A standard yield calculation developed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that allows for fairer comparisons of bond funds. It is based on the most recent 30-day period covered by the fund's filings with the SEC. The yield figure reflects the dividends and interest earned during the period, after the deduction of the fund's expenses.

40 Act funds are those regulated under the the Investment Company Act of 1940.

A qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan that allows employees to save a portion of their pay in a retirement plan. They defer taxes on their contributions and investment earnings until money is distributed from the plan, usually at retirement. Many employers match part of the employees’ contributions.

This is similar to a 401(k) plan, but designed for employees of nonprofit organizations, public and private schools, and others.

A retirement plan for employees of state and local government organizations, allowing one to contribute a specified portion of wages to a tax-deferred retirement account. Taxes on earned income are deferred, and both contributions and accumulated earnings are fully taxable when withdrawals are made.

The average of a mutual fund’s actual investment income for the last seven days, expressed as an annualized percentage. It is calculated daily according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standard formula for money market mutual funds. This allows for fair comparison among funds, as well as comparison to the interest rate banks quote for their money market deposit accounts and CDs. Keep in mind, though, that money funds are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government — there is no assurance that any fund will maintain a $1.00 share value. Bank products, by contrast, may offer fixed or variable rates and principal may be insured. Money fund yields fluctuate.

Abenomics is a growth-oriented economic policy conducted by the Japanese government under Shinzō Abe.

The aim of an accommodative monetary policy is to support the economy by means of monetary expansion.

Income or expenses included in financial statements for a given accounting period for items that actually occur in a future period.

The trading of securities to take advantage of market opportunities as they occur, in contrast to an indexing strategy.

Active Share measures the percentage of stock holdings in a manager's portfolio that differ from the benchmark index. Active Share is calculated by taking the sum of the absolute value of the differences of the weight of each holding in a portfolio versus the weight of each holding in the benchmark index and dividing by two.

Activism is obtaining a major stake in a company with the aim of making major changes (such as taking it private).

AGI is in general income from all sources before deductions. It is the final number referenced at the bottom of page one of the IRS Form 1040.

The term advanced economies is used by the International Monetary Fund to describe developed countries.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often shortened to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and nicknamed Obamacare, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.

Agency Bonds are bonds issued by a government agency.

A type of security that seeks to maximize returns, often by investing in stocks of smaller companies with strong growth potential.

Airbnb is a firm enabling individuals to let and rent accomodation.

Strategien, die darauf abzielen, in einzelne Aktien und/oder Aktienindizes zu investieren, ohne unter dem Strich ein Risiko bei Schwankungen des Aktienmarkts insgesamt einzugehen

The Alerian MLP Index is the leading gauge of energy Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs).

An algorithm-based investment strategy selects securities based on quantitative analysis. The fund's management builds computer-based models to determine whether an investment is attractive.

The Alliance 90/The Greens, also referred to as the "Greens", is a environmentalist political party in Germany that is considered center-left in the German political landscape.

Alpha refers to returns in excess of a benchmark's return.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a nationally-conservative and right-wing political party in Germany.

Alternative investments is a general term for asset types that do not fit into the traditional asset classes of stocks and bonds. These might include foreign exchange, commodity and real-estate investments.

Alternative-credit strategies are typically focused on sub-investment grade and less liquid types of fixed income.

A negotiable receipt for the shares of a foreign-based corporation held in the vault of a U.S. bank. The ADR holder is entitled to all dividends and capital gains on the shares. Instead of buying shares of foreign-based companies directly in overseas markets, Americans can buy shares in the United States in the form of an ADR.

Amortization is an accounting term which refers to the periodical reduction of the book value of intangible assets (such as patents) or bank loans.

The annual yield compression is how much on average the yield (such as the global risk free rate) falls. If, for example the 10 year falls .30% one year and .70% the next, the annual yield compression would be .5%.

Liabilities that a company must service first in the event of a business closure

In relation to currencies, appreciation refers to a gain of value against another currency over time.

Aquifers are underground layers of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials such as gravel, from which water can be extracted using a well.

Arbitrage is the practice of exploiting a price differential between two (or more) markets.

Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty governs the withdrawal of a member state from the European Union.

The ASEAN-5 countries are the five largest economies in Southeast Asia - namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.

Companies incorporated in China and traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. Shares can only be purchased by Chinese nationals.

Asia Pacific (APAC) is a term used to describe the economic region Asia-Pacific.

An annuity is an investment contract between you and an insurance company. An annuity has two distinct phases. The first phase (accumulation phase) is when your investment is building on a tax-deferred basis. The second phase (payout phase) is when periodic payments are being sent back to you. During the accumulation phase the investment may be in a fixed or variable annuity. Fixed annuities guarantee a particular rate of interest for a certain time period, after which the rate is reset. Variable annuities, on the other hand, permit you to allocate your money among a group of investment options with different investment objectives. As the name implies, your investments accumulate on a variable basis depending on the results of the underlying securities. Variable annuity investment options often include domestic growth stocks, international growth stocks, domestic bonds, a combination of stocks and bonds, and money market instruments. When you are ready to withdraw your assets, you may select from a variety of payout options. For example, you may elect to receive income for a certain period, income paid to you for the rest of your life or income paid over your life and your spouse’s life.

The Asian crisis affected much of East Asia during 1997-1998, with currency devaluations following falling stock markets and rising foreign debt burdens.

Bonds which tracks the performance of US dollar denominated below investment grade rated corporate debt publically issued in the US domestic market

The price at which shares of a mutual fund can be purchased. It is the current net asset value (NAV) per share plus any sales charge. The ask price is also known as the offering price.

Asset allocation is the division of investments into individual asset classes (e.g. stocks and bonds).

Debt instrument collateralized by credit card receivables, auto loans or their assets, and securitized by a bank or financial institution.

Different types of investments. Stocks, bonds, and money market instruments are broad asset classes that can be further divided into smaller groups, such as common or preferred stock or mortgage, municipal, or government bonds.

The asset purchase programme (APP) refers to purchases of marketable debt instruments by the ECB.

Asset quality review (AQR) is conducted by the ECB in order to ensure the healthiness of banks' balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet.

Asset turnover ratio is the ratio of the value of a company's sales or revenues generated relative to the value of its assets. The Asset Turnover ratio can often be used as an indicator of the efficiency with which a company is deploying its assets in generating revenue.

Asset-backed securities (ABS) are securities whose income payments, and thus value, is derived from and collateralized (or "backed") by a specified pool of underlying assets.

Anything having commercial or exchange value that is owned by a business, government, institution, or individual. This can include stocks, bonds, real estate, equipment, a brand name, or the value of a company as an operating business, sometimes known as goodwill

The Association of German Banks is an association of private banks in Germany representing the joint interests of around 210 private commercial banks and 11 member associations.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia.

A legal document that gives one individual limited or broad authority to act on behalf of another individual who can’t act due to illness, disability or unavailability.

A set of techniques that analysts use to explain why a portfolio's performance differed from the benchmark.

AUD/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the Australian dollar and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

Wert der Differenz zwischen Aus- und Einfuhren in Form von Waren und Dienstleistungen

Authorized participants (APs) are one of the major parties at the center of the ETF creation/redemption mechanism, and as such, they play a critical role in ETF liquidity. In essence, APs are ETF liquidity providers that have the exclusive right to change the supply of ETF shares on the market.

The amount of shares that change hands on an average day.

The average annual compound rate of return of an investment for a specified period.

Baby boomers are people born approximately between the years 1946 and 1964, i.e. during the baby boom after World War II.

Backwardation describes the shape of a futures or forward curve where the price of a contract is trading below the expected spot price.

A bail in refers to a rescue of a financial institution that requires creditors and depositors to take a partial loss on their holdings.

A bail out refers to a rescue of a failing institution through the offer of funds.

Bakken is one of the most active oil fields in the United States.

Economic concept that explains certain economic relationships with the help of balances (as opposed to the use of models based on assumptions)

The balance of payments records all economics transactions of a country with the rest of the world.

A balance sheet summarizes a company's assets, liabilities and shareholder equity.

A balance-of-payments crisis is often caused by an excessively strong outbound capital flow pulled out by foreign investors.

The Banca d'Italia is the central bank of Italy.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is the international organization of central banks.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Corporate Index tracks the performance of investment grade corporate debt securities issued in the U.S. domestic market with at least one year remaining to final maturity.

The Bank of England (BoE) is the central bank of the United Kingdom.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is the central bank of Japan.

The planned banking union in the Eurozone would hold the central responsibility for financial-markets oversight, securing of deposits and liquidation of financial institutions.

In finance, a barbell strategy means avoiding assets with an average risk-reward profile. A common example of this would be to invest in long- and short-duration bonds but not in intermediate-duration bonds.

The Barclays Euro Aggregate Corporate Total Return Index is a bond index containing euro-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds with a maturity of one or more years only.

The Barclays Euro High Yield Index captures the performance of Euro high-yield debt securities.

The Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index contains investment-grade bonds from 24 different local currency markets.

The Barclays High Yield Index captures the performance of high-yield debt securities.

The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index tracks the performance of U.S. investment-grade bonds.

The Barclays U.S. Convertibles Index tracks the performance of U.S. convertible bonds.

The Barclays U.S. High Yield Index captures the performance of U.S. high-yield debt securities.

A barrel (bbl) is the commonly used unit to measure crude oil. One barrel is about 159 liters.

Barrels per day (b/d) is a measure of oil output, represented by the number of barrels of oil produced in a single day.

Barriers to entry are factors that hinder entry to a market (e.g. capital needs, regulation, patents).

The Basel Committee on Banking Surpervision‘s revised international standards, called Basel III, on capital adequacy, as adopted at the G20 summit in November 2010.

One basis point equals 1/100 of a percentage point.

A unit that is equal to 1/100th of 1%.

Technically, a bear market refers to a situation where the index's value falls at least 20% from a recent high.

Behavioral biases refer to irrational or flawed mental habits (such as extrapolating from the most recent observations), which can often hurt investment performance.

Behavioral finance is a sub-field of economic science, which studies the effects of psychological, social, cognitive and emotional factors on financial decisions, as well as the consequences for financial markets.

Bonds rated below “Baa” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., or below “BBB” by Standard & Poor’s Corporation. This includes bonds rated as low as “D.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

A benchmark is an index or other value against which an investment‘s performance is measured.

The Benelux Union is the politico-economic union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The name is an acronym of the starting letters of those countries and is also often used when generally referring to them.

Beta is a measure of volatility that captures a security's systematic risk according to the capital asset pricing model.

The price at which shares of a mutual fund are redeemed or sold. It is the current net asset value (NAV) per share.

The bid-ask spread is essentially the difference between the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay for an asset and the lowest price that a seller is willing to accept to sell 

For purposes of calculating cost basis, Deutsche mutual fund accounts that contain shares purchased prior to and after January 1, 2012 (the effective date of the new reporting regulations) will be calculated separately. For mutual fund shares purchased after January 1, 2012 (covered shares), shareholders will have the option to use either the default cost basis calculation method designated by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management or elect their own preferred cost calculation method. For mutual fund shares purchased prior to January 1, 2012 (noncovered shares), cost basis will only be calculated for the shares where the information is available to calculate the cost basis and it will be calculated using the average cost calculation method (the calculation method historically used for these shares). When there are both covered and noncovered shares in an account, the noncovered shares will be redeemed first. When a 'specific lot' cost calculation method is elected, shares will be redeemed based on the 'specific lot' designated on the 'covered' shares after all noncovered shares have been redeemed

Bifurcation literally means the point at which something splits in two (such as one segment of the market trading sharply lower, while the rest remains relatively stable).

