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.
S&P 500
Broad US stock index with 500 large publicly traded companies as the central benchmark.
S&P Global Ratings
International rating agency for issuers and structured financings.
SaaS (Software As A Service)
Providing software through subscriptions with recurring revenues and high scalability.
Safe-Haven-Asset (Safe Haven)
Anlage mit tendenziell stabiler Wertentwicklung in Marktstressphasen.
Sale-and-leaseback
Disposal of an asset with subsequent leaseback to release liquidity.
Sales approval (product release)
Internal process for approving a financial product for distribution in accordance with MiFID rules.
Sales commission
Remuneration for the distribution of financial products to end customers.
Sales cost ratio
Share of distribution expenses in sales or premium volume.
Sales Key Performance
Sales key figure set for controlling growth and efficiency.
SAR (Parabolic SAR)
Trend-following indicator with moving stop level to signal trend reversals.
Satoshi
Smallest unit of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin with 0.00000001 BTC.
Savings plan (ETF savings plan)
Regular purchase of specified fund shares for asset accumulation.
Scalability
Ability to increase revenue or output faster than costs.
Scalping
Very short-term trading strategy with many small profit takings.
Scanner (Marktscanner)
Tool for filtering markets according to predefined criteria and signals.
Seasonal adjustment
Statistical smoothing of recurring seasonal fluctuations in time series.
Seasonality
Pattern of recurring return or demand effects at certain times.
SEC (U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission)
US Securities and Exchange Commission for issuers, markets, and disclosure.
Secondary Listing
Additional stock exchange listing of an issuer on another trading venue.
Secondary market
Trading of already issued securities among investors.
Secondary Offering (Secondary Offering)
Placement of existing shares by existing shareholders.
Secondary Offering (SEO)
Capital measure involving the issuance of additional shares after the initial public offering.
Sector
Thematic or industrial grouping of companies for analysis and allocation.
Sector allocation
Distribution of the portfolio across industries as drivers of return and risk.
Sector index
Reflects the price development of a specific sector and serves as a thematic benchmark.
Sector rotation
Reallocating between sectors depending on economic and interest rate cycles.
Secured Bond
Debenture with collateral such as mortgages or assets.
Secured credit
Loans with real collateral or guarantees to reduce credit risk.
Securities account
Custody account for securities with booking of holdings, transactions, and corporate actions.
Securities account (Depot)
Account for the booking and safekeeping of an investor's securities.
Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (WpÜG)
Legal framework for public takeover offers in Germany.
Securities custody (Custody)
Safekeeping and processing of securities at custodians.
Securities firms (securities house)
Regulated service provider for trading, consulting, and placement of financial instruments.
Securities issuance
Issuance of new securities on the primary market to raise capital.
Securities lending
Transfer of securities against payment for short covering or market making.
Securities lending (loan)
Temporary transfer of securities against fees and collateral.
Securities management fee
Fee for custody account management and administrative services.
Securities order
Instructions for buying or selling securities with parameters and validity.
Securities prospectus
Document with essential information about the issuer, risks, and offering.
Securities Prospectus Act (WpPG)
German law on prospectus requirements, largely replaced by EU Prospectus Regulation.
Securities sales proceeds
Net proceeds after deduction of fees from the sale of securities.
Securities statement
Periodic overview of holdings, transactions, and earnings in the portfolio.
Securities supervision
State surveillance of issuers, markets, and intermediaries.
Securities tax (financial transaction tax)
Abgabe auf bestimmte Wertpapiergeschäfte in einzelnen Ländern.
Securities trading
Buying and selling of financial instruments via exchanges or OTC.
Securities Trading Act (WpHG)
German legal framework for securities services and market behavior.
Securities trading bank
Specialized bank focusing on trading and capital market business.
Securities transaction
Disposition of rights from securities including transfer and encumbrance.
Securitization
Bundling and sale of claims as tradable securities.
Securitization structure
Splitting a pool of receivables into tranches with different risks and priorities.
Security
Certificate or electronic certification with property rights claims.
Security deposit (Margin)
Providing collateral to secure potential losses.
Security identification number (WKN)
National identification code for securities in Germany.
Security number
Swiss security identifier for the unique identification of a security.
