| Face Value | |
| The nominal rather than real value of a share, or other security. | |
| Fair Value | |
| The price at which a security can be expected to trade. | |
| Fade | |
| to trade in the opposite direction of a market signal (or analyst) for example a trader who goes short after prices penetrate the upside of a prior consolidation a price development that most technically oriented traders would interpret as a signal to buy or stay long, can be said to be fading the price break-out. | |
| False break-out | |
| a short lived price move that penetrates a prior high or low before succumbing to a pronounced price move in the opposite direction. For example a share that has traded between GBP1 and GBP1.50 for some months now rises to GBP1.70 and then quickly falls below GBP1.50 can be termed as a false break-out. | |
| Fallen Angels | |
| Bonds that have fallen below a previously held investment grade, becoming junk. | |
| Fallen knife | |
| A technical analysis term given to a share whose price is falling rapidly. It is not considered a good idea to buy a share whose current price could be considered a falling knife. | |
| Fast market | |
| terminology for a hive of activity. This is when prices change several times in seconds. i.e. unusually hectic market conditions. | |
| Fibonacci | |
| A technical analysis term which focuses on share price retracement levels and the resistance that may be met at these levels. The important Fibonacci retracement levels are 23.6%, 38.2%, 61.8%, 78.6% and 100%. | |
| Fibonacci Numbers | |
| A mathematical phenomenon described by 13th century mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, whereby the sum of any two consecutive numbers equals the next highest number. The system is used by technical analysts to establish price objectives. | |
| Fibonacci Retracements | |
| the concept of a prior trend will often approximate 38.2 per cent and 61.8 per cent based on the Fibonacci sequence derived from Leonardo Fibonacci | |
| Fibonacci sequence | |
| a sequence of numbers that begins with 1,1 and progresses to infinity. The sequence will be 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89... The ratio of alternate number in the sequence for example 21 and 55 converges to 0.382 as the numbers get larger. The two ratios 0.618 and 38.2 are used for retracements projections. Most trading software will have these figures pre-programmed. | |
| Fifty-two Week High | |
| The highest share price a share closed at during the last year (52 weeks). | |
| Fifty-two Week Low | |
| The lowest share price a share closed at during the last year (52 weeks). | |
| Fill | |
| to execute an order. Used in the term 'Fill or Kill' (FOK) which means you either execute a trade or cancel it. | |
| Fill or Kill | |
| An order to buy or sell stock at the particular moment that a security reaches a certain price. FOKs are usually initiated when an investor wants to buy a large chunk of stock at a particular price. | |
| First, Last, Blast | |
| Sporting Index market seen mainly in football and American football, awarding 25 points to the player who scores the first goal/touchdown and 25 points to the player who scores the last goal/touchdown, but nothing for scoring in between. If there is only one score, that player gets 50. | |
| Final | |
| The dividend declared with a company's year-end results. | |
| Finance Director | |
| Head bean counter, chief company accountant. | |
| Financial Times | |
| Newspaper of record for the Square Mile. Referred to as the Pink'un. | |
| Firm/Firmer | |
| When a market is on the rise. | |
| Fiscal Policy | |
| Governments have two main policy tools to boost economic growth: Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy. Fiscal policy relates to governments changing taxes and nurturing investments in public works, employment and spending. Lower taxes increase consumers' disposable incomes and thereby encourage spending. Higher taxes are used typically to 'cool' an economy by restricting income growth (and thereby inflation). Higher public spending provides employment and constitutes more direct intervention in the economy. | |
| Fixed Assets | |
| Fixtures, fittings, plant and machinery. In other words the physical assets of the company. | |
| Fixed Income | |
| Bond market spreadbets. | |
| Flotation | |
| When a company's shares are offered on the market for the first time. | |
| Foreign Exchange | |
| Also known as FX or Forex, Foreign Exchange is the name given to the worlds currency markets. It lists the current exchange rates between all the worlds major currencies. | |
| Foreign Shares | |
| you can buy any share on any recognised stockmarket anywhere in the world. Stockbrokers, however, may charge a higher fee for dealing in foreign shares. And as well as the price of the share being affected by fluctuations in the profitability of a company, there is also a currency risk. The value of sterling in relation to the currency of your shares will affect their value. You will also have to factor in the cost of converting shares and dividends back into sterling. | |
| Form S-8 | |
| The S-8 Registration Statement is rapidly becoming the weapon of choice for stock scams. It is quick and effective and takes advantages of a glaring loophole in the federal securities laws. Form S-8 allows public companies to register shares that have been, or will be, issued to directors, officers, employees and consultants - instantly, with minimal disclosure. Here is how it works. A company that wishes to register securities begins by filing a Registration Statement with the SEC. In most cases, the SEC reviews that Registration Statement, issues appropriate comments, asks pertinent questions and requires reasonable clarification. Then, after the company provides satisfactory responses to these questions, the SEC allows the Registration Statement to be declared effective, and permits the sale of the securities. This process is designed to protect investors by ensuring that they receive ample information about the company in which they are about to invest. Form S-8 abandons that protection and leaves investors to fend for themselves. An S-8 Registration becomes effective immediately after it is filed with the SEC, before it is reviewed by anyone. In an instant, the shares are registered and may be sold. Let the buyer beware. Rather