American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”)
Represents shares of foreign companies traded in U.S. dollars on U.S. exchanges that are held by a U.S. bank or a trust. Foreign companies use ADRs in order to make it easier for Americans to buy their shares.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index measures the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Bond Index
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Bond Index measures the U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield, fixed-rate corporate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
Build America Municipal Insured (“BAM”)
Build America Municipal Insured Bonds are municipal bonds insured against default by Build America Mutual, a Financial Guaranty insurance company.
Constant Maturity Treasury (“CMT”)
An interest rate that represents a daily determination of what the yield on a U.S. Treasury bill, note, or bond would be if it were issued on that day. The Treasury Department publishes these rates on a daily and weekly basis in reports called Special Interest Rates.
Intercontinental Exchange (“ICE”)
An American Fortune 500 company formed in 2000 that operates global exchanges and clearing houses, and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. The company owns exchanges for financial and commodity markets, and operates 12 regulated exchanges and marketplaces. This includes ICE futures exchanges in the United States, Canada and Europe, the Liffe futures exchanges in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange, equity options exchanges and over-the-counter energy, credit and equity markets.
Leveraged Loan
Leveraged loans (also known as bank, senior or floating-rate loans) consists of below investment-grade credit quality loans that are arranged by banks and other financial institutions to help companies finance acquisitions, recapitalizations, or other highly leveraged transactions. Such loans may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions, although they are senior in the capital structure which typically provides investors/lenders a degree of potential credit risk protection.
London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”)
A benchmark rate that some of the world’s leading banks charge each other for short-term loans and that serves as the first step to calculating interest rates on various loans throughout the world.
Markit CDX® North American High Yield Index (“CDX.NA.HY”)
CDX.NA.HY is composed of 100 liquid North American entities with high yield credit ratings as published by Markit® from time to time.
Mortgage-Backed Securities (“MBS”)
Mortgage-backed securities represent interests in pools of mortgage loans purchased from individual lenders by a federal agency or originated and issued by private lenders.
MSCI EAFE® Index (net)
The MSCI EAFE® (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that measures developed market equity performance, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The index is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (net)
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets. The index is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
Payment-in-Kind Security (“PIK”)
A bond which pays interest in the form of additional bonds, or preferred stock which pays dividends in the form of additional preferred stock.
Permanent School Fund Guarantee Program (“PSF-GTD”)
The Permanent School Fund Guarantee Program guarantees bonds issued by a school district or charter school. The PSF-GTD has received “AAA” ratings from the major bond rating services and replaces the need for private bond insurance.