Security yield
Yield of an investment from price changes and distributions relative to the capital employed.
Segment reporting
Disclosure of business segments with separate key figures.
Seller's Market
Market with tight liquidity or supply shortages and volatile prices.
SEPA
Single Euro Payments Area with standardized transfers and direct debits.
Settlement
Completion of the securities transaction with booking of delivery and payment in the settlement cycle (e.g. T+2).
Shadow banking system
Credit allocation and financing outside regular bank balance sheets.
Share buyback
Repurchase of own shares by the company, usually for capital reduction or for use in employee programs.
Share capital (equity capital)
Registered capital amount of a joint-stock company in the commercial register.
Share class
Differentiation of shares with different rights, e.g. common and preferred shares.
Shareholder loan
Debt capital from owners to their company with contractually regulated conditions.
Short selling
Selling borrowed securities with the aim of buying them back at a lower price later.
Short selling ban
Official or exchange-related restriction of short sales in exceptional situations.
Short selling ratio (Short Interest)
The ratio of short-sold to available shares as an indicator of market expectations.
Short-term bond
Bond or money market instrument with a short remaining term.
SIFIs (Systemically Important Financial Institutions)
Financial institutions with special significance for system stability.
Sigma (standard deviation)
Statistical risk measure for the fluctuation of returns.
Sinking Fund
Amortization fund for the scheduled repayment of bonds.
SIX Swiss Exchange
Swiss stock exchange with regulated trading in stocks, bonds, and ETFs.
Skewness
Measure of the asymmetry of a return distribution.
Skill-Based Alpha
Excess return from real managerial ability as opposed to luck.
Skimming (payment)
Fraud by reading card data relevant to payment risks.
Skonto (Trade)
Discount for prompt payment; relevant as a working capital driver.
Skonto management
Control of cash discount utilization in purchasing.
Skontro overview
Compilation of price leadership responsibilities.
Skontro-/Order book maintenance
Technical and organizational safeguarding of orderly price formation.
Skyscraper Index
Popular thesis that record buildings indicate cyclical peaks.
Slippage
Deviation between expected and actual execution price.
SMA (Simple Moving Average)
Simple moving average for trend determination.
Small and mid-cap stocks
Stocks with smaller to medium market capitalization and often higher volatility.
Small Cap
Stock category with low market capitalization and often higher volatility.
Smart Beta
Strategy that aims to slightly outperform an index with targeted deviations.
Smart Beta
Rule-based indexing based on factors instead of pure market capitalization.
Smart Contract
Self-executing program code on a blockchain with automated conditions.
SMB Factor (Small Minus Big)
Difference in returns smaller for small companies in the Fama-French model.
SME (Small and medium-sized enterprises)
Business segment with specific regulatory and funding framework.
SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate)
US reference rate for secured overnight financing.
Soft currency
Currency with low external acceptance and high volatility.
Soft Dollars
Commission credits for research services in exchange for order flow.
Soft Landing
Economic slowdown without recession as the goal of monetary policy.
Solvency
Ability of a company to meet its financial obligations in the long term.
Solvency II
EU regulatory framework for insurers with capital and reporting obligations.
Solvent
Ability of a debtor to make due payments on time.
Sondertilgung
Extraordinary repayment of loans to reduce interest and term.
Source tax credit
Offsetting foreign withholding tax against domestic tax liability within maximum amounts.
Source tax refund application
Application for refund of overwithheld withholding tax from the source state.
Sovereign Risk
Risk of political or economic payment defaults by a state.
Sovereign Wealth Fund
State investment fund for long-term asset management.
SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company)
Börsenmantel zur Übernahme eines operativen Unternehmens.
SPAN-Margin
Risk-based margin system at futures exchanges for collateral assessment.
SPDR
ETF brand from State Street, known for S&P 500 trackers.
Special assets (fund)
Insolvency-secure assets of an investment fund separated from the assets of the KVG.
Special audit
Extraordinary examination of specific circumstances by auditors.
Special dividend
Unique, additional payout outside of the regular dividend policy.
Special Dividend
Unique, extraordinary dividend in addition to the regular distribution.
Special Situation
An investment scenario involving special situations such as spin-offs or restructurings.
Specialist dealer
Market participants responsible for pricing and liquidity of a security.
