Finance - Personal

Personal finance is a minefield of products and services all with their own attitude to risk and reward. Personal finance jargon tries to describe some of these financial products and many are now commonly known about.

Your attitude to risk in gaining growth or income from these financial products will usually determine which part of the personal finance jargon scale you will be encountering.

Some terms or phrases within this personal finance jargon directory are like old uncles - all very familiar and cosey sounding while others are more niche oriented to the risk taking person seeking greater reward in exchange for potential greater loss.

Personal Finance Jargon.

Bonds

Usually a loan to a company or organisation that pays a fixed rate of interest for a certain period. Bonds are bought and sold on the stockmarket, just like shares.

Bond fund

A fund that invests in a range of bonds.

Equities

Another name for shares in companies listed on the stock exchange.

Fund

For example, a unit trust or a with-profits fund consisting of shares or a range of different types of investments.

Growth

Usually, this describes shares or funds that are expected to grow in value through increases in share prices over a period of time. They might not produce much income through dividends.

Income

Two meanings here - the first is the one you would expect - money paid regularly to you. The second meaning is used by funds as a way of describing investments that produce income through share dividends or interest payments.

Performance

Basically, how well a share or a fund does financially over a period.

Portfolio

A collection of different investments held by an individual or a fund.

Product

Financial services companies call almost everything they sell to consumers, 'products'. A product could be a pension scheme, an ISA, an insurance policy, etc.

Return

This is a very flexible word and can mean a lot of things. We use it to mean what you get back from an investment as income or a lump sum.

Securities

Bonds and certain types of shares.

Stock exchange

A place where stocks and shares are bought and sold (traded). There are many stock exchanges and the most famous are probably the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Stockmarket

A general word for stock exchanges.

Volatility

When the price of a particular share swings up and down fairly often it's described as 'volatile'.

Yield

Usually the rate of income from an investment given as a percentage. For example, an investment costing £100 producing an income of £5 a year would have a 'yield' of 5%. Gross yield is the yield before tax is deducted and net yield is income after tax. Not to be confused with 'redemption yield' which we look at in the bonds section.

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