Big data is a term for extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.

Rückgang der Wirtschaftsleistung einer Volkswirtschaft, die durch eine zu hohe Verschuldung der Wirtschaftssubjekte ausgelöst wird

Bitcoin is the pioneer amongst the cryptocurrencies.

Black Monday refers to the stock market crash on October 19, 1987.

Black swan is a term for an unexpected, highly improbable event with far-reaching economic consequences.

A blind-pool limited partnership is one without any stated investment goals, leaving these to the discretion of the general partners.

Bloomberg Aluminum Subindex (BCOMAL) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Aluminum.

The Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate EM - Asia USD is a hard-currency emerging-markets debt benchmark that depicts USD-denominated debt from Asia.

The Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate EM - EMEA USD is a hard-currency emerging-markets debt benchmark that depicts USD-denominated debt from EMEA.

The Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate EM - LATAM USD is a hard-currency emerging-markets debt benchmark that depicts USD-denominated debt from LATAM.

Bloomberg Barclays Corporate High Yield Index tracks the performance of fixed-rate non-investment-grade debt.

The Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Sovereign USD Index measures the performance of USD-denominated government bonds from more than 60 emerging markets.

The Bloomberg Barclays Euro Aggregate Corporate Index captures the performance of euro-denominated corporate bonds issued by investment-grade-rated entities. Only bonds with a maturity between five and up to seven years.

The Bloomberg Barclays Euro High Yield Index captures the performance of Euro high-yield debt securities.

The Bloomberg Barclays Global Agg Neg Yielding Debt Market Value Index calculates on a daily basis the value of all outstanding bonds worldwide with a negative yield.

Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Corporate ex USD Total Return index tracks the performance of the global investment-grade fixed-income market.

This is a leading index used to measure performance of regular-grade, U.S. bond funds, as well as their international counterparts

The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index (USD hedged) is a flagship measure of global investment grade debt from twenty-four different local currency markets. This multi-currency benchmark includes fixed-rate treasury, government-related, corporate and securitized bonds from both developed and emerging markets issuers, preserving bond exposure but minimizing currency exposure with a currency-hedge.

The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Treasury ex USD Issuer Diversified Bond Index (USD hedged) is a diversified version of the flagship Global Treasury Index that does not have any exposure to US debt. This multi-currency benchmark includes investment grade, fixed-rate bonds issued by governments in their native currencies, preserving bond exposure but minimizing currency exposure with a currency-hedge.

The Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Energy USD Index measures the option-adjusted spread to U.S. Treasuries of high-yield U.S. energy companies

The Bloomberg Barclays Pan-European High Yield (Euro) Index measures the return of non-investment grade corporate bonds issued in a European currencies.

The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Credit Index measures the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate, taxable corporate and government-related bond markets.

The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index tracks the performance of the broad U.S. investment-grade, fixed-rate bond market, including both government and corporate bonds.

The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate 5-7 Years Index captures the performance of USD-denominated corporate bonds issued by investment-grade-rated entities. Only bonds with a maturity between five and up to seven years.

The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index measures the dollar-denominated, high yield, fixed-rate corporate bond market.

The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Index tracks the performance of the investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable, corporate bond market.

The Bloomberg Barclays US High Yield Oil Field Services index tracks the performance of dollar-denominated below investment grade corporate debt from oil field services companies publicly issued in the US domestic market.

This is a leading index widely used to measure performance of regular-grade, U.S. bond funds. Bloomberg Barclays is a leading global investment bank

An unmanaged market value-weighted measure of treasury issues, agency issues, corporate bond issues and mortgage securities.

Bloomberg Brent Crude Subindex (BCOMCO) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Brent Crude.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) traces 23 commodities and reflects commodity futures price movements.

Bloomberg Copper Subindex (BCOMHG) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Copper.

Bloomberg Corn Subindex (BCOMCN) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Corn.

Bloomberg Cotton Subindex (BCOMCT) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Cotton.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index measures the value of the U.S. dollar against 10 global currencies, both developed market and emerging market.

Bloomberg Gold Subindex (BCOMGC) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Gold.

The Bloomberg Industries Mid Cap US Retailers Valuation Peers Index is a rule-based and equal-weighted equity index tracking the price development of mid-size companies of the U.S. retail industry.

The Bloomberg Industries US Food Retailers Competitive Index is an equally-weighted equity index reflecting the price development of seven companies operating in the U.S. food-retail industry.

The Bloomberg JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index tracks the performance of emerging Asia‘s most actively traded currency pairs valued against the U.S. dollar.

Bloomberg Live Cattle Subindex (BCOMLC) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Live Cattle.

Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex (BCOMNG) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Natural Gas.

Bloomberg Silver Subindex (BCOMSI) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Silver.

Bloomberg Soybeans Subindex (BCOMSY) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Soybeans.

Bloomberg Sugar Subindex (BCOMSB) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Sugar.

This benchmark measures the dollar denominated high yield, fixed-rate corporate bond market.

Bloomberg Wheat Subindex (BCOMWH) is a commodity group subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Wheat.

The Bloomberg World Coal Index is a capitalisation-weighted index that captures the performance of 31 leading coal stocks globally.

The Bloomberg World Index is a capitalization-weighted index of all equities included in the Bloomberg World Index Series. Equities in the series were in the top 85% market capitalization of their respective Bloomberg classification sector.

Bloomberg WTI Crude Oil Subindex (BCOMCL) is a subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on WTI crude oil.

Bloomberg Zinc Subindex (BCOMZS) is a subindex of the Bloomberg CI (BCOM) composed of futures contracts on Zinc.

It tracks the performance of U.S. investment-grade corporate debt securities, with maturities of one to three years.

It tracks the performance of domestic, taxable investment-grade bonds with average maturities of seven to 10 years.

This benchmark measures the performance of the US Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) market.

Blue-chip index is a term commonly used for an index that covers the leading companies of a country or region.

A blue-chip stock is the stock of a large, well-established and financially sound company that has operated for many years.

Bank of America (abbreviated as BofA) is a large bank holding company in the United States.

The BofA Merrill Lynch (ML) U.S. High Yield Energy Default Rate indicates how many issuers of the BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield energy sector are in default in any given month.

The BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Energy Default Rate indicates how many issuers in the ML U.S. High Yield energy sector are in default in any given month.

A debt security which represents the borrowing of money by a corporation or government. The borrowing institution repays the amount of the loan plus a percentage as interest. Income funds generally invest in bonds.

Bond bear market characteristics vary. A common characteristic is rising interest rates with the pace and magnitude of the rate increases varied. The yield curve typically peaks before the Fed finishes hiking short-term rates, though the timing of the peak varies. The performance of credit sensitive bonds also varies widely prior to and after the first rate hike ranging from the yield spread between corporate bonds and Treasury bonds being flat or declining to increasing substantially.

The classification of a bond is typically determined by the bond issuer's ability to repay a bond. Rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service analyze the financial strength of each bond's issuer. Ratings range from AAA to D based on the issuers' likelihood to miss a bond payment (default). A rating of AAA indicates that the issuer is highly unlikely to default, while a rating of D means that the issuer is already in default. Bonds are further classified into two main categories

A process to diversify bond holdings across maturities.

The place where newly issued and existing bonds are bought and sold, usually before maturity, by investors looking for income. This market can be a physical trading area, but more often the bonds are traded electronically by investors using computers and telephone communications.

Net value of a company's physical and intangible assets

Bootstrapping is a method for constructing a fixed income yield curve from the prices of a set of coupon-bearing products.

Boris Johnson is a conservative Member of Parliament. He was the Mayor of London from 2008-2016.

Bottom-up is an approach which focuses on approaching a problem through the smallest elements (e.g. individual corporate results)

An investment approach that first seeks individual companies with attractive investment potential, then proceeds to a consideration of the larger economic and industry trends affecting those companies.

Brain drain refers to the flight of a country's more educated workers abroad, usually for economic reasons.

The Brazilian real (BRL) is the official currency of Brazil.

Break out refers to when an asset price moves through an accepted support or resistance level, often triggering large outflows or inflows.

Breakeven costs are the costs which have to be covered in order to maintain the sustainability of a business. Break-even costs include fixed and variable costs and the exact definition of them can vary for different companies.

Breakeven rates provide a useful measure of average inflation expectations derived from inflation linked sovereign bonds

Brent crude is a grade of crude oil dominant in the European market.

Bretton Woods in the U.S. State of New Hampshire was the site of an international conference in 1944, which established a system of largely stable currency exchange rates between leading Western nations, an arrangment that lasted until 1973.

This system, which was developed in World War II, was a global monetary policy that kept exchange rates within a tight band to the value of gold. It collapsed in the early 1970’s and led to a free-floating currency system whereby money was not backed by any commodity (fiat).

BRIC is the abbreviation for the four large emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Brinson attribution refers to performance attribution based on active weights.

The British pound (GBP), or simply the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom and its territories.

BRL/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the Brazilian real and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

The Brookings Institution is one of Washington's oldest think tanks, which conduct research on social sciences, economics, governance and foreign policy.

a direct investment in which an existing production facility is acquired in order to convert it into a new production facility

Summe aller Anlageinvestitionen (Ausrüstungsinvestitionen, Bauinvestitionen, sonstige Anlagen) und Vorratsinvestitione

The BSE Sensex, Sensex for short, is a market-capitalization-weighted index of India's 30 most important listed companies.

A bubble is characterized by prices surging higher than warranted by fundamentals, followed by a drastic drop in prices as a massive sell-off occurs.

A budget deficit is created whenever the spending in a public budget exceeds the income within a given time period

Budget limits are determined by annual budgets or “stop gap” temporary legislation; there is also a limit on the amount of debt that can be issued by the U.S. Treasury, legislated by Congress.

A bull market is a financial market where prices are rising - usually used in the context of equities markets.

The Bundesbank is the central bank of Germany.

Bureau of Economic Analysis is a U.S. government agency which produces economic statistics that enable government and business decision makers to follow and understand the performance of the nation's economy.

US-Behörde, die Statistiken über die wirtschaftliche Gesamtentwicklung erstellt

The business cycle is the oscillating movement of gross domestic product around its long-term trend during expansions and contractions

Buy and hold is an investment strategy where an investor buys stocks and holds them for a long time.

A buyout is a purchase of shares in order to gain controlling interest in another company.

The German Federal Constitutional Court (German: Bundesverfassungsgericht - BVG) is the supreme constitutional court in Germany.

The CAC 40 is a French stock-market index, representing the 40 most significant values among the 100 companies with the highest market cap on the Euronext Paris.

An instrument that gives the purchaser the right to buy a specific asset, such as a security or currency, at a specified price by a fixed date. These are bought by investors who expect the price of an asset to rise, and sold by investors who expect the price to fall or remain unchanged.

Call structure is the feature that allows an issuer to redeem a bond prior to maturity.

A bond that is redeemable by the issuer before scheduled maturity. Bonds are often called when interest rates fall and the issuer can save money by floating new bonds at lower rates.

Bonds represented by ICE Bank of America Merrill Lynch Canada High Yield Canadian Issuers Index a benchmark of Canadian dollar-denominated sub-investment grade corporate debt publically issued in the Canadian domestic market.

