1. The value of a bond, note or other security as printed on the document. Throughout the life of a security, its market price will fluctuate but at maturity the face amount is payable.
2. The value denominated on a coin, banknote or stamp etc.

A disparaging term used to describe executives who earn high salaries and bonuses.

Fat cats came in for visceral press criticism soon after the government privatisations of the 1980s when managers who had previously been paid £40,000 per year by state-owned enterprises found themselves in charge of private sector companies and immediately awarded themselves massive increases and stock options to boot.

The end of year dividend. In the UK, companies normally pay dividends twice per year, an interim and a final dividend, the latter normally being the larger of the two.

The final dividend is announced by the company directors at its annual general meeting. Shareholders have the option of voting to accept the dividend or to reduce it, but they cannot increase it.

The results reported by a company for a full financial year.

Results are usually reported within three months of the financial year end. Sometimes final results are referred to as 'preliminary' results on the grounds that the full detail has yet to be published in the company's annual report and accounts.

A professional person qualified to give advice to clients regarding investments such as life insurance, pensions, mutual funds/unit trusts and taxation etc.

A financial adviser may charge a fee and/or receive a commission on a product recommended. In the UK a financial adviser is either independent - an independent financial adviser (IFA) - or a company representative (tied agent).

An IFA is free to recommend products from a number of companies and his selection will be based on which company and product best suits the needs of the client. A company representative is authorised to recommend only the products of the company he represents, so his advice is inevitably and quite properly limited.

• the protection of consumers of financial services
• the promotion of clean and orderly markets
• the maintenance of confidence in the financial services system

It is a criminal offence to conduct investment business without authorisation, and the FSA is empowered to prosecute those who break this rule. A Central Register is held which lists firms with authorisation.

• Building Societies Investor Protection Scheme
• Deposit Protection Scheme
• Friendly Societies Protection Scheme
• Investors Compensation Scheme
• PIA Indemnity Scheme
• Policyholders Protection Board

http://www.fscs.org.uk

Every company has an 'accounting reference date'. This is a date which it chooses itself, and which determines its financial year. It must produce accounts showing how it has performed during the year, and file them with Companies House. The format of the accounts depends on whether it is a private company or a public listed company.

Note that a company's financial year has little to do with either the calendar year (1st Jan to 31st Dec) or the tax year (6th April to 5th April).

The first closing date is one of the milestones in the process by which one company takes over another.

Takeover bids involving companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange are governed by a code laid down by the City's Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. One of the most important functions of the code is to set a timetable for the bid which the parties have to stick to.

Once a bid has been launched, the bidding company has 28 days to send its offer document to the target company, and then the offer has to be left open for a minimum of 21 days. That point is the first closing date.

When a company decides to list its shares on a stock market it has to go through an elaborate process before its shares become quoted. The final act of listing is known as a flotation.

• The company publishes a prospectus describing its business, who its directors are, what its financial position is, and what profits it thinks it is going to make. The information it includes has to conform to strict guidelines so that potential investors are not misled.
• The prospectus announces the issue of new shares, sets an offer price for the shares, and invites subscriptions. In some cases, a company won't actually set a price for its shares, but will have an 'offer by tender' - effectively an auction in which investors bid for shares.

In a flotation a company raises money by issuing new shares in what is known as the 'primary market'. Once the shares are listed, further trading in them occurs in the 'secondary market' - secondary in the sense that it is a second stage market between investors that doesn't involve the company itself.

An employee's pension scheme which is additional to but independent from his occupational pension scheme.

The maximum amount which may currently be contributed to an employee's pension fund is 15% of salary (which includes benefits in kind) including his company scheme. For example if an employee is contributing 10% of his salary to a company scheme, a further 5% can be paid by that employee in each tax year into FSAVCs or AVCs. However, the employer and employee contributions when combined must not produce benefits in excess of Inland Revenue maximums.

