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Accrued Interest
Bond interest accrues
daily based on a 360-day year. The accrued portion is that which has been earned
since the last interest payment date. Bonds which earn interest on the date
of payment only are said to trade "flat." Income bonds do not accrue
interest either.
ADJ
The letters "ADJ" after an index (Example: S&P 500 ADJ) adds
the dividends in the total return as well as appreciation. All Century Management
performance
composites include dividends as part of the total
return.
Adjustable Rate
Interest rate or
dividend which is adjusted periodically, usually based on a standard market
rate such as that prevailing on Treasury Bonds or notes. Typically, such issues
have a set floor or ceiling which limit the adjustment.
Annualize
Converting the rate of return
from a period of less than one year to an annual (yearly) basis. For example,
a security which returns 1% a month returns 12% on an annualized basis. Also
known as annualized rate or annualized return. The term is similar to "run
rate".
Average Capital
Base
The average
capital base represents the average paid-in capital for the time period. The
formula for average capital base is: Average Capital Base = Beginning Market
Value + Sum of (Each Change in Capital X (Days Left in Period / Total Days in
Period))
Bear Market
A market in
which prices of a certain group of securities are falling or are expected to
fall. Although figures can vary, a downturn of 15%-20% or more in multiple indexes
(Dow or S&P) is considered an entry into a bear market.
Bull Market
A market in
which prices of a certain group of securities are rising or are expected to rise.
Typically, this is a period of optimism in the market.
Call Feature
Right to redeem debentures prior to maturity at a stated price which usually
begins at a premium to par (100 percent) and declining annually. Of late,
new
convertible issues are non-callable for at least two years, except under very
limited circumstances.
Capitalization
The sum of
a corporation's long-term debt, stock and retained earnings. Also, the market
price of an entire company, calculated by multiplying the number of shares outstanding
by the price per share (this is called market capitalization, or "market cap").
Capital
Expenditures
Capital to maintain and expand plant and equipment.
Cash
Flow
Cash flow equals earnings plus depreciation. This is cash flow after taxes
but before capital expenditures. If you deducted capital expenditures, it would
be free
cash
flow
(see "Free Cash Flow").
CFA
Chartered Financial Analyst. Sponsored by the CFA Institute, formerly known
as the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), it is the
highest professional
credential
that
a securities analyst can have in our industry. The expertise gained from this
program is stock and bond analysis, as well as portfolio management. It requires
three, 6-hour exams in three years on such topics as financial accounting and
quantitative analysis, and three years' experience as an investment professional.
As of August 2001 there are 37,150 CFA's. You can search the CFA
Institute web site to look up the complete details regarding this credential.
CFA Institute (formerly
known as AIMR)
The Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), which changed
its name on May 9, 2004 to the CFA Institute, is an international, nonprofit
organization of more than 50,000 investment practitioners and educators in over
100 countries. Founded in January 1990, AIMR was created from the merger of the
Financial Analysts Federation (FAF) and the Institute of Chartered Financial
Analysts (ICFA). The FAF was originally established in 1947 as a service organization
for investment professionals. The ICFA was founded in 1959 to examine candidates
and award the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
The CFA Institute's mission is to serve its members and investors as a global leader in educating and examining investment managers and analysts and sustaining high standards of professional conduct. The CFA Institute's membership is global in scope, and its activities are worldwide.
The Research Foundation of CFA Institute sponsors practitioner-oriented research through funding and publishing a diverse assortment of monographs, tutorials, and research papers to broaden investment professionals' knowledge and understanding of their field.
The CFA Institute offers services in three broad categories: Education through seminars and publications; Professional Conduct and Ethics; and Standards of Practice and Advocacy.
CFA Institute's members are employed as securities analysts, portfolio managers, strategists, consultants, educators, and other investment specialists. These professionals practice in a variety of fields, including investment counseling and management, banking, insurance, and investment banking and brokerage firms.