than provide detailed disclosure, Form S-8 includes fragmentary information, including the number of shares being registered. The company's financial condition is rarely presented in detail. Instead, the Form S-8 incorporates prior financial statements "by reference." As a practical matter, few investors will bother to review those earlier documents. The absence of meaningful disclosure is only one of the disturbing features of Form S-8. Here is another. The company is not required to identify the individuals who will be receiving shares. Instead, the shares may be registered for a generic "Employee Benefit Plan." Which employees will "benefit" from that plan? The company is not required to identify the potential recipients when the Form S-8 is filed. And while companies are supposed to amend each Form S-8 to add the names of the new stockholders as shares are issued, they rarely do. In reality, the recipients of shares may not be employees at all - and that is another distressing feature of S-8. Under the statute that controls this registration form, employees may include "consultants" and "advisors" - opening the possibility for shares to be distributed to a host of individuals with mere marginal connection to the company. And the company is never obligated to account for the services rendered by those consultants in consideration for the stock. Virtually every day, tiny companies issue mounds of shares to unidentified individuals for unspecified services - and it is all within the letter of the law. |
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| Forward P/E | |
| The expected Price Earnings (PE) Ratio that a company will have next year assuming it delivers on it's earnings estimates. When compared with the current PE it can help identify rapidly growing companies. | |
| Free Cash Flow | |
| A measure of how much cash a company has after paying its bills and maintenance costs. It is an indication of a strong company with financial flexibility. There are a number of different ways to calculate free cash flow. The easiest way is to subtract capital expenditures from cash flow from operations. | |
| Front Running | |
| 1) The practice whereby a trader illegally deals on his own behalf prior to carrying out a client's order to buy or sell a specific security when he knows the client's transaction will likely move the price. 2) A brokerage's trading in shares ahead of publication of its own research report. | |
| FSA | |
| Financial Services Authority. The FSA is now the FCA - Financial Conduct Authority. The governing body that regulates the financial services industry including spread betting. Has the effect of making spread betting losses legally recoverable. | |
| FTSE 100 | |
| Financial Times Stock Exchange index. FTSE 100 (top 100 companies), FTSE 250 (midcaps), FTSE All Share (whole market). An index of the top 100 largest companies in the UK calculated by market capitalisation. As it's the index of the UK's 100 biggest companies, inclusion in the FTSE 100 can be crucial for a company. Some investors, such as institutional investors (including company pension providers), will only consider investing in companies that appear in this index, which includes big blue-chip businesses and household names. | |
| FTSE 250 | |
| An index of the next largest 250 companies in the UK by market capitalisation. The FTSE Mid 250 is thereby a benchmark for medium-sized companies, and the FTSE Small Cap keeps track of smaller companies. Alternatively, the indices may cover specific sectors, such as the FTSE techMARK, which includes companies from the technology, media and telecomms sectors. As its name suggests, the FTSE All-Share covers every company listed on the LSE. | |
| FTSE 350 | |
| The above two combined i.e. the top 100 largest companies in the UK combined with the next largest 250 companies in the UK by market capitalisation. | |
| FT-Actuaries All-Share Index | |
| FT-Actuaries All-Share Index An index covering over 900 shares. A slightly misleading title. | |
| Fixed Investments | |
| Held for long term. Taken in conjunction with fixed assets, they provide the tangible asset backing for the company's liabilities and debt. | |
| Fundamental Analysis | |
| Fundamental analysis is the practice of studying the fundamentals of a business (revenues, profit margin, cashflow, etc) to determine if it is a good investment. It is a way of spotting undervalued shares based on the company's fundamentals such as earnings, dividends and future prospects. A method of judging a company's financials and operations (typically including ratios) to decide whether the company's shares are cheap or expensive. A company's fundamental data is directly related to the company's performance (its operational and financial situation and future prospects), as opposed to statistical data, which is used in technical analysis. Fundamental analysis studies variables such as earnings, revenue, cash flow, debt, and acquisition to arrive at a fair value for a stock. | |
| Fund | |
| Cash or assets invested according to the fund's specified criteria on behalf of clients by a fund manager(s). | |
| Fund Manager Person | |
| Paid to invest cash for a pension fund, or insurer. | |
| Future | |
| a futures market is an estimation of where the underlying market will trade at some date in the future. Futures markets list the price at which you can by a security today for delivery at some agreed date in the future. | |
| Futures contract | |
| a legally binding arrangement where one party commits to buying an asset from another party on a specified date in the future, but at a price agreed previously. The counterparty is obliged to sell the asset at the agreed price and on the agreed date. Because the price is agreed at the outset, the seller (buyer) is protected from a fall (rise) in the price of the underlying asset in the intervening time period. Initially developed to protect agricultural producers from unforeseen market fluctuations. In spread betting a futures contract usually refers to a spread bet with a fixed expiry date, usually within the next 3-12 months. | |
| Futures style bets | |
| bets structured like a futures contract, generally expiring at the next quarter ('near month') or the quarter after that ('far month'). Some longer futures style bets now in existence, expiring 9 months or a year out. | |
