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1492 terms

Glossary

Every term is defined twice: once the way a filing would put it, and once the way somebody would explain it to you across a table. The second one is usually the one that sticks.

Showing 46 terms

EMI

Market basics

Equated monthly instalment — a level monthly payment covering both interest and principal, calculated so the loan is fully repaid over its tenure.

In plain terms

A constant EMI hides a changing split: early instalments are mostly interest, later ones mostly principal. A low EMI over a long tenure can cost far more in total than a high one.

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LRS

Regulation & tax
Also called: Liberalised Remittance Scheme

Liberalised Remittance Scheme — the RBI facility under which a resident individual may remit up to an annual limit abroad, including to buy foreign shares.

In plain terms

The direct route out of India. It brings tax collected at source on the remittance and a separate foreign-asset schedule in your return, with meaningful penalties for leaving that blank.

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Option premium

Derivatives
Also called: Premium

The price paid for an option, which rises with expected volatility.

In plain terms

What a VIX spike actually tells you: protection has become expensive. That is a statement about what to trade, not which way.

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Risk premium

Market basics
Also called: Equity risk premium

The extra return an investor expects for holding a risky asset rather than a risk-free one.

In plain terms

Compensation for enduring drawdowns, not a payment that arrives on schedule. It shows up over decades and can be absent for years at a stretch.

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RoDTEP

Fundamental analysis
Also called: Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products

Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products — a scheme refunding embedded duties and taxes on export value as transferable electronic scrips, notified rate by rate against the customs tariff.

In plain terms

It replaced the earlier MEIS after India’s export incentives were found inconsistent with WTO rules, and it is framed as a remission rather than a subsidy for that reason. It generally sits above EBITDA, so it lifts the operating margin rather than just the tax line.

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Forward premium

Derivatives
Also called: Forward points

The gap between a currency’s forward or futures price and its spot rate, arising from the interest rate differential between the two currencies.

In plain terms

It shrinks to nothing at expiry by construction, so a currency futures chart can fall over a month in which the spot rate rose. Measure the premium as a distance and compare it with the move your setup expects.

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Grey market premium

Market basics
Also called: GMP

An unofficial price quoted for an IPO share before listing, in an unregulated market that has no legal standing.

In plain terms

No exchange, no reporting requirement, no audit trail, and nobody accountable for the number — which can be moved by the very people who benefit from a heavily subscribed issue. A sentiment reading, and it has been wrong spectacularly.

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Combined ratio

Fundamental analysis

Claims plus expenses divided by premiums, for a general insurer — below 100% means the underwriting itself is profitable.

In plain terms

Most general insurers run above 100 and earn their profit on the float instead, which quietly makes them part investment business and sensitive to interest rates.

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Cumulative bonus

Market basics
Also called: No-claim bonus

An increase in the sum insured granted for each claim-free year, at no additional premium.

In plain terms

A ₹10 lakh policy can grow well beyond that over time. On a port, this accrued layer is generally treated as part of the cover you carry across.

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Float

Fundamental analysis

Premiums an insurer holds between collecting them and paying out claims, invested in the meantime.

In plain terms

Where most general insurers actually earn their money, since underwriting itself frequently loses.

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Free-look period

Regulation & tax

A window after receiving a new insurance policy in which it may be returned for a refund of premium, less small deductions.

In plain terms

It exists because policies are sold quickly and read slowly. It is the one moment when walking away from a mis-sold policy costs almost nothing.

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Goodwill

Accounting

The premium paid over fair value of net assets in an acquisition, carried on the balance sheet.

In plain terms

A standing candidate for future write-offs. Treat large goodwill with scepticism.

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Indicative NAV

Market basics
Also called: iNAV

The value of an exchange-traded fund’s underlying basket, computed and disseminated at short intervals during the session, as distinct from the price its units are changing hands at.

In plain terms

An ETF has two prices at once and your chart draws only the traded one. Comparing the two is the fastest way to tell whether a wick was information or a dislocation.

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Interest rate differential

Derivatives

The gap between short-term interest rates in two currencies, which sets the forward premium and therefore the slope of a currency futures curve.

