Unit 17 - Stocks and Shares

Question 1

a person or company that looks after someone else’s money, stocks and shares, etc.

Answer 1

asset manager

Question 2

a time when the price of shares is falling and a lot of people are selling them

Answer 2

bear market

Question 3

A company or investment that can be trusted and is not likely to fail.

Answer 3

blue chip

Question 4

the group of people who shareholders choose to manage a company or organization

Answer 4

board of directors

Question 5

time when the prices of most shares are rising

Answer 5

bull market

Question 6

a share or shares of a company providing the owner with a right to vote at shareholder meetings and to receive a part of the company profits as a dividend

Answer 6

common stock / ordinary stock

Question 7

(a part of) the profit of a company that is paid to the people who own shares in it

Answer 7

dividend

Question 8

the value of a company, which is divided into many equal parts owned by the shareholders, or one of the equal parts into which the value of a company is divided

Answer 8

equity

Question 9

an amount of money borrowed by a government, or the official document relating to this

Answer 9

Government bonds

Question 10

a financial service where money is invested (= given to companies hoping to get more back) in a way which tries to make very big profits, but which has a big risk

Answer 10

Hedge fund

Question 11

a sum of money that is invested in a stock index (= a fixed set of shares on a particular stock market). Investors buy parts of the fund, which has low costs because it is not managed.

Answer 11

index fund/ exchange traded fund (ETF)

Question 12

the first sale of a company’s shares to the public

Answer 12

initial public offering (IPO)/flotation

Question 13

a company whose shares can be traded on a country’s main stock market

Answer 13

listed company

Question 14

a price which is likely to be paid for something

Answer 14

market price

Question 15

the value of a share, bond, etc. when it is made available for sale for the first time:

Answer 15

nominal value

Question 16

a supply of money which many people pay into, especially employees of a company, and which is invested (= given to companies hoping to get more back) in order to provide them with a pension when they are older

Answer 16

pension fund

Question 17

a collection of company shares and other investments that are owned by a particular person or organization

Answer 17

portfolio

Question 18

a share or group of shares in a company that gives the owner the right to receive a dividend (= part of the company’s profit) before dividends are paid to owners of common shares, or when dividends on common shares are not paid at all

Answer 18

preferred stock/ preference shares

Question 19

a person who owns some of the equal parts into which the ownership of a company is divided

Answer 19

shareholder

Question 20

a place where parts of the ownership of companies are bought and sold, or the organization of people whose job is to do this buying or selling

Answer 20

stock exchange

Question 21

a person or company that buys and sells stocks and shares for other people

Answer 21

stockbroker

Question 22

part of the ownership of a company which people buy as an investment (= to make a profit)

Answer 22

stocks/shares

Question 23

to include something when you are doing a calculation, or when you are trying to understand something

Answer 23

to factor in

Question 24

to start selling shares in a business or company for the first time

Answer 24

to float a company

Question 25

a company that goes public makes shares available on a stock market for the first time

Answer 25

to go public

Question 26

to sell shares before you own it by borrowing them off a conventional fund so that when the share price fall you make profit by buying them back

Answer 26

to short shares

Question 27

If a bank or other organization underwrites an activity, it gives it financial support and takes responsibility for paying any costs if it fails.

Answer 27

to underwrite