Scrip Issue - The issue of new share certificates
to existing shareholders to reflect an accumulation of
profits on a company's balance sheet.
Securities - The general name for stocks and shares.
SERPS - State Earnings Related Pension Scheme -
A state pension in addition to the basic state pension
based on earnings, to be renamed State Second Pension
(S2P).
Shares - A stake in a company which entitles you
to vote at annual meetings and benefit from the company's
profits in the form of a dividend.
Small Caps - Another name for small companies.
SOFA - The Society of Financial Advisers, the professional
and educational body for financial advisers. It awards
qualifications for progressive levels of examination achievement.
SSAS - Small Self Administered Scheme - Small Self
Administered Scheme, an occupational scheme where the
members are trustees and are directly responsible for
administering the fund and paying out the benefits. Some
funds are invested in assets other than insurance premiums.
Stakeholder pension - New low cost pension schemes
introduced by the government in 2001 to encourage people
to make provision for their financial future. They are
aimed at those who may not have been able to afford a
personal pension and were not eligible for an occupational
or group scheme.
Stock market - The marketplace for the sale and
purchase of shares, government bonds and other securities.
Switching - Moving an investment out of one fund
and into another.
Tax Harmonisation - The process whereby the tax
rates in the countries of the European Union are being
equalised to make trade easier and ensure that no country
has a competitive advantage over another.
Term Assurance - A life assurance contract with
a fixed term and a sum assured which is paid out only
if the life assured dies within the term specified.
TESSA - Tax-exempt special savings accounts replaced
by ISAs in 1999. You can no longer invest in a new TESSA
but you can transfer your existing TESSA into an ISA.
Tied Agent - Financial advisers who have an agreement
with one particular company to recommend its products.
They can range from self employed individuals to banks
and building societies and can give you advice on your
financial circumstances but they cannot survey the whole
market for you.
Total Return - The combination of capital growth
and reinvested income at the end of any given period.
Transfer Value - The amount of money which is available
to be transferred to another pension arrangement.
Unit Linked Policy - An insurance policy in which
the benefits depend on the performance of units in a fund
invested in shares, bonds and property.
Unit Trust - An investment contract which invests
in a variety of different stocks and shares and is divided
into units which are issued to its members instead of
shares.
Variable Rate Mortgage - A mortgage product where
the amount of the monthly payment goes up or down in accordance
with variations in the interest rate, based on the Bank
of England rate.
VAT - Value Added Tax - A form of indirect taxation
levied on goods and services.
Volatility - The degree by which share prices in
a particular market or sector go up or down.