Specific Risk (Spezifisches Risiko)
Risk that is specific to an individual security and can be diversified.
Speculative bubble
Price exaggeration beyond fair values with crash risk.
Speculative Grade (High Yield)
Bonitätssegment unterhalb Investmentgrade mit höherem Ausfallrisiko.
Spekulation
Exposure to price risks with profit expectations from price movements.
Sperrfrist (Lock-up)
Period during which insiders are not allowed to sell their shares after an IPO.
SPGSCI (S&P GSCI)
**Broad commodity index as a benchmark for commodity investments.**
Spike (Price Spike)
Short, extreme course deviation with high momentum.
Spin-off (Abspaltung)
Separation and independent stock market listing of a business unit.
Split (Stock Split)
Splitting a share into multiple parts without changing the company's value.
Split-Adjusted
Course and key figure history adjusted for splits.
Spot FX
Cash market in foreign exchange trading with short-term settlement.
Spot price
Price for immediate delivery on the cash market.
Spot transaction
Immediate transaction with prompt delivery and payment (spot).
Spread (Bid-Ask-Spread)
Difference between bid and ask price as a direct measure of cost.
Spread Duration
Sensitivity of the credit spread to changes in yield.
Spread trading (Options/Futures)
Strategy of simultaneous purchase/sale contracts with different strikes or maturities.
Sprinter (Turbo Certificate)
Hebelzertifikat mit Knock-out-Barriere und hoher Partizipation.
SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle)
Special purpose entity for financing, securitization, or risk transfer.
SRB (Single Resolution Board)
EU resolution authority for banks in distress.
SREP (Supervisory Review And Evaluation Process)
Supervisory process for assessing bank risks and capital.
SRF (Single Resolution Fund)
EU funds for financing resolution measures.
SRI (Socially Responsible Investing)
Sustainable investing based on social and environmental criteria.
SRRI (Synthetic Risk And Reward Indicator)
Risk indicator in KIID/PRIIPs documents.
SSM (Single Supervisory Mechanism)
Unified banking supervision mechanism in the Euro area.
Stablecoin
Cryptocurrency with price pegged to reference values such as fiat or commodities.
Stagflation
Simultaneity of stagnant growth and high inflation.
Stagnation
Economic phase with minimal growth and low dynamism.
Stakeholder Engagement
Active influence of investors on companies through dialogue and exercising voting rights.
Staking
Participation in block validation in Proof-of-Stake networks for profit.
Standard deviation
Statistical dispersion of returns around their mean.
Standard error
Estimation error of the mean as a measure of statistical uncertainty.
Standing Facility
Constant facilities of the central bank such as deposit facility and marginal lending facility.
Stapelhandel (Batch Auction)
Periodic collective auction for price discovery instead of continuous trading.
Star Manager Risk
Dependence of a fund on the performance of an individual.
Start-Up Financing
Early-stage financing of young companies with high risk/reward potential.
Statische Duration
Duration without rebalancing over the term as an approximation of interest rate sensitivity.
Statistical Arbitrage (StatArb)
Systematic exploitation of small misvaluations with high diversification.
Steepening of the yield curve
Increase in the yield spread between long and short maturities.
Stellar (XLM)
Cryptocurrency/network for fast, inexpensive transactions.
Steueraufschub
Delaying tax payments to the future for liquidity optimization.
Steuerruling
Preliminary information from the tax authorities on planned structures.
Stimmrecht
Right of shareholders to participate in the resolutions of the general meeting.
Stochastic oscillator
Momentum indicator based on the position of the closing price in the period high/low spectrum.
Stock
Ownership interest in a joint-stock company with voting and/or dividend rights.
Stock Dividend (Aktiendividende)
Payout in the form of additional shares instead of cash.
Stock Exchange
The Austrian Stock Exchange Act regulates the operation of stock exchanges and the admission of securities.
Stock Exchange Allowance Regulation
Securities Admission Regulation, which specifies the requirements for the admission of securities to trading.
Stock Picking (Titelauswahl)
Selecting individual securities to outperform the market.
Stock split
Relative distribution of existing shares to reduce the calculated share price while maintaining the same company value.
Stock symbol
Smallest price change unit of a security.