In plain terms

The same idea as cost of carry in an equity future, met on a currency chart. It is a financing number, not a view about either currency.

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Policy lapse

Risk & psychology
Also called: Lapsed policy

An insurance contract ending because a premium was not paid within the time the policy allows.

In plain terms

Not a pause. Waiting periods and the clock after which a claim stops being contestable both count unbroken cover, and both restart.

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Policyholders' funds

Regulation & tax

The pool of premium money an insurer holds separately from shareholders’ funds, with regulatory limits on how it may be invested.

In plain terms

Premiums are not the shareholders’ money. A large proportion has to sit in government and other approved securities — the money backing a thirty-year promise cannot chase this year’s best return.

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Section 80C

Regulation & tax

The old-regime deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh covering EPF, ELSS, PPF, life premiums and home loan principal.

In plain terms

The reason offices fill with insurance agents every January. Useful for what you were paying anyway, expensive for anything bought to fill it.

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Standing instruction

Market basics
Also called: NACH mandate

A recurring automated debit from a bank account — an EMI, a SIP, an insurance premium or a utility mandate.

In plain terms

The point of automating them was to stop thinking about them, which is why they all fail together on their scheduled dates when an account freezes. Knowing which run from which account is a twenty-minute exercise you cannot do in a hurry.

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Systematic Withdrawal Plan

Market basics
Also called: SWP

Redeeming a fixed amount from a fund at regular intervals to create an income.

In plain terms

The alternative to an annuity: keeps the capital, keeps growth, keeps flexibility — and exposes you to the order in which returns arrive.

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TCS

Regulation & tax
Also called: Tax Collected at Source

Tax Collected at Source — tax taken on LRS remittances above a threshold, recoverable against your liability when you file.

In plain terms

Less a cost than a cash-flow delay: the money comes back at filing but is blocked until then. Nothing to do with the IT company that shares the initials.

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Time decay

Derivatives
Also called: Theta

The erosion of an option’s premium as expiry approaches, since the time and uncertainty the premium pays for are steadily running out.

In plain terms

It produces a falling chart in a market that is doing nothing, which is why a decay and a breakdown look identical on a premium chart. It accelerates close to expiry.

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VNB margin

Fundamental analysis
Also called: Value of new business margin

Value of new business as a percentage of the premium written on that business — a life insurer's core profitability ratio.

In plain terms

It stands in for net margin, because an insurer's reported profit falls precisely when it sells more. A fast-growing insurer looks worse on P/E than one that has stopped selling.

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Volatility crush

Derivatives
Also called: IV crush

The collapse in an option’s premium after a scheduled event, as the expected volatility the price was carrying resolves into a known outcome.

In plain terms

It is why you can be right about the direction of the underlying and still lose on the option. The input that moved is not visible anywhere on the premium chart.

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Acceptance ratio

Market basics

The proportion of tendered shares a company actually accepts in a buyback.

In plain terms

This, not the premium, decides what you earn. A 20% premium at 15% acceptance is a 3% return.

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Authorised participant

Market basics

A firm appointed by a fund house and permitted to create and redeem an exchange-traded fund’s units in creation-unit blocks against the underlying basket.

In plain terms

The only party who can close a premium or a discount by making or unmaking units. Retail investors deal only in the secondary market, which is why the link between price and basket is a trade somebody has to want to do rather than a rule.

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Call

Derivatives
Also called: Call option

An option giving its buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying at a set price by expiry.

In plain terms

The buyer's maximum loss is the premium, which is the whole appeal. The seller collects that premium and carries the entire remaining risk — the half most beginners never look at.

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Co-applicant

Market basics
Also called: Co-borrower

A person who signs a loan as a joint borrower, jointly and severally liable for the whole amount.

In plain terms

Not a backstop but a borrower. The full EMI counts against your income the next time you apply for anything, whoever is actually paying it each month.

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Co-payment

Market basics

A fixed share of every claim the policyholder must bear.

In plain terms

Common on cheap and senior-citizen plans. A 20% co-pay on a ₹8 lakh bill is ₹1.6 lakh out of your pocket after the premium was paid.