Capacity utilization refers to the share of an economy's productive capacity that is in use.

The part of the balance of payments in the national accounts that records changes in a country's external assets and liabilities

Capital allocation line (CAL) is a graph created by investors to measure the risk of risky and risk-free assets. The graph displays the return to be made by taking on a certain level of risk.

Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) describes the relationship between risk and expected return and is used in the pricing of risky securities.

Measures return from capital, including reinvestment of any capital gains distributions, but do not include the reinvestment of income dividends.

Capital controls are residency - based measures such as transaction taxes, other limits, or outright prohibitions that a nation's government can use to regulate flows from capital markets into and out of the country's capital account.

Capital expenditure (Capex) are funds used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as property, industrial buildings or equipment.

Capital flight describes measures taken by citizens and corporations to get their money out of the country, fearing, for example, currency devaluation or confiscation.

Difference between cost basis of the asset and the current market value of the asset when it is sold or disposed.
Gain or loss = Current market value of assets - (Original value of asset + Fees + Commissions + Corporate Actions + Other Applicable Adjustments)

The capital market line (CML) appears in the capital asset pricing model to depict the rates of return for efficient portfolios subject to the risk level (standard deviation) for a market portfolio and the risk-free rate of return.

Capital-market risks refer to any risk factors that can have a material impact on the valuations of financial assets and impact real economic activity.

Inefficient allocation of investment capital due to market distortions or disruptions

Capital requirements of banks mandate the minimum amount of capital banks have to hold as a percentage of outstanding loans.

The change in the market price plus gain distributions, usually shown as a percentage.

The capital stock is the inventory of equipment, buildings and other investments in an economy.

The capitalization rate is the rate of return on a real-estate investment based on the expected income the property will generate.

Capital-structure arbitrage tries to exploit opportunities arising from the different risk and maturity profile of different companies' credit structure.

Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is the place where the U.S. Congress meets; it also colloquially used to refer to both chambers of Congress.

The carry (of an asset) is the cost or benefit from holding the asset.

Carry trade is a strategy in which an investor sells a certain currency with a relatively low interest rate and then buys another, higher-yielding currency.

A cartel is a group of market participants that collude with each other to increase profits.

A company's cash flow is comprised of its inflows and outflows which arise from financing, operational or investing activities.

This metric compares a company’s cash inflows and outflows to its market capitalization level.

For presidential elections in the United States, some states hold caucuses in which the local party members in a convention/ townhall meeting gather around their candidates in a multi-step voting process in order to determine their favorite.

CB is the abbreviation for central bank.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a nonpartisan agency which is responsible for conducting objective, impartial analysis of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process.

The CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index measures the performance of a hypothetical portfolio that sells S&P 500 Index put options on a weekly basis against collateralized cash reserves held in a money market account.

The CBOE Volatility Index (Vix) is a trademarked ticker symbol for the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index. It is a popular measure of the volatility of the S&P 500 as implied in the short term option prices on the index.

The CBOE VVIX Index (Vvix) measures the volatility of the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which by itself is a popular measure of the volatility of the S&P 500 as implied in the short-term option prices on the index.

The CBOE/CME FX British Pound Volatility Index measures the market's expectation of 30-day currency-related volatility for the British pound.

A certificate of deposit (CD) is an instrument offered by banks that offers a pre-specified rate of interest in exchange for the purchaser agreeing to deposit, and not touch, a lump-sum for a pre-specified period of time.

This metric compares a company’s cash inflows and outflows to its market capitalization level.

CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) is the trade agreement between the European Union and Canada.

Chapter 11 is the informal description of the restructuring process in an insolvency in the United States.

A charge-off is a debt that is deemed unlikely to be collected by the creditor, since the borrower has become increasingly delinquent.

Checks and balances in the U.S. political system primarily result from separation of power between three branches of the federal government: legislative, executive and judicial.

CHF/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the Swiss Franc and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX) measures the market's expectation of crude oil price volatility over the next 30 days.

With China‘s five-year plan the Chinese Communist Party sets out growth and other economic and social targets, helping define government policy priorities.

The ChiNext Index comprises the 100 largest and most liquid A-share stocks listed and trading on the ChiNext Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to eligible children, through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs. CHIP is administered by states, according to federal requirements and is funded jointly by states and the federal government.

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Germany that is considered center/center-right in the German political landscape. The CDU is the sister party of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), which operates only in the state of Bavaria.

The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany that only operates in Bavaria and that is considered center-right in the German political landscape. The CSU is the sister party of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), which operates in the rest of Germany.

A circuit breaker is intended to allow investors to determine whether a situation is really as bad as it looks. The idea is to prevent panic selling by stopping trading after a security or an index has fallen by a certain amount.

The Citi Economic Surprise Index (CESI) tracks for various locales how actual economic data compares to consensus forecasts.

Founded in 2006 in Barcelona, but now in the whole of Spain politically active liberal-middle/right-wing party. Has also characteristics of a middle/left-wing party.

Clientelism refers to the use of economic incentives by politicians to influence parts of their electorate.

Funds with a fixed number of shares/units, traded through stock exchanges

A mutual fund that issues only a certain number of shares. Shares of closed-end funds are traded on one of the major stock exchanges. Trades can be executed only when a seller is matched up with a buyer.

Cloud computing encompasses technologies and services that offer the dynamic and flexible use of a third party's IT infrastructure.

Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA) is Asia's leading brokerage and investment group.

Beteiligung an einer Finanzierung eines Unternehmens mit einem Minderheitsanteil

In some transactions, collateral is used to protect the lender against the borrower's default. In case the borrower defaults on the interest or principal payment, the collateral can be used to offset the loan.

Collateralized debt obligation (CDO) is a structured financial product that pools together cash-flow-generating assets (such as mortgages and other loans) and repackages this asset pool into discrete tranches that can be sold to investors.

The Commander-in-Chief is supreme commander of the armed forces of a nation. In the United States, this power is vested with the President as the head of the executive branch of the federal government.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities are mortgage-backed security backed by commercial mortgages rather than residential real estate.

Commercial paper (CP) is issued by corporations and represents short-term unsecured promissory notes with a maturity of 270 days or less.

A commodity trading advisor (CTA) is an individual or organization providing advice and services related to trading in futures contracts, commodity options and/or swaps.

The most basic type of ownership of a corporation, represented by shares that are a claim on the company’s assets and earnings. “Common stock” entitles investors the right to vote on the election of directors and other issues, either at shareholders meetings or by proxy. “Preferred stock” usually does not grant voting rights, but preferred shareholders have a prior claim on assets and earnings, that is, dividends must be paid on preferred stock before being paid on common stock.

Offizielle englische Bezeichnung des Freistaates Puerto Rico

Similar to the annual percentage yield calculated by banks, the compound yield is determined by taking a mutual fund’s seven-day yield and calculating the effect of reinvesting dividends.

The Comprehensive Capital Analysis & Review (CCAR) is United States regulatory framework by the Federal Reserve to assess, regulate and supervise large banks.

Portfolio concentration measures single stock exposures of a portfolio. There are different metrics to measure concentration. A few examples are: (1) Concentration ratios, calculated as aggregate weight of a given number (3, 5, 10, etc.) of stocks in the portfolio; (2) Acar-Bhatnagar concentration index is a measure of market concentration. It has two alternative approaches: (i) A calibrated summation of the absolute departures from the uniform distribution case (A1); and (ii) A summation of the absolute differences among segment shares Pi and Pj (A2). (3) The Herfindhal-Hirschman Index (HHI) is a measure of market concentration by summing up the square of each stock's weight in a portfolio. The HHI index is always below 1 and a number close to 1 indicates high concentration.

The CONF curve shows the yields of several maturities of Swiss government-bond futures.

The Conference Board CEO Business Confidence Index measures the degree of optimism on the state of the U.S. economy among corporate CEOS. It is published by the business association called The Conference Board.

The Conference Board U.S. Leading Index is a leading indicator that provides a possible outlook for the future development of the U.S. economy.

A consensus estimate is a figure that depicts the average of different analysts' estimates about the performance of a particular asset.

Mathematical average of estimates from various analysts

Expresses the average of a range of forecasts from different analysts or brokers on a given data point.

The Conservative Party, also referred to as "Tories", is a center-right political party in the United Kingdom.

The process by which any investment gains build up not only on the money originally invested, but also on gains made in previous years.

Consumer discretionary is a sector of the economy that sells non-essential goods and services.

Inflation calculation which, in contrast to producer price inflation, is based on the price increase of a hypothetical basket of goods of a private end consumer.

Ratio of personal income used for private consumption to total income

Contagion is the spreading of market disturbances from one regional market or market segment to others.

Contango describes the shape of a futures or forward curve where the contract price is higher than the expected spot price.

The Continuing Resolution (CR) is a legislative bill that provides money for specific U.S. federal government departments, agencies and programs

If a large majority of the parties acting on the financial markets have very similar assessments of the future development of a parameter (e.g. a stock exchange price or a commodity price), this can indicate a development in the opposite direction

Contrarian investing is an investment strategy that is characterized by positioning oneself in the opposite direction of prevailing sentiment.

Convergence of economic data (usually interest rates and yields) in the euro-participating countries

A convertible bond is a fixed-income debt security that yields interest payments, but can be converted into a predetermined number of equity shares. The conversion from the bond to stock can be done at certain times during the bond's life and is usually at the discretion of the bondholder.

Core inflation excludes items which can be susceptible to volatile price movements, e.g. food and energy.

The core producer price index (PPI) measures the change in the selling price of goods and services sold by producers, excluding food and energy.

Industrialized countries with a liquid government bond market

Core-Satellite Investing is a method of portfolio construction where the 'core' consists of passive investments that track major market indexes. Additional positions, known as 'satellites' are added to the portfolio in the form of actively managed investments.

A corporate bond is a bond issued by a corporation in order finance their business.

The methods by which corporations are run and controlled

The Corporate Governance Code A voluntarily adopted code addresses a number of issues including as the rights of shareholders, capital policy, cross-shareholdings, anti-takeover measures, whistle blowing, disclosure, board diversity and structure.

Corporate hybrids are securities that combine the elements of the two broader groups of securities, debt and equity.

The corporate-sector purchase programme (CSPP) is an ECB program to buy corporate bonds of issuers from the Eurozone. It aims to improve the financing conditions of corporations.

Cost basis is the original value of an asset for tax purposes, usually the purchase price, adjusted for stock splits, dividends and return of capital distributions. This value is used to determine the capital gain, which is equal to the difference between the asset's cost basis and the current market value.

Charge for carrying an asset, in this case a currency in terms of forwards or futures contracts.

Counterparties, in the broadest sense, are entities with which one has conducted a financial transaction.

The interest rate that the issuer of a bond agrees to pay to the holder of that security until maturity. For example, a bond with a 7% coupon will pay $70 per $1000 of face value every year, usually in six-month installments.

Covenants designate contractual obligations or restrictions intended to protect the financial interests of creditors.

Coverage broadly defines the degree to which an issuers earnings, cash flow and assets allow it to cover interest payments and other liabilities.

A tax-deferred account that families can use to fund educational expenses for children age 18 or younger. Contributions are limited to $2000 per year for each child who is beneficiary for the Coverdell education savings account.

Mutual fund shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012 that are subject to cost basis and gain/loss reporting to the shareholder and to the IRS.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the United States measures inflation levels experienced by the U.S. urban population

The credit cycle is the expansion and contraction of access to credit over time and is usually connected to the business cycle.

