Investment Encyclopedia
Clear definitions and explanations of key investment concepts
Comprehensive guide to investment terminology, ESG concepts, and financial strategies
Investment Encyclopedia
Welcome to our comprehensive investment encyclopedia. We’ve organized key investment concepts into clear, accessible explanations to help you make more informed investment decisions.
Browse the terms below or use the category filters to focus on specific areas of interest.
How to Use This Encyclopedia
Each entry includes:
- Difficulty Level: Beginner or Advanced
- Category: The area of finance or investing the term relates to
- Short Definition: Quick summary of the concept
- Detailed Explanation: Comprehensive explanation with context and practical applications
Categories
Our encyclopedia covers five main areas:
- Investment Strategy - Core investment approaches and portfolio management
- Risk Management - Understanding and managing investment risks
- Analysis & Research - Tools for evaluating investments and markets
- Financial Instruments - Different types of investment vehicles
- General Finance - Fundamental financial concepts
Need More Help?
If you have questions about any of these concepts or how they apply to your investment strategy, please contact us to schedule a consultation.
All investments involve risk of loss, including loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
| Term | Definition | Category | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Management | Trying to beat the market through stock picking and timing | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Active Share | Measure of how much a fund’s holdings differ from its benchmark index | Analysis & Research | Advanced |
| Asset Allocation | Strategic distribution of investments across different asset classes | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Behavioral Biases | Psychological factors that influence investment decisions and market behavior | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Benchmark | TK | General Finance | Beginner |
| Beta | How jumpy is this stock? | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Closet Indexing | TK | Investment Strategy | Advanced |
| Competitive Analysis | How a company stacks up against its competitors | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Compound Interest | When your money earns money on the money it already earned | General Finance | Beginner |
| Correlation | How closely two investments move together | General Finance | Beginner |
| DCF Analysis | Discounted Cash Flow valuation method for determining intrinsic value | Analysis & Research | Advanced |
| Discount Rate | What is future money worth today? | General Finance | Beginner |
| Diversification | Don’t put all your eggs in one basket | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Dividend Yield | TK | Financial Instruments | Beginner |
| Dollar Cost Averaging | Investing the same amount every month | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Due Diligence | Researching investments before you buy | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Earnings Per Share | TK | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Economic Moats | Why some companies can keep making lots of money | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Efficient Market Hypothesis | Theory that markets know everything and price everything correctly | General Finance | Beginner |
| Ethical Investing | Putting your money where your values are | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Fundamental Analysis | Reading a company’s financial report card | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Growth Investing | TK | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Index Investing | Buy the whole stock market with one fund | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Information Ratio | TK | Analysis & Research | Advanced |
| Market Anomalies | Recurring patterns in financial markets that challenge market efficiency | Analysis & Research | Advanced |
| Market Capitalization | How big a company is in the stock market | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| P/E Ratio | How much you pay for each dollar of company profits | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Passive Management | Buy the whole market and relax | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Porter’s Five Forces | Framework for analyzing industry competition and profitability | Analysis & Research | Advanced |
| Portfolio Construction | Building your investment mix | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Quality Investing | TK | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Random Walk Theory | TK | General Finance | Advanced |
| Real Return | TK | General Finance | Beginner |
| Rebalancing | Getting your investment mix back on track | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Risk Tolerance | How much scary stuff can you handle? | Risk Management | Beginner |
| Shadow Banking | Non-bank financial intermediation operating outside traditional banking regulation | Financial Instruments | Advanced |
| Standard Deviation | How to measure if an investment is jumpy or steady | Risk Management | Beginner |
| Tail Risk | When bad things happen that weren’t supposed to happen | Risk Management | Beginner |
| Technical Analysis | Using price charts to predict stock movements | Analysis & Research | Beginner |
| Time Value of Money | TK | General Finance | Beginner |
| Tracking Error | TK | Risk Management | Advanced |
| Value Investing | Buying good companies when they’re on sale | Investment Strategy | Beginner |
| Volatility | How much investment prices jump around | Risk Management | Beginner |
| Yield | TK | Financial Instruments | Beginner |
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