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Contract note

Trading & orders

The legally binding record of a trade, issued by the broker the same day.

In plain terms

The app price is a convenience; this is the document. It itemises every charge and every individual fill.

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Coupon

Market basics

The fixed periodic interest a bond pays, expressed as a percentage of its face value.

In plain terms

Not your return. Buy above face value and the premium is a loss spread across the holding period, which yield to maturity captures and the coupon does not.

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Creation unit

Market basics

The fixed large block in which an exchange-traded fund’s units are created or redeemed against the underlying basket at the official NAV, rather than one at a time on the exchange.

In plain terms

It is the mechanism that ties an ETF’s traded price to what it holds. When new units cannot be made, that tether is off and a premium can stand for weeks.

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Demerger

Fundamental analysis
Also called: Spin-off

Separating a division into an independently listed company, with shares issued to existing holders.

In plain terms

No premium is paid and each business gets its own multiple, which is why the record is better than for acquisitions.

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DICGC

Regulation & tax
Also called: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation

The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank that insures deposits at covered banks.

In plain terms

Cover is automatic, the bank pays the premium and you cannot opt out. It pays up to the prescribed limit per depositor per bank, net of anything you owe that bank.

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Effective interest rate

Market basics

The true annual cost of borrowing once compounding, fees and the repayment schedule are counted.

In plain terms

The number on the loan document is often not what you pay. A "no-cost EMI" usually hides the discount you did not get.

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Feeder fund

Market basics

An Indian mutual fund scheme that invests into an overseas fund rather than buying foreign securities directly.

In plain terms

No remittance and no forex paperwork, which is the appeal. Expenses are higher, and the industry-wide overseas investment limit has been hit before — schemes then stop accepting fresh money.

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Fixed expenses

Market basics

Costs that recur at a predictable amount each month.

In plain terms

Rent or EMI, fees, utilities, insurance — and for many Indian households, support to parents. Name it and size it rather than treating it as a surprise.

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Insured declared value

Market basics
Also called: IDV

The agreed current value of a vehicle, which caps what the own-damage portion of a motor policy will pay and forms the basis of a total-loss settlement.

In plain terms

It falls every year as the vehicle depreciates, which is why the own-damage premium falls too — and why dropping that cover on an old car is a bounded, knowable decision.

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International ETF

Market basics

An exchange-traded fund listed on an Indian exchange that tracks an overseas index, bought through an ordinary demat account.

In plain terms

The simplest of the three routes abroad. Liquidity can be thin, and the price sometimes trades at a noticeable premium to what it holds.

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Merger

Fundamental analysis
Also called: Acquisition, M&A

A transaction combining two companies into one entity.

In plain terms

The acquirer pays a premium today for benefits that are uncertain and deferred. Most disappoint.

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Moneyness

Derivatives
Also called: In the money, Out of the money, At the money

How far an option’s strike sits from the current price of the underlying — in the money, at the money or out of the money.

In plain terms

It changes as the underlying moves, so the same underlying move produces a different premium response than it did an hour ago. A premium chart mixes that in with everything else.

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Options

Derivatives

A contract giving the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) at a set price.

In plain terms

Buyers risk only the premium. Sellers take limited gain for potentially very large loss.

Prepayment

Market basics

Paying off part or all of a loan ahead of schedule.

In plain terms

Most effective early, when almost all of the EMI is interest. Always ask the bank to cut the tenure, not the EMI.

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Tangible book value

Accounting

Book value with goodwill and intangible assets removed.

In plain terms

The conservative floor. Goodwill is the premium paid in past acquisitions, and it goes if those disappoint.

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Term insurance

Market basics
Also called: Term plan

Pure life cover for a fixed period, with no maturity or investment value.

In plain terms

The only kind of life insurance worth buying: maximum cover, minimum premium, nothing bundled.

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Tips

Risk & psychology

Second-hand stock suggestions with no verifiable source.

In plain terms

Acting on one to avoid seeming dismissive is the most expensive politeness available.

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Indian stock market glossary · Market Vidyalaya