Represents the existing default risk of receivables from a borrower

The credit market is the market for corporate bonds

Credit metrics are various measures of credit risk within a portfolio context.

The Credit quality represents the credit worthiness of corporate or government bond.

The risk that principal or interest may not be paid to the investor when due.

Credit spread refers to the excess yield various bond sectors offer over financial instruments with similar maturities. When spreads widen, yield differences are increasing between bonds in the two sectors being compared. When spreads narrow, the opposite is true.

Credit strategies aim at generating additional returns through the careful screening and selection of particular fixed-income products.

Central banks' policies are transmitted via commercial banks to the broad economy through the credit transmission mechanism.

Credit-risk metrics are measures used to assess the credit risk of individual assets, sectors or markets.

In economics, crowding in is a situation in which private investment increases as debt-financed government spending increases. This is caused by government spending boosting the demand for goods, which in turn increases private demand for new output sources, such as factories.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX) measures the market's expectation of 30-day volatility of crude oil prices by applying the VIX methodology to United States Oil Fund, LP (Ticker – USO) options spanning a wide range of strike prices.

The CSI 300 Index includes the 300 largest companies of the Chinese mainland, that is companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (so called A-shares).

The CSI 300 USD Hedged Index tracks the performance of 300 stocks traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) and the U.S. dollar.

The CSI 500 Index is composed of the 500 smallest and most-liquid stocks in the China A-share market, which trade on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

A benefit that allows you to use the aggregate value of all your Deutsche fund accounts to achieve a reduced sales charge on future share purchases. For example, if you buy 100 Class A shares of Deutsche Science and Technology Fund, the maximum sales charge would be 5.75 percent. However, if you already own shares in other Deutsche funds and their combined value is between $50,000 and $100,000, the sales charge on the new purchase would be reduced to 4.5 percent. A complete schedule of applicable sales charges can be found in your prospectus.

The total change in price plus any income (or other distributions) of an investment from one point in time to another.

A currency basket is a weighted collection of select foreign currencies used as the basis for setting the market value of another currency.

A strategy that seeks to reduce the risk of adverse price movements that can result from currencies.

In foreign exchange the currency pair refers to two currencies whose values are being compared.

Currency peg is a country's or government's exchange-rate policy of pegging the central bank's rate of exchange to another country's currency.

Overall negative balance of trade, services, income and transfers

In total, positive balance of trade balance, services balance, acquisition and property income and transfer balance

Period from the first to the last interest rate hike by a central bank

Cyclical is something that moves with the cycle.

Consumer stocks whose demand depends heavily on the economic cycle

A security that sees key metrics fluctuate along with the business cycle or seasons.

The Dallas Fed International House Price Index Database for Germany is a price index compiled by the Dallas Fed which includes German real estate.

The Dax is a blue-chip stock-market index consisting of the 40 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The DB Currency Volatility Index (CVIX) is designed to represent investors' expectation of future volatility, and is calculated as the arithmetic average of the three-month level of implied volatility for all the major currency pairs.

Debt level is the level of debt of a country compared to its GDP.

The debt ratio is a company's total debt divided by its assets.

Debt-to-GDP ratio is the ratio of government (or sometimes private) debt to gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all goods and services produced in an economy.

Default is the failure to meet the legal obligations of a loan, for example when a corporation or government fails to pay a bond which has reached maturity. A national or sovereign default is the failure or refusal of a government to repay its national debt.

The default rate refers to the proportion of borrowers who cannot service their loans.

The traditional pension plan in which the employer provides a specific (defined) benefit to employees at retirement, usually a percentage of final salary or a fixed dollar amount.

A tax-deferred retirement plan in which the employee contributes a percentage of salary each year. The contributions remain in an account for the employee and are paid out at retirement, or when the employee leaves the company. The size of this payment depends on both the performance of the investments and the amount of the contributions.

Deflation is a sustained decrease in the general price level of goods and services.

The leader of China during much of the 1980’s, Deng is largely created with shifting the Chinese economy to a more market-oriented one.

Depletion is the decline in oil production of a well or geographic area. Over the medium term, oil-production declines occur in a predictable manner based on geological circumstances, governmental policies, and engineering practices.

A depression is a phase of the economic cycle indicating a low. A depression often follows a recession.

A derivative is a security whose price is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets. The derivative itself is merely a contract between two or more parties.

A 'Derivative' is a security whose price is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets.

The derivatives market is the financial market for derivatives.

Devaluation is the forced reduction of the value of a currency against other currencies.

A developed market (DM) is a country fully developed in terms of its economy and capital markets.

Dilma Roussef is a leading Brazilian politician of the left-wing Workers' Party and had been President of Brazil since 2011.

Direct lending to corporates does not use an intermediary such as a broker or investment bank.

A discount note is a non-interest bearing short-term debt obligation that is issued at a discount to par and whose value becomes par at maturity.

Part of monetary policy, the discount window allows eligible institutions to borrow, on a short-term basis, money from the central bank to meet temporary liquidity shortages

Discounted cash flow is a method used to gauge the value of a company by finding the present value of projected future cash flows.

Discretionary macro strategies are investment strategies that aim at exploiting macroeconomic, policy or political changes.

It refers to the slowing of the rate by which prices increase. This typically occurs during recession when sales typically decline and retailers are not always able to pass higher prices onto consumers. Disinflation almost always affects output and employment negatively. Disinflation should not be confused with "deflation" when prices actually drop.

describes a slowing of the pace of price inflation.

Disposable income is the amount of money that is available for spending after taxes and social security charges are deducted.

A distressed strategy is an investment strategy that seeks profit by investing in companies or other investment opportunities that face financial difficulties.

Payout to shareholders of dividends or realized capital gains on portfolio securities.

If the distributions are received in cash, they do not affect the cost basis. Each time a dividend and capital gain distribution is reinvested, additional shares are purchased and that can change the cost basis.

Dividend per share (DPS) is the sum of declared dividends issued by a company for every ordinary share outstanding.

The dividend yield is the dividend that a company pays out each year divided by its share price.

The US Dollar is the common currency of the United States of America and is the most held reserve currency in the world.

A system of investing a regular amount of money, usually in stocks or mutual funds, on a set schedule, perhaps every month or three months, regardless of the price of the investment at the time.

Each dot represents where an FOMC member sees the federal funds rate at the end of each year.

The dotcom bubble refers to the rapid rise and eventual collapse of equity market valuations of technology stocks from the late 1990s to 2001.

Dovish refers to the tone of language used to describe a situation and the associated implications for actions. For example, if the Federal Reserve Bank refers to inflation in a dovish tone, it is unlikely that they would take aggressive (contractionary) actions.

The Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Composite Index measures the stock performance of pure-play infrastructure companies (defined as those deriving 70% of their cash flows from infrastructure business lines) worldwide.

The Dow Jones Equal Weight U.S. Issued Corporate Bond Index is a bond index tracking the totals returns of 96 large and liquid U.S. corporate bonds with investment-grade rating.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted equity index that aims to track the development of the U.S. equity market.

The Dow Jones Technology Titans 30 Index is a global equity index reflecting the price development of the world's 30 biggest technology firms by market capitalization.

The percentage of losses captured by an investment relative to a benchmark. A measure of how risky an investment is when compared to a given standard.

The former currency of Greece

Abenomics is made up of three pillars: (1) an expansionary central bank policy, (2) a massive debt-financed stimulus program, and (3) structural reforms. Abe's Japanese government calls these pillars arrows, of which

Dry powder, in a private-equity context, refers to cash or other very liquid reserves that can easily be deployed for investment.

The DuPont Model is a method for breaking ROE down into three constituent parts – net margins, asset turnover, and leverage.

Duration is a measure expressed in years that adds and weights the time periods in which a bond returns cash to its holder. It is used to calculate a bond's sensitivity towards interest-rate changes.

Means of payment whose value decreases regularly (e.g. because a fee has to be paid for a stamp to keep your banknote valid)

Our proprietary DWS SynRatings are based on SynScores, which range from zero (worst in peer group) to 100 (best in peer group). The principal objective is to identify real ESG leaders and laggards.

The Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment Intellidex Index is comprised of stocks of 30 U.S. companies that are principally engaged in the design, production or distribution of goods or services in the leisure and entertainment industries.

The core is a central or very important part of a region. In the context of the Eurozone, core refers to countries like Germany or France.

An exploration and production (E&P) company in the upstream part of the oil and gas sector is focused on finding, extracting and selling oil or gas.

Earnings yield is the reciprocal of the Price-to-earnings ratio. It divides earnings by share price.

EBITDA (earnings, before interest expenses, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is an accounting measure calculated using a company's net earnings, before interest expenses, taxes, depreciation and amortization are subtracted.

The ECB's main refinancing operations or MROs are one-week liquidity-providing operations in euro which serve to steer short-term interest rates, to manage the liquidity situation and to signal the monetary policy stance in the euro area.

ECB's Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) is a measure whereby a national central bank of the Eurosystem grants central-bank money to a solvent financial institution that is experiencing temporary liquidity problems.

Wave-like movement in the performance of an economy

Economic lifespan describes the length of time during which an asset remains useful to an average owner.

The Economic price-to-earnings (Economic P/E) ratio is the CROCI's adjusted P/E ratio, based on economic data rather than the traditional accounting data. It can be thought of as the ratio of a company's Tobin's Q (market value of total assets over the economic replacement value of those assets) to its real cash return on the total economic assets.

Shareholders have the option to elect a cost basis calculation method 1) at the time an account is established or a redemption transaction is requested, 2) for all future transactions on current accounts 3) for future transactions on future accounts that are established. The "current" election represents the cost basis calculation method that shareholders elect for all current and future transactions on their accounts. The "current election" remains in effect until instructions are provided to revoke or change it. When making transactions on current accounts, shareholders have the option to either use their "current" cost calculation method for such transactions or elect a different cost calculation method just for that transaction. Electing a different cost calculation method just for a particular transaction does not change the "current" election for future transaction on accounts. Shareholders can also designate the cost calculation method for future accounts that are established. Such designation remains in effect until it is revoked or changed. Changes in elections must be completed either online or via completion of the form. The election cannot be revoked on an account after the first redemption

The Electoral College is the body which elects the President and the Vice President of the United States. It is composed of electors from each state equal to that state's representation in Congress.

Eligible securities / papers that the ECB is allowed to buy in its QE program.

Emerging market debt (EMD) is a term used to encompass bonds issued by less developed countries. It does not include borrowing from government, supranational organizations such as the IMF or private sources, though loans that are securitized and issued to the markets would be included.

Countries on the way to industrialization

Bonds represented by Bloomberg Barclays EM USD Aggregate HY Index a benchmark tracking high yield, or ‘junk’ bonds, from emerging markets around the globe including: the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. All securities are denominated in U.S. dollars.

Empirical validity describes how closely results under one set of circumstances corresponds with behavior as measured in other contexts.

A defined-contribution retirement plan that enables employees to buy stock in their employer’s company

The Employment Cost Index measures the growth in U.S. employee compensation in wages and benefits.

Enfant terrible is a French expression also used in English describing a person who acts unconventionally and disruptively.

EV is a way to measure a company’s value. It takes market capitalization and debt, and then subtracts total cash and cash equivalents to find the business value of an entity.

Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA) is a reference measure for the interest rate on overnight interbank loans.

