Investment funds dictionary
Glossary of financial terms for investment funds.
This digital financial dictionary contains everything you need to know about investment funds, arranged from A to Z.
Bankinter has developed the platform as a handy, interactive guide to understanding the most common concepts used in investment fund prospectuses and key information documents: contracts, clauses, terms and conditions, annexes, etc., both in physical and digital format.
Alpha (á)
Excess return on a fund relative to the return of the benchmark index. The better the manager, the higher the alpha obtained by the fund.
Asset Allocation
This is defined as the apportionment of the assets in a portfolio according to the chosen combination of assets, risk and geographical area. Both bottom-up and top-down analyses are performed to apportion assets.
Active Management
The objective of this management system is to produce better returns for the managed portfolio than the market average by using independent criteria based on the manager's information and experience in selecting investments. It is the opposite of passive management which simply mirrors a market index.
Disability
A loss in value resulting from the difference between the purchase price and the lower price at which an investment fund's units are sold.
Passive Management
Management system where the aim is for the managed assets to mirror the market performance by building a portfolio that replicates the index.
Portfolio Management
This consists in selecting the optimum return/risk combination for each investor. The investment process is therefore based on analysing the investor's risk tolerance, selecting investments and executing buy and sell orders for specific securities.
Pledging of units
The unit holder may pledge its units in an investment fund as a guarantee against a loan from a financial institution.
Portfolio
This refers to the set of assets that make up an investment fund.