CFP
Certified Financial Planner. Sponsored by the Certified Financial Planner
Board of Standards, the CFP certification is now available in 11 countries.
The CFP credential has become recognized as the global symbol for competent
and ethical financial planning advice. The expertise gained through this certification
process includes knowledge on risk management, investments, retirement planning,
tax planning, and estate planning. A two-day, 10-hour exam is required as well
as three years of client experience (with bachelor's degree; five years without).
As of August 2001, there are 37,573 Certified Financial Planners. You can search
the CFP Board web site to look up the complete details regarding this credential.
ChFC
Chartered Financial Consultant. This professional designation is sponsored
by The American College, in Bryn Mawr, PA. Charted Financial Consultants
must complete a minimum of eight courses and 16 hours of supervised examinations.
They must also fulfill stringent experience and ethics requirements. Over
38,000 individuals have been awarded the ChFC designation since its inception
in 1982. Individuals who earn this designation can provide expert advice
on financial planning, wealth planning, estate planning, income taxation,
life and health insurance, business taxation and planning, investments, and
retirement planning.
CM
This is the acronym for Century Management. CM is a licensed, registered investment
advisory firm. The firm was started in 1974 by Arnold Van Den Berg. The
legal name for the firm is Van Den Berg Management Inc. DBA Century Management.
The CM corporate office is located at 805 Las Cimas Parkway, Suite 430,
Austin, Texas 78746. Telephone is 800-664-4888 or 512-329-0050. More information
on CM can be found on this website.
CM
Value I Equities Only
"CM equities only" represents the return from the equities within
the CM Value I Composite.
CM
Value I Total Account
Includes all asset classes such as equities, fixed income, money market
funds and cash within our CM Value I Composite (also known or referred to as
the CM Standard Composite).
CM
Value I Composite (also known or referred to as the
Standard Composite)
This consists of the accounts of every client both past and present who
has had an account with Century Management, for which the investment management
charge was fee based and the brokerage fee was transaction based, since the
company's inception in September, 1974. The performance of the accounts in this
composite is based on all buys, sells, dividends, interest, deposits, and withdrawals
for each and every client of record.
CM Value II Composite
(also known as CM
Bundled Composite )
This consists of the accounts of every client both past and present
who has had an account with Century Management, for which the investment management
charge was fee based and the brokerage fee was asset based, since
1984. The performance of the accounts in this composite is based on all buys,
sells, dividends, interest, deposits, and
withdrawals
for each and every client of record.
Convertible Preferred
Similar to a convertible bond, except it represents equity in the corporation.
Unlike interest payments, dividend income is not a pre-tax income item for the
issuing corporations. Corporations holding convertible preferred are entitled
to an 85 percent exclusion of dividends.
CRPS
Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist. Sponsored by the College for Financial
Planning, this designation covers the design, installation and administration
of retirement plans for the business community. This designation is awarded
after successful completion of the program and final exam. You can search the
College for Financial Planning web site to look up the complete details regarding
this credential.
Current Yield
Stated interest or
dividend rate expressed as a percentage of the market price of the convertible
security.
Cyclical Industry
An industry
whose performance is closely tied to the overall economy and thus highly sensitive
to business cycles. Examples are autos, chemicals, construction, paper, steel
and heavy equipment.
Derivatives
A security, such as an option or futures contract, whose value depends
on the performance of an underlying security. Futures contracts, forward contracts
and options are the most common types of derivatives. Derivatives are generally
used by institutional investors to increase overall portfolio return or to hedge
portfolio risk.
Dollar
Cost Averaging
A method of accumulating assets by investing a fixed amount of dollars
of securities at set intervals. The investor buys more shares when the price
is low and fewer shares when the price is high. The overall cost is lower than
it would be if a constant number of shares were bought at set intervals.
