informed decisions about what to buy or…
infant industry A new or developing domestic industry whose costs of production are higher than those of established firms in the same industry in other countries.
Inflation A condition of increasing prices. Inflation is generally measured by the Consumer Price Index.
Inflation rate The inflation rate is a measure of changing prices, typically calculated on a month-to-month and year-to-year basis and expressed as a percentage.
Inflation-adjusted return Inflation-adjusted return is what you earn on an investment after accounting for the impact of inflation.
Inflation-protected security (TIPS) US Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) adust the principal twice a year to reflect inflation or deflation measured by the Consumer Price Index…
informal tax legislation process Individuals and interest groups expressing and promoting their opinions about tax legislation.
Inherited IRA An inherited IRA is an IRA that passes to a beneficiary at the death of the IRA owner.
Initial public offering (IPO) When a company reaches a certain stage in its growth, it may decide to issue stock, or go public, with an initial public offering (IPO).
Insider trading If management of a publicly held company, members of its board of directors, or anyone who holds more than 10% of the company trades its shares, it's…
Inspector General Act Enacted in 1978, this Act authorized establishment of Offices of Inspectors General, “independent and objective units” within federal agencies that…
Inspector General Reform Act Enacted in 2008, this Act amended the Inspector General Act to enhance the independence of inspectors general and to create a Council of the Inspectors…
Instinet Instinet is the world's largest agency brokerage firm. As an agency firm, it doesn't trade stock for its own account as traditional brokerage houses do.
Institutional fund An institutional fund is a mutual fund that's available to large investors, such as pension funds and not-for-profit organizations, with substantial…
Institutional investor Institutional investors buy and sell securities in large volume, typically 10,000 or more shares of stock, or bonds worth $200,000 or more, in a single…
Insufficient Funds When a depositor's checking account balance is inadequate to pay a check presented for payment.
Insurance (Hazard) Insurance to protect the homeowner and the lender against physical damage to a property from sources such as but not limited to fire, wind, or vandalism.
Insurance trust You set up an insurance trust to own a life insurance policy on your life. When you die, the face value of the policy is paid to the trust.
Insured bond An insured bond is a municipal bond whose interest and principal payments are guaranteed by a triple-A rated bond insurer.
Insured Shares Deposits held in federal and most state chartered credit unions that are guaranteed by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) against…
Integrated pension plan In an integrated pension plan, your employer counts part of your Social Security benefit in the defined benefit pension you're entitled to and takes that…
Interest The term interest is used to describe the cost of using money, a right, share, or title in property.
interest income The income a person receives from certain bank accounts or from lending money to someone else.
Interest rate The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time.
Interest Rate (High/Low) The percentage of interest paid for money in the deposit accounts, without regard to compounding, shown as an annual figure.
Interest Rate Risk Interest-rate risk describes the impact that a change in current interest rates is likely to have on the value of your investment portfolio.
Interest-free period The number of days you have to pay your bill in full before an interest charge is assessed on purchases.
Interest-Only Mortgage With an interest-only mortgage loan, you pay only the interest portion of each scheduled payment for a fixed term, often five to seven years.
Intermediate Service Provider (ISP) Assists in processing tax return information between the ERO (or the taxpayer, in the case of online filing) and the Transmitter.
Intermediate-term bond Intermediate-term bonds mature in two to ten years from the date of issue. Typically, the interest on these bonds is greater than that on short-term bonds…
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) The federal agency that collects income taxes in the United States.
Internalization Internalization occurs when a securities trade is executed within a brokerage firm rather than though an exchange.
International fund A mutual fund that invests in securities from a number of countries.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) The IMF was set up as a result of the United Nations Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 to help stabilize world currencies, lower trade barriers, and help…
Intestate A person who dies without a will is said to have died intestate. In this case, the probate court in the person's home state - sometimes known as…
intrinsic value A company's intrinsic value, or underlying value, is used to calculate its projected worth.
Introducing broker (IB) An introducing broker (IB) is a person or firm that takes orders to buy or sell futures contracts from clients and passes those orders to a futures…
Introductory APR The APR charged during the credit card's introductory period after a credit card account is opened.
Investment bank An investment bank is a financial institution that helps companies take new bond or stock issues to market, usually acting as the intermediary between the…
Investment Club Individual investors often join together, either formally or informally, to form investment clubs.
Investment Company A corporation or trust whose primary purpose is to invest the funds of its shareholders.
Investment grade When a bond is rated investment grade, its issuer is considered able to meet its obligations, exposing bondholders to minimal default risk.
Investment horizon Your investment horizon is the point in time when you hope to achieve a particular investment goal.
Investment Income The equity dividends, bond interest, and/or cash interest paid on an investment.
Investment objective An investment objective is a financial goal that helps determine the type of investments you make.
Investment Property a property not considered to be a primary residence that is purchased in order to generate income, profit from appreciation, or to take advantage of…
Investor Any person or institution that invests in mortgages or mortgage-backed securities.
IRA rollover If you move assets from an existing individual retirement account (IRA) or an employer sponsored retirement plan to an IRA, you've completed an IRA…
IRC Section 401(a) Tax code section authorizing a qualified retirement plan to be operated and supported by an employer and to provide retirement benefits.
Irrevocable trust An irrevocable trust is a legal agreement whose terms cannot be changed by the creator or grantor who establishes the trust without the consent of the…
IRS e-file Refers to the preparation and transmission of tax return information to the IRS using telephone lines or a computer with a modem or Internet access.
Issue When a corporation offers a stock or bond for sale, or a government offers a bond, the security is known as an issue, and the company or government is the…
issuer Issuer means any person who issues or proposes to issue any security. Corporations, for example, may issue stock to the public, limited partnerships may…