This benchmark tracks the U.S. REIT Industry, spanning the entire commercial real estate sector of the American economy.

Economic equilibrium describes the balanced state of economic forces, such as supply and demand. Economic variables will therefore only change due to external forces.

The equilibrium real interest rate is the real rate of return required to keep the economy's output equal to potential output, which, in turn, is the level of output consistent with flexible prices and wages as well as constant markups in goods and labor markets.

A market in which equities (stocks) are traded. The term can be used to refer to an actual market (e.g. the New York Stock Exchange) or to general trends in equity trading. Equities are securities which certify rights of ownership of (parts of ) a company.

Strategies that aim to invest in individual stocks and/or stock indexes without taking on the net risk of fluctuations in the stock market as a whole.

A security representing the ownership interest of shareholders

The Equity tier 1 ratio relate a company's equity to its risk-weighted assets. It is an international standard measure for a bank's financial solvency.

Equity-market-neutral investing strategies aim to deliver superior returns by balancing stock picks as to avoid market-risk exposure.

A number that illustrates what you’d have to earn from a taxable mutual fund to match your tax-free fund’s yields. A tax-free fund invests in securities whose income is exempt from federal taxes. Therefore, its yield is usually lower than a taxable fund’ s yield. To compare tax-free and taxable yields fairly, an equivalent taxable yield is used. For example, someone in the 35.0 percent tax bracket would have to earn more than 5.56 percent in a taxable money market fund to surpass the 3.50 percent federally tax-exempt yield of a tax-free money fund. Please remember that tax-free income may be subject to state, local and the alternative minimum tax.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues refer to non-financial issues that may affect the sustainability of an investment.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a sort of exchange traded product (ETP) that can hold a variety of underlying assets and that can be traded on a stock market.

Exchange traded notes are unsecured debt securities that promise to pay a return equal to a stated benchmark.

An exchange-traded product (ETP) is a type of security that is derivatively priced, i.e. its value is derived from other investment instruments such as a commodity, currency, share price or interest rate, and which trades intra-day on a national securities exchange.

The Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) is the average interest rate for unsecured euro term deposits and is the key reference rate for a large number of loans, such as variable-rate mortgage loans.

The term euro crisis refers to the multi-layered crisis of the European Monetary Union starting in 2010.

The Euro Stoxx is a broad-based equity index comprising 301 constituents from the Eurozone.

The Euro Stoxx 50 is an index that tracks the performance of blue-chip stocks in the Eurozone.

The Euro STOXX Banks is an index that tracks a supersector of the relevant benchmark index Euro Stoxx. Companies are categorized according to their primary source of revenue.

The Euro Stoxx Select Dividend 30 is an index that tracks high-dividend-yielding companies across 12 Eurozone countries.

An exchange-traded product (ETP) is a type of security that is derivatively priced, i.e. its value is derived from other investment instruments such as a commodity, currency, share price or interest rate, and which trades intra-day on a national securities exchange.

A Eurogroup meeting is a meeting of the finance ministers of the Eurozone, i.e. those member states of the European Union which have adopted the euro.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is a regional designation used for government, marketing and business purposes.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is an independent EU regulatory Authority. Its overall objectives are to maintain the EU's financial stability and to safeguard the functioning of the banking sector.

The European Commission (EU Commission) is the executive body of the European Union (EU) which represents the interests of the EU.

The European Council is a council of European Union Ministers, whose membership varies according to the topic under discussion.

European Court of Justice (ECJ) the highest court in the European Union in matters of European Union law.

The European Economic Area (EEA), established in 1992, extends the European Union's single market to specific non-EU member countries.

The European Economic Community (EEC), founded in 1957, was the predecessor of the European Community (EC) and therefore the European Union: Its purpose was to promote economic and political integration within its members, for example through a common customs policy

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was a special purpose vehicle founded by the Eurozone countries to ensure financial stability within the euro area. It was created as a temporary crisis resolution mechanism and was superseded by the permanent rescue mechanism, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Are represented by the ICE Bank of America Merrill Lynch European Ccy High Yield U.S. Hedged Index a benchmark that is designed to track the performance of euro- and British pound sterling-denominated sub investment grade corporate debt issued around the world.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority (EIOPA) is a European financial regulatory institution, established in 2011.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an international organization established in September 2012 to provide financial assistance to member states of the Eurozone in financial difficulty.

The EURO STOXX 50 Index tracks the performance of blue-chip stocks in the Eurozone.

Event risk could arise through corporate events like mergers, acquisitions etc.

Event-driven investing strategies seek to exploit pricing inefficiencies that may occur before or after a corporate event, such as an earnings call, bankruptcy, merger, acquisition or spinoff.

Excess capacity relates to an economy's production factors that are not being used as supply exceeds demand

are the deposits deposited by commercial banks with the central bank that exceed the regulatory minimum reserves.

Excess reserves are the capital reserves held by a bank or financial institution in excess of what is required by regulators.

The simultaneous sale of shares in one mutual fund to purchase shares in another fund.

The exchange rate is the rate at which two currencies are traded.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a security that tracks an index or asset like an index fund, but trades like a stock on an exchange.

An exchange-traded product (ETP) is a derivatively priced security which trades during the day on a national stock exchange.

Existential risks are risks of processes or events which could affect humanity.

Exit markets describe the prevailing conditions the owners of a company face when trying to sell their participation.

Expected return is the amount of profit or loss an investor anticipates on an investment with various known or expected rates of return. It is calculated by multiplying potential outcomes by the chances of them occurring and summing the results.

The expense ratio is the annual fee that all funds or ETFs charge their shareholders. It expresses the percentage of assets deducted each fiscal year for fund expenses, including 12b-1 fees, management fees, administrative fees, operating costs, and all other asset-based costs incurred by the fund.

Value of the difference between exports and imports in the form of goods and services

External debt is total debt issued by a country held by foreign creditors.

A country's external financing position refers to its current-account position and also the possible impact of capital flows on its capital account.

Extrapolation is a forecasting method using historically observed relationships between variables.

Face value is the nominal value of a security stated by the issuer. For stocks, it is the original cost of the stock shown on the certificate, for bonds, it is the amount paid to the holder at maturity.

An investment strategy that identifies specific attributes of securities that are associated with excess returns and applies these factors to investments in a portfolio.

A fallen angel is a bond that was initially given an investment grade rating but has since been reduced to a lower stat

The Federal Reserve System or Fed, which serves as the U.S. central bank, was established in 1913, consisting of the Federal Reserve Board with seven members headquartered in Washington, D.C., and twelve Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the United States.

The federal funds rate is the interest rate, set by the Fed, at which banks lend money to each other, usually on an overnight basis.

Publicly chartered agency that buys qualifying residential mortgages from lenders, packages them into new securities backed by those pooled mortgages and provides certain guarantees and resells the securities on the open market.

Fiat money carries no intrinsic value and is not tied to any commodity.

(Federal Insurance Contribution Act) The federal law taxing employers and employees to pay Social Security benefits and the hospital portion of Medicare.

Fiduciary responsibility (or duty) refers to the responsibilities of an individual or institution legally appointed to hold assets on another's behalf.

In a financial repression, wealth is slowly transferred from savers to banks and the state, such as when central banks create an environment where interest rates are below inflation.

Fintech includes many technology startups offering traditional financial services, as well as banks offering new services by embracing modern technology.

Same as Annuity.

Fixed costs are those costs which do not change with a variation in production output.

Fixed Income broadly refers to those types of investment security that pay investors fixed interest or dividend payments until its maturity date.

A term used to describe a variety of investments that pay a fixed amount of interest until they mature, including CDs, bonds, and Treasury securities.

Flash crashes are short-lived market falls which may be due to model-based trading strategies or market manipulation.

Floater is short for floating-rate notes which are bonds with a variable coupon that is tied to a reference rate.

It is a security whose interest payment varies with short-term interest rates.

Floating-rate securities are securities whose coupon rate is tied to a specified market rate and can change periodically.

The changes, either up or down, in the prices and yields (where applicable) of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investments.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) aims at establishing or having control of an enterprise in a foreign country, unlike indirect investment in a sector through financial instruments.

FX or foreign exchange is the currency — literally foreign money — used in the settlement of international trade between countries.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board is a national agency of the Government of India, with the remit to consider and recommend foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not come under the automatic route.

The Forint (HUF) is the official currency of Hungary.

A forward curve represents the spot prices of forward contracts with different maturities.

Forward Guidance is an indication by a central bank to the likely course of future monetary policy.

Forward rate bias is the tendency of currency markets to over-estimate changes in exchange rates: the actual movements tend to be smaller than the expectations.

The current Forza Italia, established in 2013, is a centre-right political party in Italy with populist elements. Its leader is once again Silvio Berlusconi, who also led the original Forza Italia, established in 1993.

Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) is an oil and gas production method. Fractures are created in rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them further open which allow more oil and gas to flow out.

The Free Democratic Party (FDP), also referred to as the "Liberals", is a market-friendly and social-liberal political party in Germany that advocates human rights, civil and economic liberalism and that is considered centre-right in the German political landscape.

A free floating exchange rate is a regime where the currency price is set by the foreign exchange market based on supply and demand compared with other currencies. This is in contrast to a fixed exchange rate, in which the government entirely or predominantly determines the rate.

The French franc was France's currency before the euro was adopted in 1999.

Frexit describes plans to lead France out of the European Union and the Eurozone.

The National Front (Front National, FN) is a far-right political party in France, founded in 1972 by ultra-nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen and currently led by his daughter, Marine Le Pen.

The FTSE 100 Index tracks the performance of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization.

The FTSE 250 is a weighted index of the 101st to the 350th largest companies (by capitalization) listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor Index is designed to capture exposure to international developed market equities using five factors – Quality, Value, Momentum, Low Volatility and Size. These factors represent common stock characteristics, for which there is a broad academic consensus, that explain a stock’s risk and performance. By definition, the value factor as represented by the FTSE Developed ex US Value factor Index reflects a composite of cash flow yield, earnings yield and country relative Sales: Price Ratio; the quality factor as represented by the FTSE Developed ex US Quality Factor index reflects a composite of profitability, efficiency, earnings quality and leverage; the size factor as represented by the FTSE Developed ex US Size factor index reflects a log of full market cap; the volatility factor as represented by the FTSE Developed ex US Volatility Index reflects standard deviation of 5 years of weekly local total returns; and the momentum factor as represented by the FTSE Developed ex US Momentum Factor index reflects cumulative 11 month return.

A market-cap weighted benchmark designed to represent the performance of securities in developed markets outside of the United States.

The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index is designed to measure the stock performance of companies engaged in specific real estate activities of the North American, European and Asian real estate markets. Relevant real estate activities are defined as the ownership, trading and development of income-producing real estate.

The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed REITs Germany Index measures the performance of listed German real estate companies and investment trusts.

The FTSE Local French is an index that comprises French companies with less than 30% export sales.

The FTSE Local Germany is an index that comprises German companies with less than 30% export sales.

The FTSE Local UK is an index that comprises UK companies with less than 30% export sales.

The FTSE US Broad Investment-Grade Bond Index measures the performance of U.S. Dollar-denominated bonds issued in the U.S. investment-grade bond market.

The FTSE World Government Bond Index is a market capitalization weighted bond index. The index measures the performance of fixed-rate investment-grade sovereign bonds. It comprises sovereign debt from over 20 countries in local currencies.