DJIA Index
The 30 stocks
now in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are
all major factors in their industries, and their stocks are widely held by individuals
and institutional
investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average accounted for more than 28% of the
investable U.S. market, as measured by the DJ .U.S. Total Market Index ($8.9
trillion as of December 31, 2002). The Dow Jones averages are unique in that
they are price weighted rather than market capitalization weighted. Their component
weightings are therefore affected only by changes in the stocks' prices, in contrast
with other indexes' weightings that are affected by both price changes and changes
in the number of shares outstanding. When the averages were initially created,
their values were calculated by simply adding up the component stocks' prices
and dividing by the number of components. Later, the practice of adjusting the
divisor was initiated to smooth out the effects of stock splits and other corporate
actions.
Discounted Cash Flow
Value of future expected cash receipts and expenditures at a common date, calculated
by using an Internal Rate of Return. The Internal Rate of Return method finds
the average return on investment earned through the life of the investment.
It determines the discount rate that equates the present value of future cash
flows to the cost of the investment.
Earnings Per Share (EPS)
Portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common
stock. For example, a corporation that earned $10 million last year and has
10 million shares outstanding would report earnings of $1 per share. This figure
is calculated after paying taxes and after paying preferred shareholders and
bondholders.
Earnings Yield
Relationship of earnings per share to the current price. Earnings divided by
price. This is the inverse of a P/E ratio. The earnings yield allows one
to
compare the relative attractiveness of stocks, bonds and money market instruments.
Example: if a company has a P/E ratio of 20, it has an earnings yield of
5%.
EBITDA
Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. The advantage
of looking at a company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and
amortization is that it will make an apple to apple comparison between those
companies that have debt and those that do not, as well as those companies that
fall under different tax brackets. This will allow you to look at the operating
earnings of a company before the expense of interest costs or taxes.
Ernst
& Young, LLP
Ernst & Young is one of the world's leading professional services and
accounting organizations. Ernst & Young audits 18.4% of Business Week's
Global 1,000 companies.
Free Cash Flow
Money that is left after all expenses, which include taxes, interest, and capital
expenditures. Therefore, this is money that is not needed to run the business.
This is extra and can be paid out in the form of a dividend, it can buy back
stock, or it can be reinvested into the company if it will show a good
return.
Fundamental Analysis
A method of
evaluating securities that involves closely examining a company's financial and
operating condition, especially sales, earnings, growth potential, assets, debt,
management, products and competition.
Global Investment
Performance Standards (GIPS)
The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) are ethical standards
to be used by investment Managers for creating performance presentations
that ensure fair
representation and full disclosure. Global standardization of investment
performance reporting will allow investors to compare investment managers
and will allow managers to compete for new business in foreign markets.
Greater Fool Theory
The theory that an investor will purchase overvalued securities
because
there will almost always be a "fool" willing to purchase these securities
at
an even higher price. According to the greater fool theory, questionable securities
are not purchased because of their quality, but with the hope of quickly selling
it off to another investor (the greater fool), who is also hoping to quickly
flip it. Unfortunately, speculative bubbles always burst eventually, leading
to a rapid depreciation in share price due to selling off.
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP)
The monetary value of all the goods and services produced by an economy over
a specified period. It includes consumption, government purchases, investments
and exports minus imports. This is perhaps the best indicator of the economic
health of a country. Growth of the U.S. economy is measured by the change in
inflation-adjusted GDP.
Gross National
Product (GNP)
An economic
statistic which includes GDP plus any income earned by residents from their overseas
investments, minus income earned within the domestic economy by overseas residents.
Basically, it's the total amount of money citizens of a country earn internationally.
Gross
of Fees
This means before any fees are taken from the account, including those charged
by investment advisor, custodian and broker.
Index
A benchmark
against which investment or economic performance is measured. Examples include
both the Standard & Poors 500-stock index and the Consumer Price Index.
Margin of Safety
Difference between the price an investor pays for a security and the securities
private market value or intrinsic value. For example, if the "Widget Company"
has a private market value of $100 per share and the investor pays only $40
dollars per share in the open market, then the investor has a built in margin
of safety in the amount of $60 per share. Using a margin of safety helps reduce
the risk level of a portfolio.
