GCPA Glossary

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Maintenance fee
An annual charge to maintain certain types of brokerage accounts.

Manager
A mutual fund may be run by one manager or a team of managers who make decisions regarding the fund's portfolio. Holdings are chosen according to the goal of the mutual fund, as stated in the prospectus and according to the manager's unique investment strategy. Refer to the fund's prospectus for complete information on risks, fees and expenses.

Market
Refers to the exchanges, traders and investors involved in the transfer of goods and services and securities, as in the stock market. The term also may refer to goods and services in general, the producers who produce them and/or the consumers who buy them.

Market risk
Refers to the potential of loss that is possible as a result of short-term volatility in the stock market. Factors include political, social and economic events.

Market timing
Market timing involves trying to predict what the market will do and purchasing or selling stocks to benefit from the movements of the market. It has not been proven that anyone can time the market successfully for any length of time.

Market-valued account
An investment account whose value fluctuates with the market prices of the specific securities within the account's portfolio and offers no guarantee of principal and interest.

Maturity
The date on which a debt is due for payment or a bond is repaid. The average weighted maturity of a bond portfolio is the portfolio's time to maturity, weighted by the dollar value of the bonds comprising the portfolio.

Merrill Lynch High Yield Master Index
An index used to gauge the general performance of high yield (junk) debt securities. An index is unmanaged and you cannot invest directly in an index.

Mid-cap
A medium sized company or a mutual fund that invests almost exclusively in medium sized companies. A company's size is usually determined by the dollar value of its assets and earnings.

Minimum investment
Most funds have an initial minimum investment that may range from $50-$2,500.

Money market investments
Money market investments are short-term securities that carry little risk, such as banker's acceptances, commercial paper, repos, negotiable certificates of deposit and Treasury bills. Money market mutual funds invest in these types of short-term investments; as a result, the risk of losing any of the principle investment is lower. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1 per share, it is possible to lose money. A money market mutual fund is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC.

Mortgage-backed securities
Securities backed by a pool of mortgages. Mortgage payments are "passed through" to the investor. Mortgage-backed securities are primarily issued by federal agencies.

Mutual company
A life insurance company owned by policyowners rather than stockholders.

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