Full employment as an economic term is defined as the absence of cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment, suggesting that all available labor resources are being used.

The use of all available information about a possible investment, such as earnings growth, management capability, industry trends, a company’s financial strength, and quantitative measures, to determine value.

Fundamentals are data giving information about the general well-being of companies, securities or currencies and serving for the subsequent valuation of these as an investment opportunity.

A funding currency is a currency in which investors borrow (often because of low interest rates) to finance investments in other currencies thought to offer higher carry.

Fundless sponsors, in private-equity terms, arrange a deal but put little or no equity into it.

So, a futures contract is an agreement between two parties: a short position - the party who agrees to deliver a commodity - and a long position - the party who agrees to receive a commodity

An agreement to buy or sell a specific amount of a financial instrument at a particular price on a future date.

A futures contract is a standardized, contractual agreement to trade a financial instrument or commodity at a pre-determined price in the future.

An economical place where supply and demand for future business meet

FX is the abbreviation for foreign exchange, i.e. currencies.

Forward contracts are agreements between two parties to exchange two designated currencies at a specific time in the future

The Group of 20 are the largest industrialized and emerging economies in the world.

The G4 economies, group of the world's four biggest developed economic regions: Eurozone, Japan, United Kingdom, United States.

G8 is the G7 plus Russia.

Game Theory refers to a mathematical theory analyzing decision-making-situations in which multiple rational participants interact.

GBP/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the UK pound sterling and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

Beschreibt die Differenz zwischen angebotenen Verkaufspreis und angebotenen Kaufpreis

auf dem Geldmarkt werden kurzfristige Gelder gehandelt. Der Geldmarkt unterscheidet sich vom Kapitalmarkt durch eine kürzere Frist der Kapitalüberlassung

Enthält neben physischem Bargeld und täglich verfügbaren Einlagen auch einige nicht sofort verfügbare Einlagen (wobei die genaue Abgrenzung je nach Notenbank unterschiedlich sein kann)

Kommunalanleihetyp in den USA , der durch Staatseinnahmen wie bspw. Steuereinkünfte besichert ist

Municipal bonds that are backed by the full faith and credit of a municipality The principal of the bond is repaid with general revenue and borrowings, rather than revenue from a specific facility built with borrowed funds (such as toll roads, bridges, etc.).

Interest rate that does not refer to a single bond, but generally results for all bonds that meet the given criteria

Zinssatz, der sich nicht auf eine einzelne Anleihe bezieht, sondern sich generell für alle Anleihen, die die gegebenen Kriterien erfüllen, ergibt

Fonds, deren Anzahl an Anteilen begrenzt ist

Gewinn eines Unternehmens, geteilt durch die Anzahl der ausgegebenen Aktien

Gewinn in Relation zum Umsatz in Prozent

Überprüfung und Berichtigung erwarteter Unternehmensgewinne durch Finanzanalysten

Shares given from one person or entity to another person or entity. These shares do not include ones that were either received from a spouse or received through an inheritance from a descendent. Complicated tax laws are involved. Whether the fair market value is greater or less than the donor's cost basis on the date of the gift may affect the cost basis on the gifted shares.

Global equities are represented by the MSCI World Index a benchmark which is designed to measure equity market performance in the global developed and emerging markets.

The global financial crisis refers to the period of market turmoil that started in 2007 and worsened sharply in 2008 with the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Global high-yield bonds: are represented by Bloomberg Barclays Global High Yield Index U.S. hedged which is a benchmark of US, European, and Emerging market high yield bonds. Quality must be rated Ba1/BB+/BB+ or below to be included. The index also includes a hedging component to reduce substantial losses/gains from currency fluctuations.

Global risk free rate is the theoretical rate of return of a global investment with zero risk. The risk-free rate represents the interest an investor would expect from an absolutely risk-free investment over a specified period of time.

A corporation owned by the U.S. Government within the Department of Housing and Urban Development with the authority to fully guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on securities collateralized by FHA-insured or VA-guaranteed mortgages. GNMA is commonly called “Ginnie Mae”.

Privately owned, publicly chartered entities, such as the Student Loan Marketing Association, created by Congress to reduce the cost of capital for certain borrowing sectors of the economy including farmers, homeowners and students.

Greenback is a nickname for the U.S dollar bill, originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln which were printedwere printed in black and green on the back side.

ein Direktinvestment, welches die Neuerrichtung einer Produktionsstätte finanziert

Ertragszuwachs, der durch den Einsatz einer jeweils weiteren Einheit eines Produktionsfaktors erzielt wird

the Group of Seven (G7) is a forum of the world's seven most industrialized economies, formed in 1975 and initially comprising six nations — France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom — with Canada invited to join the group in 1976. G7 officials meet periodically to discuss international economic and monetary issues

A type of mutual fund that seeks long-term growth of capital, current income, and growth of income. These funds tend to concentrate on stocks of large, dividend-paying companies with good prospects for future earnings growth.

A diversified portfolio of stocks that has capital appreciation as its primary goal, and thereby invests in companies that reinvest their earnings into expansion, acquisitions, and/or research and development. Most growth funds offer higher potential growth but usually at a higher risk than the market in general.

An investment product issued by an insurance company that pays a rate of interest that is guaranteed for the life of the contract, usually one to seven years. The interest rates may be slightly higher than those paid by CDs of a similar maturity, but GICs do not carry federal deposit insurance.

Rechnerische Gegenüberstellung aller Warenimporte und Warenexporte einer Volkswirtschaft innerhalb eines bestimmten Zeitraums

Entwicklung des US-Dollar gegenüber einem Währungskorb, wobei die Gewichtung der Auslandswährungen in dem Währungskorb nach dem Handelsvolumen erfolgt

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) includes the largest and most liquid H-shares traded in Hong Kong.

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) is a freefloat-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted stock-market index in Hong Kong. It tracks the 50 biggest and most traded companies on the Hong Kong stick exchange.

Hard assets are investments in physical objects (such as real estate and commodities).

A hard currency is any globally traded currency that is considered as historically stable and can be exchanged easily.

Hard-currency bonds (debt) are bonds (debt) issued in a historically stable currency such as the U.S. dollar or the euro.

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), a list of the final costs paid by European consumers for the items in a basket of common goods, is produced by each European Union member state to help measure inflation and to guide the European Central Bank in formulating monetary policy.

Ausgabensperre aufgrund der Überschreitung des am Jahresanfang festgesetzten US-Haushaltsbudgets

Langanhaltende Phase steigender Kurse

Hawks are in favor of a restrictive monetary policy.

Headline inflation is the raw inflation figure based on the consumer price index (CPI) and not adjusted for seasonality or for the often volatile elements of food and energy prices.

Official unemployment rate (U3) occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively looked for work within the past four weeks.

Instrument zum Vervielfachen der Gewinnchancen, aber auch der Verlustrisiken, meist durch Einbeziehung von Fremdkapital

A hedge is an investment to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in an asset.

A hedge fund is an investment vehicle less regulated than a mutual fund that pools capital from different investors and uses different investment strategies.

Hedging costs are similar to an insurance premium paid for not being exposed to price movements of certain financial assets. The premium paid for an option is a typical cost of hedging.

Helicopter money refers to a large sum of money being directly or indirectly distributed to the public by the central bank in order to stimulate the economy.

Henrique Meirelles is a former president of the Central Bank of Brazil who was named the Minister of Finance of Brazil on May 12, 2016.

Herd mentality refers to a tendency for investors to move in the same direction when reacting to an event.

The Herfindahl index is a commonly accepted measure of market concentration. It is calculated by squaring the market share of each firm competing in a market, and then summing the resulting numbers, and can range from close to zero to 10,000.

The HFRI Equity Market Neutral Index is an equally-weighted index that measures the performance of equity-market-neutral hedge-fund strategies.

High-yield bonds are issued by below-investment-grade-rated issuers and usually offer a relatively high yield.

Bonds rated above “Aa” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., or “AA” or higher by Standard & Poor’s Corporation. These bonds have a high probability of being paid.

High-yield (HY) bonds are high-paying bonds with a lower credit rating than investment-grade corporate bonds, Treasury bonds and municipal bonds.

HKD/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the Hong Kong dollar and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

A horizontal rig is a form of directional drilling, in which a drill is typically sent down vertically underground and then turned into the gas or oil reservoir at a ninety degree angle (horizontally).

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The United States House of Representatives is a legislative chamber consisting of 435 Representatives, as well as non-voting delegates from Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories. Representatives are elected for two-year terms and each state's representation is based on population as measured in the previous Census.

H-shares are shares of companies listed on the Chinese mainland, but traded on overseas markets, principally the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Former Socialist President of Venezuela who died in 2013

Ehemaliger, 2013 verstorbender sozialistischer Präsident von Venezuela

Long-term, subordinated bond with equity character, which usually compensates for the higher risk compared to a normal bond with a higher interest rate

Langlaufende, nachrangige Anleihe mit Eigenkapitalcharakter, die in der Regel mit einem höheren Zins das höhere Risiko gegenüber einer normalen Anleihe kompensiert

Zur Finanzierung einer Immobilie aufgenommener Kredit

Iberia is a peninsula in Southwestern Europe, on which the countries Spain, Portugal, Andorra, partially France and the British Overseas Territory Gibraltar are located.

The Ibovespa is Brazil's main stock market index.

The iBoxx EUR Infrastructure Index includes euro-denominated corporate bonds with infrastructure exposure.

The iBoxx Euro Corporate Index includes euro-denominated corporate bonds issued by investment-grade-rated entities.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is an agency of the United Nations, fostering the development of the international air transport.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corporate Plus Index is designed to track euro- and U.S.-dollar-based debt of corporate issuers primarily doing business in emerging-market countries.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 10 Year US Treasury Index measures the performance of Treasuries with ten years remaining until maturity.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch A-BBB Euro Corporate Index tracks the performance of euro-denominated corporate debt rated A to BBB and publicly issued in the Eurobond or Euro member domestic markets.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch A-BBB US Corporate Index tracks the performance of dollar-denominated corporate debt rated A to BBB and publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch Euro Corporate Index tracks the performance of euro-denominated investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the eurobond or Euro member domestic merkets.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch Euro High Yield Constrained Indexis an index of euro-denominated corporate bonds rated below investment grade.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch European High-Yield Bond Index tracks the performance of euro- and British pound sterling-denominated below investment-grade corporate debt publicly issued in the eurobond, sterling-domestic or euro-domestic markets by issuers around the world.

Index, der die Wertentwicklung von Euro-denominierten Hochzinsanleihen abbildet

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch European High-Yield Bond Index is a U.S. high-yield index that also includes zero-coupon bonds and payment in kind bonds.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch Global High Yield Index tracks the performance of below-investment-grade corporate debt denominated in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, British pounds or euros and publicly issued in the major domestic or Eurobond markets.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corporate Plus Index tracks the performance of U.S. dollar- and euro-denominated emerging markets

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch Italy Government Index tracks the performance of euro-denominated sovereign debt issued by Italy.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High-Yield Master II Indexis a U.S. high-yield index that tracks the performance of US dollar denominated below investment grade rated corporate debt.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch US Corporate Master Index value tracks the performance of dollar-denominated investment grade rated corporate debt publically issued in the US domestic market.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Constrained Index is an index of dollar-denominated corporate bonds rated below investment grade.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Energy Index tracks the performance of dollar-denominated below investment gradecorporate debt from energy companies publicly issued in the US domestic market.