Market Capitalization
(aka: Market Cap)
Total dollar
value of all outstanding shares. It's calculated by multiplying the total number
of shares times the current market price. This term is often referred to as market
cap. Market cap is a measure of a company's size. Brokerages vary on their exact
definitions, but the current approximate classes of market capitalization are:
Mega Cap - Market cap of $200 billion and greater
Big/Large Cap
- $10-$200 billion
Mid Cap - $2 billion to $10 billion
Small Cap - $300 million to $2 billion
Micro Cap - $50 million to $300 million
Nano Cap - Under $50 million
Market Bubbles,
Speculation & Manias
A speculative
market or stock in which the values rise very rapidly then fall sharply. A temporary
market condition created through excessive buying, and an unfounded run-up in
prices occurs. Speculative bubbles are generally a result of the "bandwagon effect".
Investors, seeing an upward trend in prices, quickly enter long positions in
an attempt to participate in the stocks' profitability. Typically, these bubbles
are followed by even faster sell-offs once prices begin to decline. It's called
a bubble because it will eventually burst. A good example of this was the dot-com
bubble of the late 1990s.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Composite Index measures all NASDAQ domestic and international
based common type stocks listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market. Launched in 1971,
the NASDAQ Composite Index is a broad based index. Today, the Index includes
over 3,000 securities, more than most other stock market indices. The NASDAQ
Composite is calculated under a market capitalization weighted methodology index.
To be eligible for inclusion in the Composite, the security's U.S. listing must
be exclusively on the NASDAQ Stock Market (unless the security was dually listed
on another U.S. market prior to January 1, 2004 and has continuously maintained
such listing).
Net
of Fees
This means after all fees have been taken from the account, including those
charged by investment advisor, custodian and broker.
Nikkei Index
The leading
and most respected index of Japanese stocks. It is published by Nihon Keizai
Shimbun-Sha, a well-known financial newspaper publishing firm.
Price/Earnings Ratio
(P/E)
Price of a stock divided by its earnings per share. Also known as "Earnings
Multiple" or "Multiple" because it shows how much investors
are willing to pay per dollar of earnings.
It gives investors an idea of how much they are paying for a company's earning
power.
The higher
the
P/E,
the
more
investors are paying and, therefore, the more earnings growth they are expecting.
- Leading P/E
A leading PE ratio is calculated by dividing the current price
of the stock by the company's estimated earnings per share for the coming fiscal
year. You are evaluating the stock based on what you (or analysts) feel the
company is expected to earn in the next year. Note that Value Line (and many
other investment advisors) calculate PE ratios based on the previous 6 months
earnings per share and estimated earnings per share for the next 6 months.
- Median P/E
The median PE ratio is a Value Line concept calculated by taking
a rounded average of four middle values of the range of average P/E ratios
for the company over the past 10 years. PE ratios change almost everyday (because
the price of a stock changes almost every day); Value Line averages those daily
ratios for a year, collects the previous 10 year averages, orders them from
highest to lowest, then picks the middle 4 in that order and averages those
four. Value Line philosophizes that if the current PE is slightly below or
equal to the median PE, then the company is fairly valued (unless facts suggest
a change in the companies fundamentals. A current PE higher than the median
PE might suggest the company is overvalued.
- Relative P/E
The relative PE ratio is also a Value Line concept. It is calculated
by taking a company's current PE ratio and dividing it by the median PE ratio
of ALL stocks that Value Line follows. Supposedly it is meant to help an investor
judge a stock PE ratio as to how it compares to the market as a whole. Value
Line suggests comparing a stock's current relative PE ratio with it relative
PE ratios over the past 10 years to see how this company has performed relative
to how the market has performed. A value of 1 would mean that the stock has
matched the market over that time period. A value below 1 would imply that
the company has not performed as well as the market. A value over 1 suggests
that the company has outperformed the market.
