School Articles

Is a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of an investment opportunity. DCF analyses use future free cash flow projections and discounts them, using a required annual rate, to arrive at present value estimates. A present value estimate is then used to evaluate the potential for investment. If the value arrived at through DCF analysis is higher than the current cost of the investment, the opportunity may be a good one.

A rate of return is the gain or loss on an investment over a specified time period, expressed as a percentage of the investment’s cost. Gains on investments are defined as income received plus any capital gains realized on the sale of the investment.

The maturity date is the date on which the principal amount of a note, draft, acceptance bond or another debt instrument becomes due and is repaid to the investor and interest payments stop. It is also the termination or due date on which an installment loan must be paid in full.

A bond is a form of a fixed income investment where an investor loans money to government or corporations that in their turn borrow the funds for a certain period of time at a variable or fixed interest rate. Bonds are used by both big and medium-sized companies, municipalities, and even sovereign governments to help raise money and finance different projects. Owners of bonds are called debtholders or creditors.

An investment is an asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in the future. In an economic sense, an investment is the purchase of goods that are not consumed today but are used in the future to create wealth. In finance, an investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the asset will provide income in the future or will later be sold at a higher price for a profit.

Technical analysis uses historical price and trading volume in chart format to attempt to predict the direction of securities prices and the demand for them. It does not make use of the tools of either top-down or bottom-up fundamental analysis. The entire premise of technical analysis would appear to fly in the face of the efficient markets. 

A method of evaluating securities by analyzing statistics generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume. Technical analysts do not attempt to measure a security's intrinsic value, but instead use charts and other tools to identify patterns that can suggest future activity.