The ICE BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Index tracks the performance of dollar-denominated below investment grade, including zero-coupon and payment-in-kind (PIK) bonds.

The ICE BofAML 1-10 Year Euro Inflation-Linked Government Index tracks the performance of euro-denominated inflation-linked sovereign debt with a remaining term to maturity of more than one less than 10 year(s) issued by Euro member countries in either the eurobond market or the issuer’s own domestic market.

Idiosyncratic risk is a risk which is related solely to the individual company and has no correlation with the general market risk.

The ifo Business Climate Index is a highly regarded indicator of economic sentiment in Germany.

The ifo Institute for Economic Research, based in Munich, is a leading European research institute, particularly known for its sentiment indicator "ifo Business Climate Index".

IHS Markit is a listed company providing market data and information services for a variety of industries.

Indicative Intraday Value. See "IOPV"

Illiquid refers to the inability to easily convert assets or investments to cash.

Intraday Net Asset Value. See "IOPV"

A monetary gain from an investment, generally referring to periodic interest payments from a bond or bond mutual fund, or dividend-paying stocks.

A type of mutual fund designed to provide current income, either on a monthly or quarterly basis. Share prices of income funds are not fixed. They tend to fall when interest rates are rising and to increase when interest rates are falling. These funds invest in corporate, government, or municipal bonds, as well as pools of mortgage-backed securities (such as Ginnie Maes) and, occasionally, high-yielding stocks.

Independent Greeks party is a national-conservative political party in Greece which wants an end to the austerity reforms.

The Indian rupee (INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India.

Indonesian rupiah (IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia.

Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising and, subsequently, purchasing power is falling.

The Inflation swap is a derivative used to transfer inflation risk from one party to another through an exchange of cash flows.

An inflation-indexed bond is a bond where the principal and / or coupon is indexed to the consumer price index.

Inflation-indexed securities are securities whose coupon payments are tied to a inflation rate.

Information Ratio is excess return (Alpha) divided by Tracking Error. It is a measure of a portfolio manager's ability to generate excess returns and the consistency of such.

Infrastructure bonds are used by municipal governments to fund basic physical systems, such as transportation, communication, sewage, water and electric systems.

Initial public offering (IPO) is a type of public offering in which shares of stock in a company usually are sold to institutional investors that may in turn sell them to the general public, on a securities exchange, for the first time.

INR/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the Indian rupee and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

The INSEE Business Climate Index is a much regarded indicator of economic sentiment in France.

The INSEE Institute (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques) is the French official statistical office.

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Indices track different areas of the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing activity and industrial production.

Insurance-linked assets are securities the returns of which are based on re-insurance products.

Kredite, die sich Geschäftsbanken untereinander gewähren

The Intercontinental exchange (ICE) is a major futures exchange in the U.S.

Interest coverage is calculated by dividing a company's earnings by its interest payments over a given period.

Operating profit divided by interest expense

The development of interest rates over time, which is primarily based on the economic cycle

Frequently used term for the change of interest rate direction of a central bank

Interest-rate cycle describes the up- and downswings of interest rates mainly induced by the economic cycle.

Interest-rate risk is the chance that a security's value will change due to a change in interest rates.

An interest-rate swap is an agreement between two parties where one stream of future interest payments is exchanged for another based on a specified principal amount. Interest rate swaps often exchange a fixed payment for a floating payment that is linked to an interest rate.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a autonomous intergovernmental organization which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), created in 1945 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

Internet of things is a term used to describe the increasing interconnectedness of many products via the internet.

The intrinsic value is the one that comes closest to the value that an objective fundamental analysis would ascribe to an asset.

Stocks of companies that are trading close to their book value

Ausgaben für längerfristige Anlagegüter

Investitionen in einem Land in Relation zu dessen Bruttoinlandsprodukt

Expenditure on longer-term assets

Investment grade (IG) refers to a credit rating from a rating agency that indicates that a bond has a relatively low risk of default.

Investment lifecycle refers to the process from the acquisition of a company through its management to its eventual sale.

Investments in a country in relation to its gross domestic product

The investment ratio puts a country's capital expenditure (capex) in relation to its gross domestic product.

Investment styles refer to different sets of investor approaches, such as a focus on value stocks (those with relatively low price-to-earnings ratios) or on growth stocks (those with high expected earnings growth).

An investment-grade (IG) rating by a rating agency such as Standard & Poor's indicates that a bond has a relatively low risk of default.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a Salafi jihadi militant group and self-proclaimed caliphate and Islamic state.

The ISM Purchasing Manager Index, published by the Institute for Supply Management, measures economic activity by assessing the sentiment among purchasing managers. It is an important indicator of the economic health.

Italy's constitutional referendum was held on December 4th, 2016. By a surprisingly large margin, voters turned down far-reaching changes intended to make Italy more governable. The bill was proposed by then prime minister Matteo Renzi, who promptly resigned.

The J.P. Morgan Asia Credit Index (JACI) provides investors the opportunity to track total return performance of the Asia fixed-rate dollar bond market. The index is a market cap-weighted index comprising sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate bonds and it is partitioned by country, sector and credit rating.

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Composite Blended Spread Index depicts the spread of dollar-denominated corporate bonds issued by entities in the emerging markets vs. U.S. Treasuries of the same maturity.

The J. P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index (CEMBI) is an index tracking dollar-denominated bonds issued by emerging-market corporates.

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index Broad Asia is a liquid corporate emerging-markets benchmark that tracks dollar-denominated corporate bonds issued by entities in Asian emerging markets.

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index Broad Europe is a liquid corporate emerging markets benchmark that tracks dollar-denominated corporate bonds issued by entities in Eurpean emerging markets.

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index Broad Latin is a liquid corporate emerging-markets benchmark that tracks dollar-denominated corporate bonds issued by entities in Latin-American emerging markets.

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index Broad Mideast is a liquid corporate emerging-markets benchmark that tracks dollar-denominated corporate bonds issued by entities in Mideast emerging markets.

The J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Composite comprises dollar-denominated government bonds, issued by select emerging-market countries.

The J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified High Yield Index is a market-capitalization-weighted, total-return index tracking various U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds, Eurobonds, as well as traded loans, and local-market debt instruments issued by below-investment-grade-rated emerging-markets sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities.

The J.P. Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI) provides investors with access to a range of emerging-market bond indices, including emerging-market bonds denominated in foreign currencies (e.g. corporate bonds).

The J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Asia comprieses dollar-denominated government bonds, issued by select Asian emerging-market countries.

The J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Europe comprises dollar-denominated government bonds, issued by select European emerging-market countries.

Index that tracks dollar-denominated government bonds of selected Latin American emerging markets

The J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Mideast comprises dollar-denominated government bonds, issued by select Middle-Eastern emerging-market countries.

The J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Europe comprises euro-denominated government bonds, issued by selected emerging-market countries.

The J.P. Morgan Global Bond Index Germany tracks the performance of German government bonds.

The J.P. Morgan JACI Investment Grade Index provides investors the opportunity to track total-return performance of the Asia fixed-rate investment-grade dollar-denominated bond market.

The J.P. Morgan JACI Non-Investment Grade Index provides investors the opportunity to track total-return performance of the Asia fixed-rate non-investment-grade dollar-denominated bond market.

Stark erhöhte Nachfrage nach Finanzanlagen am Ende des Kalenderjahres

Ehemalige Präsidentin des U.S. Federal Reserve Boards (Fed) von 2014 bis 2018.

Japanese Government Bond (JGB) is issued by the government of Japan.

The job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS) is a survey done by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics to help measure job vacancies.

OPEC's Joint Technical Committee (JTC) review the state of the oil market.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is a firm providing commercial real estate services.

The JPX-Nikkei 400 index is designed to serve as the new investment benchmark for domestic and international investors in the Japanese equity market. It has been jointly developed by Japan Exchange Group, Inc., Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (JPX Group) and Nikkei Inc. (Nikkei), focusing on the importance of capital efficiency, profitability and market liquidity. The selection of constituents is based on corporate performance indicators and data, including the return on equity (ROE) of Japanese companies.

JPY/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

The J-REIT is a Japanese real estate investment trust (REIT), a security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages.

Formally known as the Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker-Plan, a program to boost investment, is often referred to by using the name of its main proponent, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Junk bond is a colloquial term for a high-yield or non-investment-grade bond.

Junk bond is a colloquial term for a high-yield or non-investment-grade bond.

Slang term for rating high yield bonds (rated below investment grade)

Kabuki refers to the classical Japanese theatre, which is known for the stylization of its drama.

tatsächliche Produktionsmenge in Relation zur maximal möglichen Produktionsmenge gesetzt

Der Teil der Zahlungsbilanz in der volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnung, in dem Änderungen der Forderungen und Verbindlichkeiten eines Landes gegenüber dem Ausland erfasst werden

Durch Marktverzerrungen oder -störungen bedingte ineffiziente Verteilung von Investitionskapital

Bestand an Ausrüstungen, Bauten und sonstigen Anlagen in einer Volkswirtschaft

Staatliche Maßnahmen zur Verhinderung von Kapitalflucht

founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey, proclaimed in 1923, named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; important features are the sovereignty of the people, the separation of state and religion and the focus on the interests of the people

A tax-deferred retirement plan for the self-employed (sole proprietors and their partners) and their employees. Up to 25% of earned income can be put into a Keogh and contributions can be deducted from taxable income, up to a maximum of $30,000. Keogh plans can either be profit-sharing plans, pension plans, or both.

Industriestaaten mit einem liquiden Staatsanleihenmarkt

Key interest rates stated by central banks to determine the most important rates of borrowing.

A knock-on-effect is the effect which an action will have on other situations.

Known unknown is a quote from Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defence, which describes a situation in which one is aware of risk without having any details.

Komeito is a political party in Japan, literally: "New Clean Government Party“.

Rechnerischer Durchschnitt der Schätzungen verschiedener Analysten

Verhältnis des persönlichen Einkommens, das für den privaten Verbrauch verwendet wird, zum Gesamteinkommen

Schätzt eine große Mehrheit der an den Finanzmärkten agierenden Parteien die zukünftige Entwicklung eines Parameters (z.B. eines Börsenkurses oder eines Rohstoffpreises) sehr ähnlich ein, so kann dies auf eine Entwicklung in die entgegengesetzte Richtung

Annäherung von Wirtschaftsdaten (i.d.R. Zinssätze und Renditen) bei den Euro-Teilnehmerländern

Stellt das vorhandene Ausfallrisiko von Forderungen gegenüber einem Kreditnehmer dar

KRW/USD is an abbreviation for the relationship between the South Korean won and the U.S. dollar currency pair.

Kurds referes to an ethnic group in the Middle East, inhabiting parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.

Stellt den aktuellen Börsenkurs einer Aktie dem Buchwert pro Aktie gegenüber, der sich aus der Bilanz ergibt

The Kurtosis describes the shape of a probability distribution curve. The higher the number, the more outcomes occur at the tails of the curve.

The labor force participation rate is the proportion of a population that either are in work or are actively looking for work, within a defined age range.

The Labor Market Conditions Index is a broad indicator of the health of the U.S. labor market. It is derived from 19 individual labor market indicators.

The Labor market reform in Spain is a politic program to fight the high unemployment by reducing restrictions for employers in the hope of easing the access to jobs for job-seeking people.

