Growth Investing Stock Market Glossary
From A for ‘Asset’ to Z for the ‘Zero-Coupon Yield Curve’ — your comprehensive guide to everything that matters in the markets.
Q1 (First quarter)
Report period January to March in finance and reporting.
Q2 (Second quarter)
Report period April to June in finance and reporting.
Q3 (Third Quarter)
Report period July to September in financial and reporting.
Q4 (Fourth Quarter)
Report period October to December in financial and reporting.
QAA (Qualitative Analysis)
Structured, non-numerical assessment of management, strategy, and business model.
QFI (Qualified Foreign Investor)
Further development/variant of the QFII regime with facilitated market access.
QFII (Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor)
Regime for the admission of foreign institutions to domestic capital markets (especially China).
QIB (Qualified Institutional Buyer)
US legal term for professional buyers with access to certain private placements.
QIS (Quantitative Impact Study)
Supervisory study on measuring the impact of planned regulations on institutions and markets.
QoQ (Quarter-over-Quarter)
Period comparison of one quarter with the immediately preceding quarter.
QPAM (Qualified Professional Asset Manager)
ERISA term for qualified asset managers with special powers.
QQE (Quantitative And Qualitative Easing)
Combination of balance sheet easing and qualitative purchases/controls.
QT (Quantitative Tightening)
Balance sheet reduction of central banks through redemption or active sales.
Quadruple Witching
Simultaneous expiration of index futures, index options, stock futures, and stock options.
Qualification (stock exchange listing)
Fulfillment of the listing requirements of a trading venue by the issuer.
Qualified Dividend
Tax-advantaged dividend after meeting specific holding and source criteria (especially USA).
Qualified Investor
Legal category of professional/experienced investors with easier access to products.
Qualified Opinion
Examination note with restrictions, but without denial.
Qualitative Factors
Non-numeric evaluation criteria such as management quality, market entry barriers, or governance.
Quality Factor
Factor that overweight profitable, stable, and efficiently capitalized companies.
Quality Investing
Investment strategy focusing on high capital returns, stable margins, and clean balance sheets.
Quality Minus Junk
Factor premium from overweighting qualitatively solid and underweighting weak companies.
Quality Of Earnings
Due diligence analysis on sustainability and quality of reported results.
Quality Score
Combined quality metric based on profitability, stability, and balance sheet strength.
Quant (Quantitative Analyst)
Specialist in model- and data-driven analysis, trading, and risk.
Quantile
Threshold of a distribution that identifies a fixed range of proportions (basis of VaR/ES).
Quantitative Easing (QE)
Bond and asset purchases by the central bank to reduce yields and ease financial conditions.
Quantitative Finance
Application of mathematical-statistical methods for evaluation, control, and risk measurement.
Quantitative Fund
Funds with systematic, rule-based trading and allocation approaches.
Quantitative Portfolio Management
Systematic weighting and rebalancing according to models and restrictions.
Quantitative Research
Development, testing, and validation of quantitative models and data signals.
Quantitative Strategy
Framework for portfolio management based on statistical effects and optimization.
Quantitative Trading
Algorithmic trading based on signals, alphas, and risk/cost models.
Quantitative Value
Value strategy with quantitative selection based on multiples, quality, and momentum filters.
Quarterly Guidance
Management outlook on key performance indicators for the upcoming quarter.
Quarterly Options
Option series with quarterly expiration dates in addition to standard months.
Quarterly Report
Periodic reporting with numbers, situation, and risks of a quarter.
Quasi-Equity
Mezzanine capital with risk and return characteristics similar to equity.
Quasi-Sovereign
State-related issuer profile with (implicit) support from the state.
Quiddity (market microstructure)
Short-term liquidity quality of an order book in terms of depth and resilience.
Quiet Period
Communication restriction before/during an IPO or earnings releases.
Quorum
Minimum participation required for effective decision-making at a shareholders' meeting.
Quota
Quantity or share specification, for example in trade agreements or subscription rights.
Quota Share Reinsurance
Reinsurance contract with fixed percentage sharing of premiums and losses.
Quotation
Official tradability and pricing of a security on a market.
Quotation Currency
Currency in which a security or FX pair is quoted.
Quotation Currency
Currency in which a security or FX pair is quoted.
Quote
Official listing of a security on an exchange.
Quote (price indication)
Bid or ask price of a security at a given time.
Quote Stuffing
HFT tactic with massive, short-term quotes for market distortion.
Quote-Driven Market
Market structure with price setting by market maker instead of pure order book.
Quoted Spread
Difference between best bid and ask price as a visible measure of cost.