Stock symbol
Short designation of a security for clear identification in trading.
Stop price (Stop Price)
Order level at which a stop order is activated.
Stop-Buy
Buy-stop order to participate in breakouts above a level.
Stop-Limit
Stop order with subsequent limit condition for controlled execution.
Stop-Loss
Sales stop order to limit losses below a certain level.
Stop-Order
Conditional order that is activated when a stop price is reached.
Stop-Out
Forced closing of positions by the broker in case of insufficient margin.
Stornorate (Churn)
Share of customers or contracts lost in a period.
Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA)
Long-term basic allocation of a portfolio across asset classes.
Strategic reserve (cash ratio)
Planned liquidity management for seizing opportunities or risk mitigation.
Stress Test (Stresstest)
Examination of portfolios or institutions under extreme scenarios.
Strike (Exercise price)
Price at which an option can be exercised.
Strike price
Specify the price at which the option holder is allowed to buy or sell the underlying asset.
Strip/STRIPS
Decomposition of coupon and repayment of a bond into separately tradable zero bonds.
Strompreisfutures
Terminprodukte zur Absicherung von Strompreisen.
Structural change
Long-term change in the economic structure with industry and valuation consequences.
Structure Product (Certificate)
Guaranteed product with a defined payout profile based on underlying assets and derivatives.
Structured bond
Anleihe mit eingebetteten Derivatkomponenten für besondere Auszahlungsprofile.
Structurer
Issuer role in the construction of structured products and securitizations.
Strukturvertrieb
Distribution of financial products through hierarchical sales organizations.
Strukturzuwachs
Long-term growth driver through structural changes.
Subordinated bond
Subordinated bond in insolvency with respect to senior creditors.
Subprime
Credit segment with below-average creditworthiness and higher default risk.
Subscription period
Period during which shareholders can acquire new shares through subscription rights in capital increases.
Subscription period
Period during which a security is available for subscription.
Subscription Period (Bezugsfrist)
Period during which subscription rights can be exercised.
Subscription Price (Bezugspreis)
Price at which new shares can be subscribed for under a subscription right.
Subscription ratio
Determine how many existing shares are needed to subscribe to a new share as part of a capital increase.
Subscription Ratio (Bezugsverhältnis)
Relationship in which existing shareholders can acquire new shares.
Subscription right
Gives existing shareholders the right to subscribe for new shares in proportion to avoid dilution in a capital increase.
Success fee (Performance Fee)
Compensation component for funds/managers dependent on achieved return above a hurdle.
Sukuk
Sharia-compliant security with participation in assets and cash flows.
Sum-Of-The-Parts (SOTP)
Approach to valuation based on the sum of the segment values of a conglomerate.
Supervisory Board
Supervisory body of a joint-stock company that appoints and supervises the executive board.
Supplies (Inventories)
Current assets consisting of raw materials, auxiliary and operating materials, unfinished and finished products.
Supply Chain Act (SCA)
German legal framework on due diligence in global supply chains.
Supply chain financing
Financing options along the supply chain such as reverse factoring or dynamic discounting.
Support (Unterstützung)
Course area where demand typically catches setbacks.
Swap
Exchange of contractual cash flows such as interest or currency payments.
Swap chain
Sequence of upcoming swap payments and reset dates.
Swap-Spread
Difference between swap rate and yield of government bonds with the same term.
Swaption
Option to enter into an interest rate or currency swap.
Swing Trading
Multi-day to multi-week trading strategy on intermediate movements.
Swiss Average Rate Overnight (SARON)
Swiss reference rate for secured overnight money transactions.
Swiss Market Index (SMI)
Leitindex des Schweizer Aktienmarkts.
Switch (Umschichtung)
Sale of a position in favor of an alternative with a better risk-reward profile.
Syndicated loan
German debt instrument between a loan and a bond with private placement.
SYNTHETIC ETF (Synthetic Replication)
ETF with index replication via swaps instead of physical holdings.
Systematic Internaliser (Systematic Internaliser, SI)
MiFID-II trading category for bilateral execution by investment firms.
Systematic risk
Market risk that cannot be eliminated through diversification.
Systemic Risk (Systemrisiko)
Risk of a chain reaction that destabilizes the financial system.
