The business entity that establishes and manages the mutual fund(s); each a separate entity with its own board of directors or trustee(s).

A measure of the total costs of operating a mutual fund as a percentage of average total assets

The sum paid to the investment company's adviser or manager for supervising its portfolio and administering its operations.

Buying on margin means that the investor borrows money from a broker to buy a security. Investors usually do this when they are confident that the price of a security will go up. For example, suppose you want to buy 200 shares of a stock that costs $20 per share. Normally, you would need $4,000 (plus commission) to purchase this security. But if you buy the security on margin, you can borrow up to $2,000 (50%) of the purchase price and pay the other $2,000 yourself. If the value of the stock goes up, you earn all the gains on the$4,000 investment, even though you borrowed half of the initial investment. At some point, of course, you need to pay back the borrowed amount to the brokerage, which charges interest for the amount you have borrowed. If the value of the stock falls, however, you will owe the brokerage for the losses. If the value of the stock falls too far, the brokerage may give you a margin call.

A special type of brokerage account, which allows the client to pay a portion of the price of the securities and borrow the balance from the broker. The word "margin" refers to the difference between the market value of the stock and the loan, which the broker makes against it.

When an investor has bought stocks on margin and the value of that stock falls too low, the broker may issue a margin call to the investor to obtain money to cover the losses. To prevent catastrophic losses by investors, stock exchanges, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and individual brokerages have established rules governing the percentage of a purchase that can be bought on margin.

Refers to the dollar value of a company. To put it another way, market capitalization is the amount of money someone would have to pay to buy the company. To calculate market capitalization, multiply the total number of accompany's shares by the current price per share. For example, if a company has 10 million shares, and the current price is $20 per share, then the company's market capitalization is $200 million ($20 x 10 million). When investors refer to small cap, mid cap, or large cap stocks, they're referring to the amount of the stocks' market capitalization. Large cap is a company with over $1 billion in market capitalization, a mid cap has between $500 million and $1 billion and a small cap has less than $500 million.

A vehicle used to denote trends in securities markets.

An order to buy or sell securities immediately at the best possible price.

In the case of a security, market price is usually considered the last reported price at which the stock or bond is sold.

Debt instruments for which there exists a secondary market where the instrument can be bought and sold by investors after it is issued. Government of Canada marketable debt is issued in a number of forms including fixed-coupon marketable bonds, Treasury bills, Real Return Bonds and Canada Bills. Almost all of this debt is initially sold by auction to primary dealers (chartered banks and investment dealers), who then resell the bonds to individual investors.

An arrangement in a public share distribution whereby the price at which the shares are sold is determined after a period of marketing activities. During the marketing period, the underwriters are able to contact potential purchasers to assess potential demand and price sensitivity. Shares continue to be publicly traded, if they had been previously listed. The underwriters minimize the price risk on resale (thereby lowering the discount to market), but the seller bears a risk of a price decline over the marketing period. The marketing activities commonly take the form of a "road show" during which company executives make a series of presentations on the company's merits to members of the investment community.

The date at which a loan or bond or debenture comes due and must be redeemed or paid off.

Stocks of a company with between$500 million and $1 billion in market capitalization

The process of managing the supply of money and credit in the economy. Monetary policy in Canada as in other modern economies is managed by the central bank, although the Bank of Canada is ultimately responsible to the federal government. The primary objective of monetary policy is to contribute to the performance of the Canadian economy. This goal is best realized in practice by achieving and maintaining price stability. The Bank of Canada's primary instrument for managing the supply of money is its influence on short-term interest rates; the Bank has virtually no control over long-term interest rates, which are determined mainly by inflation expectations. The Bank influences short-term interest rates mainly by inducing decreases or increases in the level of liquidity (i.e., cash) in the financial system. A decrease results in higher interest rates; a liquidity increase results in lower interest rates. The Bank influences the level of liquidity in the financial system mainly through its control over the level of government deposits in major deposit-taking institutions.

A process of selecting a mix of asset classes and the best allocation of those assets. The method is determined by matching the rates of return to a specified risk tolerance. MPT was a Nobel Prize winning theory in 1952.

Part of the capital market established for short-term borrowing and lending of funds. Money market dealers conduct business over the telephone and trade securities such as short-term (three years or less) government bonds, government treasury bills, and commercial paper.

Fixed-income mutual funds that invest in short-term securities (maturing within one year).

A pension plan in which employees purchase their future retirement benefits. A Company may also contribute to the plan but the benefits that each employee receives are related to the contributions, not to a formula. Also called a "defined-contribution plan."

A legal instrument given by a borrower to the lender entitling the lender to take over pledged property if conditions of the loan are not met.

Certificates that represent ownership in a pool of mortgages. The holders of these securities receive regular payments of principal and interest.

Includes first mortgages, home equity loans, and any other loans secured by your real estate. Include investment properties and second homes

A mutual fund that invests in mortgages. Portfolios of mortgage funds usually consist of first mortgages on Canadian residential property, although some funds also invest in commercial mortgages.

A short-term or long-term use of property or money with the consent of the owner of the property or money. Usually the loan of money has an agreed-to repayment schedule and an interest charge.

The period of time over which the current conditions of the mortgage will apply.

In security charts, the moving average is a curve that averages price fluctuations of the security over a 50-day or 200-day interval. Each point on the moving average curve is calculated by averaging the closing prices from the previous 50 (or 200) days of trading. The moving average is a way to compare long-term price trends with recent price changes.

A pooled group of investment assets that provides diversified holdings and professional management to investors. The total value of the investment is subdivided in equal shares and distributed among fund holders in proportion to their dollar investment. An open-ended investment company which combines the money of many people whose investment goals are similar and invests this money in a wide variety of securities.

Allow an investor to switch out of and into a different fund(s) within the same family of funds at very low or no compensation.