An index of the share prices of 30 leading companies in the UK selected to depict British Industry.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

• Mineral extraction
• General industrial
• Consumer goods
• Services
• Utilities
• Financials
• Investment trusts

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

An index of the share prices of the 100 largest companies (by market capitalisation) in the UK which is updated throughout the trading day in real time. The index was started in 1984 with a base of 1,000. See also FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

• Mineral extraction
• General industrial
• Consumer goods
• Services
• Utilities
• Financials
• Investment trusts

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

A combined index of the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250. See also FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

• Mineral extraction
• General industrial
• Consumer goods
• Services
• Utilities
• Financials
• Investment trusts

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

The index of the share prices of the companies listed on the London Stock Exchange which are too small to qualify for the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

The index of the share prices of over 800 leading companies and investment trusts on the London Stock Exchange.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

• Mineral extraction
• General industrial
• Consumer goods
• Services
• Utilities
• Financials
• Investment trusts

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

An index of the share prices of the 250 largest companies (by market capitalisation) immediately following the largest 100 (FTSE 100). See also FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

• Mineral extraction
• General industrial
• Consumer goods
• Services
• Utilities
• Financials
• Investment trusts

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

The index of the share prices of the companies which are listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index but which are not large enough to appear in the FTSE 350 Index. See also FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

Stock Exchange indices are designed to give investors an idea of the general movement of the stock markets and its overall value. By comparing the performance of their own portfolios with the performance of one of the Stock Exchange indices, investors can see how well they have done from a comparative point of view. In particular they can see whether they would have been better off putting their money in an index tracker fund.

The main sub-indices of the FTSE Actuaries All-Share are:

• FTSE 100: the 100 largest quoted companies in the UK
• FTSE MID 250: the next largest 250 companies
• FTSE A 350: combination of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
• FTSE Smallcap: the remaining companies listed in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share index
• FTSE A Fledgling: companies too small to qualify for the FTSE All-Share
• FTSE AIM: companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market
• TechMark: index of companies primarily involved in technology

The companies in the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index are also divided into 7 main industrial groupings:

These categories are divided further into 37 subcategories.

A City professional whose job is to decide how fund money is invested.

Fund managers work for investment trusts, unit trusts and pension funds, and have considerable influence in the financial markets because of the weight of money behind them. If they decide to move funds out of a sector, or out of a company in a sector, their decision can affect the price of shares in a way that the decisions of private investors rarely do (except for the smallest stocks).

Deciding which assets (shares, bonds, gilts, cash) the fund should allocate its money to is known as asset allocation.

Some fund managers run active funds which aim to beat the market index by picking the best performing shares. Others run passive funds, which aim to match the performance of an index by tracking it. The management fees charged by active funds are higher than for passive funds because the fund manager has to do more work.

The monetary value of a fund, calculated by adding up the value of its underlying assets.

The price of units in a unit trust, for instance, is worked out from the value of all its holdings in other quoted companies, adding them together, and dividing the sum by the number of units issued.

An approach to investment that focuses on analysis of a company's financial and business strengths, and how its performance has been converted into share price movements in the past.

So fundamental analysis is primarily concerned with:

• turnover
• competitive advantage
• management
• profitability
• assets
• cash flow
• earnings
• relative strength of the share price

On the basis of these, analysts forecast:

1. the future growth rate of a company's earnings
2. how long the expected growth rate will last

With those figures, the analysts predict the stream of future dividends from the company, discount them backwards to get their current value, and arrive at a figure for what the shares are currently worth.

Critics of this sort of analysis argue that the figures are highly conjectural given that no-one knows how quickly a company will grow, nor how long it will carry on growing.

Fundamental analysis is often contrasted with technical analysis which focuses less on the business per se than on pure share price movements and how they are influenced by market sentiment. As far as technical analysts are concerned, the value of a share has less to do with a mathematical computation of future earnings than it does with the mood of the market and 'what people will pay'.