Labor productivity measures the amount of goods and services which can be produced by using one unit of labor.

Large cap firms generally have a market capitalization of more than 10 billion dollars.

Prämie, die ein Anleger dafür erhält, dass Anleihen durch eine längere Laufzeit risikoreicher sind

Beschreibt die fälligen Beträge und die Jahre, in denen die individuellen Tranchen der Verbindlichkeiten zurückgezahlt werden müssen

Lawrence Summers ist ein US-Politiker und Professor für Wirtschaftswissenschaften. Von 1991 bis 1993 war Summers Chefökonom der Weltbank.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LPD) is the major conservative political party in Japan with its president Shinzō Abe.

Lead investors have the largest share of the capital in a syndicated investment.

A lead market maker is a broker-dealer firm that has an obligation to make two-sided markets for a certain number of shares of a particular security in order to facilitate the trading of that security during regular market hours.

Leasing is a financial arrangement in which a person or company pays for the use of a good or property for a particular period of time.

The Lega ("Lega Nord") is a right-wing populist party in Italy. It was founded in 1991 through the merger of various parties. It is considered anti-globalist and Eurosceptic.

US investment bank that filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008 as a result of the financial crisis, which aggravated this crisis

In der Summe negativer Saldo der Handelsbilanz, Dienstleistungsbilanz, Bilanz der Erwerbs- und Vermögenseinkommen und der Übertragungsbilanz

In der Summe positiver Saldo der Handelsbilanz, Dienstleistungsbilanz, Bilanz der Erwerbs- und Vermögenseinkommen und der Übertragungsbilanz

Von einer Zentralbank festgelegter Zinssatz für den sich Banken bei dieser Reserven leihen oder anlegen können

Lender of last resort refers to a central bank, which offers loans to banks or other eligible institutions that are experiancing financial difficulty or are considered highly risky or near collapse.

A lessor is the owner of an asset, who leases or lets the asset to another person.

A letter of understanding between a shareholder and mutual fund expressing the shareholder’s intention to invest a specified sum during a specified time period. The letter entitles the shareholder to a reduced sales charge, provided the purchases are completed. Such a letter does not impose an obligation on the shareholder to purchase additional shares or on the fund to sell a specific number of shares; it merely expresses intent. If the letter of intent is not fulfilled by the shareholder, the appropriate sales charge will be applied to all purchases made under the letter of intent.

Debts of economic agents of a country in relation to the gross domestic product of that country

In a leveraged buyout, a company is acquired using a significant amount of borrowed money (bonds or loans) to meet the cost of acquisition.

Leveraged loans are loans extended to companies or individuals that already have considerable amounts of debt. Lenders consider leveraged loans to carry a higher risk of default and, as a result, a leveraged loan is generally more costly to the borrower.

Abbau staatlicher oder gesellschaftlicher Eingriffe und Vorschriften

Reduce government or societal intervention and regulation

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a reference rate for the average borrowing costs of leading banks in London.

A limit order is an order placed to buy or sell a set amount of a financial instrument at a specified price or better; because a limit order is not a market order, it may not be executed if the price set by the investor cannot be met during the period of time in which the order is left open.

The maximum decline permitted in securities on certain exchanges before a trading curb—or halt—kicks in. It is usually set as a percentage of the market price.

Limited partnerships (LPs) are a form of partnership where one or more partners has only limited liability and no management authority. Private equity operations often exist in this form.

The registered owner of a DWS fund account can give a spouse or other family member who is also a DWS fund account owner the ability to view their account online using the spouse's or family member's identification and password even though the spouse and family member have a different Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number on their accounts. These are known as "Linked Accounts" for purposes of online viewing only. Only the registered owner has the ability to conduct transactions on his/her account using his/her own identification and password.
The registered owner is the only one that can add another fund shareholder to their "Accounts view" to allow viewing by that named individual. Prior to adding another shareholder under "Accounts view," the Deutsche fund shareholder whose name is going to be added must establish Internet account access established through DWS funds website, because the security credential (username and password or Social Security Number/TIN and password) for the DWS fund shareholder being added under "My Accounts View" will need to be referenced on our web site

A Reuters company, supplies mutual fund information, analytical tools, and commentary. Lipper’s benchmarking provides the trusted guidepost to asset managers, fund companies, financial intermediaries, traditional media, websites, and individual investors.

A group of mutual funds that, by portfolio practice, invest at least 75% of their equity assets in companies with market capitalizations (on a three-year weighted basis) of greater than 300% of the dollar-weighted median market capitalization of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index. Large-Cap Core Funds have wide latitude in the companies in which they can invest. These funds normally will have an average price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio and three-year earnings growth figure that compares with the US diversified large-cap funds universe average.

Lipper rankings are based on a fund’s average annual total return and the percentile ranking refers to the fund’s rank relative to all funds in the same Lipper peer group. For example, a 25 would indicate that the Fund is ranked in the 25th percentile-or top one-quarter of funds-in its peer group. Definitions of each Lipper peer group follow.

Liquid alternatives are investments that offer exposure to hedge-fund strategies via liquid investment vehicles that are accessible to a broad range of client types.

Liquid assets can easily be bought and sold as enough securities are traded on average each day to provide market liquidity.

Risikomaß, um die Funktionsfähigkeit des Bankensektors zu ermessen. Gibt die Differenz zweier Zinssätze an: dem Libor (London inter-bank offered rate) und dem OIS (overnight indexed swap).

Liquidity refers to the degree to which an asset or security can be bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset's price and to the ability to convert an asset to cash quickly.

Risk measure to measure the functioning of the banking sector. Indicates the difference between two interest rates: the Libor (London inter-bank offered rate) and the OIS (overnight indexed swap)

Liquidity trap describes a situation where conventional monetary policy has lost its potency.

Listed companies are traded on a public exchange; non-listed companies are traded privately.

Loan-loss provisions are an allowance for bad loans, for example due to customer defaults or a renegotiation of the terms of a loan.

A long position involves buying of a security with the expectation that the asset will rise in value.

Long/short equity strategies are investment strategies that take a long position in individual equities or sectors that are expected to gain in value and a short position in those that are expected to fall in value.

For mutual funds, long-term capital gains can be generated by a fund's profits from the sale of holdings that have appreciated in value. Shareholders can also experience long-term capital gains from the net realized profits from the sale of their invested shares held for more than one year if the value of their shares is worth more at the time of the redemption than they were at the time of purchase. In the same way, if shares are worth less at the time of the sale than when they were purchased, shareholders would experience a long-term capital loss from the sale of their invested shares if held for more than one year.

The Lorenz curve is a graphical representation developed by American economist Max Lorenz in 1905. It is used to represent economic inequality or unequal distribution in any system. Typically, the Lorenz curve is used to denote inequality in the distribution of either income or wealth. These are not synonymous since it is possible to have high earnings with zero or negative net worth or low earning and large net worth. The farther away the curve is from the baseline represented by a straight diagonal line, the higher the level of inequality.

Lost decade refers to Japan's dismal economic performance in the 1990s after the burst of the country's real-estate and equity asset price bubbles.

In the financial markets, a lot represents the number of shares of a security purchased in any one transaction on any given date.

The Louvre Accord was an 1987 agreement between leading Western nations, which aimed to stabilize the international currency markets.

Refers to the flat, time-extended business cycle

Ludwig von Mises was a follower of the Austrian School of Economics, which attributed the booms and crashes on money creation and money destruction. From 1945 to 1969 he taught as a professor at New York University.

Common name for Brazil's socialist ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

A direct payment from an employer’s retirement plan to an employee within one tax year, usually paid when an employee retires or changes employers.

M2 is a money-supply measure that includes physical money, bank deposits as well as other less liquid funds like savings that can quickly be converted to money.

The Maastricht rules set down five criteria which aspiring Eurozone members must comply with.

Macro investing strategies seek to anticipate broad trends in the worldwide economy. Based on those forecasts, investments are made in a wide variety of markets.

A margin call is a call for additional funds (in form of cash or securities) to be deposited if losses on the current value of assets exceed some predefined percentage.

The marginal cost reflects the change in total cost that comes from producing one additional unit.

Mark Carney is the current governor of the Bank of England.

Market capitalization, in the context of an individual firms, is the number of shares issued multiplied by the value of the shares.

A market maker is a broker-dealer firm that is able to make either one- or two-sided markets in a particular security in order to facilitate the trading of that security during regular market hours.

The market price used to calculate the market price returns is the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest offer on the exchange on which the shares of the Fund are listed for trading, as of the time that the Fund's NAV is calculated.

The risk of price fluctuations resulting from general market conditions such as changes in interest rates.

Market share is a brand’s share of the total sales of all products within the product category in which the brand competes

A market basket is a representative basket of goods used to measure consumer (or other) price inflation.

Market-pricing risk is risk of losses through movements in market prices.

The Markit iBoxx EUR Liquid High Yield Index consists of liquid euro sub-investment-grade-rated bonds, selected to provide a balanced representation of the Markit iBoxx EUR Core High Yield Index.

The Markit iTraxx Europe Crossover Index captures the development of the costs of credit-default insurance for European high-yield bonds.

Markowitz Efficient Frontier was introduced by Nobel Laureate Harry Markowitz in 1952 and is the cornerstone of modern portfolio theory. Modern portfolio theory is a theory on how risk-adverse investors can construct portfolios to optimize or maximize expected returns based on a given level of market risk, emphasizing that risk is an inherent part of higher reward.

A Master Limited Partnership (MLP) is a publicly traded limited partnership. Shares of ownership are referred to as units.

The date at which a bond is scheduled to repay the loan/principle to the bondholder.

A maturity profile describes the amount and the year in which individual tranches of debt need to be repaid.

The MDax is an equity index, which includes the 50 German Prime Standard companies ranked directly behind the 30 Dax companies, from sectors excluding technology.

Mean reversion is a theory that prices and returns eventually move back toward the mean, or average.

Issued by a bank, savings and loan, trust company, credit union, broker/dealer, or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantee program. The medallion seal certifies that the signature is genuine and has legally binding authority.
When requesting a medallion signature guarantee, an officer of the institution will ask for identification to be sure that you are, in fact, the person identified on this form and the person signing it. Please note that a notary public is not an acceptable guarantor. We must receive an original stamp. If more than one signature is required on this form, we will need separate stamps for each signature.

The federally run plan, authorized in 1965, that provides health insurance coverage for those over 65 and for some disabled persons under age 65.

In statistics and probability theory, a median is the number separating the higher half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half.

Medicaid is an assistance program providing health coverage to people with low income. It is run by state and local governments within federal guidelines.

Medicare is the U.S. national health insurance program for people aged 65 and above and younger people with disabilities or kidney failure.

Mega cap stocks refer to the stock of the largest companies in the investment universe as measured by market capitalization. While there is no exact definition of the term mega cap, it generally refers to companies with a market cap exceeding $100 billion.

A megatrend is a long-term structural trend in the economic environment.

Meme stocks are shares of companies around which online communities have formed to promote and build narratives.

Merger arbitrage is a type of hedge-fund strategy where the investor tries to gain from the difference in the price a buyer of a firm agrees to pay, and the stock price after the announcement of the acquisition.

The merger spread is the difference between the price a buyer of a firm agrees to pay and the stock price after the announcement of the acquisition.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are the two key methods of corporate consolidation. A merger is a combination of two companies to form a new company, while an acquisition is the purchase of one company by another in which no new company is formed.