- Trailing P/E
A trailing PE ratio is calculated by dividing the current price of the stock
by the company's earnings per share over the past fiscal year. This ratio assumes
that earnings are reflected in the price of the stock (you are evaluating the
company based on what has already happened). A question to ask yourself when
you look at a trailing PE is whether earnings are calculated based on operating
earnings (which do not include one time write offs/charges) or net earnings
(which do).
Private
Market Value (PMV)
The price at which sophisticated and informed investors are willing to pay to
buy and sell a company. The sellers want the highest price and the buyers want
the lowest price. By the time each party has consulted their accountants, lawyers,
and business advisors, the price each side is willing to agree upon is Private
Market Value. This is also referred to as the intrinsic value, appraised value,
or enterprise value of a company.
Recession
Downturn in economic activity, defined by many economists as at least two consecutive
quarters of decline in a country's Gross Domestic Product.
Russell 3000 Index
Measures the
performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization,
which represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market.
Capitalization Statistics
(as of reconstitution, June 30, 2003; Market-cap data updated May 30, 2003)
Range: $286.8 billion to $116.6
million
Average: $3.7 billion
Median: $622.3 million
Russell 2000 Index
Measures the
performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which
represents approximately 8% of the total market capitalization of the Russell
3000 Index.
Capitalization Statistics (as
of reconstitution, June 30, 2003; Market-cap data updated May 30, 2003)
Range: $1.2 billion to $116.6
million
Average: $443.5 million
Median: $351.8 million
S&P 400
Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 index is a capitalization-weighted index that
measures the performance of the mid-range sector of the U.S. stock market. The
index was developed with a base level of 100 as of December 31, 1990.
S&P 500
Standard & Poor's 500 index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks.
The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through
changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
Time-Weighted
Return
A "time-weighted" rate of return eliminates the effects of client-initiated
additions and withdrawals that are beyond the control of the manager. The result
is an accurate and unbiased measure of investment performance that is the same
with or without cash-flows.
In calculating a time-weighted return, a portfolio is evaluated each time there is a cash flow transaction in the account (i.e., new purchases and sales, dividend and income payments, deposits or withdrawals). The performances of periods between cash flows are linked together to reflect a return for the whole period. Daily transaction data is used in the linking of each cash flow so that we may achieve the most accurate return calculation.
Unemployment -
Structural
Unemployment
resulting from changes in the basic composition of the economy. These changes
simultaneously open new positions for trained workers. An example of structural
unemployment is the technological revolution. Computers may have eliminated jobs,
but they also opened up new positions for those who had the skills to operate
the computers.
Unemployment -
Cyclical
Unemployment
resulting from changes in the business cycle. An example of cyclical unemployment
is layoffs and cutbacks resulting from a recessionary economic phase.
Value Line Index
(aka: Value Line Investment Survey)
The Value
Line Index is a comprehensive source of information on approximately
1,700 stocks, more than 90 industries, the stock market and the economy.
An equal-weighted stock index containing 1,700 companies from the NYSE,
American Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and over-the-counter market. Also known as the
Value Line
Investment Survey. As this is an equal-weighted index, each of the 1,700 stocks
is assigned identical weights in the calculation. Value Line is one of the most
respected investment research firms.
Value Line Median
P/E
The median
is the middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number
of values. The Value Line is an index of 1,700 stocks. Therefore the Value Line
Median P/E represents the mid-point of these 1,700 stocks. In calculating the
median P/E, Value Line uses two quarters of forward earnings and two quarters
of past earnings in its calculations, as opposed to the S&P, which uses four
quarters of forward earnings. This will have a smoothing effect on the numbers
reported by Value Line and should help prevent under and overstatement of earnings.
By using the Value Line Median P/E, one can get a better look at how the average
company is performing.
Warrant
Option to buy a stock
at a stated price, extending up to ten years. Warrants themselves bear no dividend
and no voting rights.
Yield to Maturity
The rate of return on a bond which takes into account the market price, interest
payments and time until date of maturity.
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