Glossary
Find definitions of common financial terms in the list below.
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3-Month LIBOR
Also known as the London InterBank Offered Rate. Represents the average rate at which a leading bank, for a given currency (in this case, U.S. dollars), can obtain unsecured funding, and is representative of short-term interest rates.
30-day SEC yield
Unsubsidized 30-day SEC yield is calculated using the gross expenses of the fund. Gross expenses do not include any fee waivers or reimbursement.
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A
Alpha
Alpha is a measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis and demonstrates the excess performance over the benchmark.
Average Annual Total Return
The Average Annual Total Return is the hypothetical rate of return on an investment or pool of investments during a given period. The hypothetical return, if achieved annually, would produce the same return during the whole period. This is not the same as year-by-year results and is meant to show the investment’s performance in the long term.
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B
Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index
An unmanaged index that provides a broad-based measure of the global investment-grade fixed-rate debt markets.
Barclays Global Aggregate ex-USD Bond Index
An unmanaged index that provides a broad-based measure of the international investment-grade fixed-rate debt markets.
Barclays U.S. 1-5 Year Government Bond Index
An unmanaged index that includes U.S. Treasury and agency securities with remaining maturities of one to five years.
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
An unmanaged index that covers the U.S.-dollar-denominated, investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable bond market of SEC-registered securities. The index includes bonds from the Treasury, government-related, corporate, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage-backed securities sectors.
Barclays U.S. Corporate High-Yield Bond Index
An unmanaged index that covers the USD-denominated, non-investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bond market.
Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Bond Index
An unmanaged index that includes U.S. Treasuries, government-related issues, and investment-grade-U.S. corporate securities.
Barclays U.S. Intermediate Government/Credit Bond Index
An unmanaged index that includes U.S. Treasuries, government-related issues, and investment grade U.S. corporate securities with remaining maturities of one to ten years.
Barclays U.S. Securitized Bond Index
An unmanaged index of asset-backed securities, collateralized mortgage-backed securities (ERISA-eligible), and fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities.
Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Index
An unmanaged index that tracks inflation-protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index
An unmanaged index that covers U.S. dollar-denominated taxable bonds, including U.S. government and investment-grade debt, non-investment-grade debt, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, Eurobonds, 144A securities and emerging market debt.
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C
Call Option (Calls)
The owner of a call option has the right to buy stock, or other specified assets, at the strike price on or until the expiration date. The writer, or seller, of a call has an obligation to sell stock, or other specified assets, at the strike price on or until the expiration date if the option is exercised by the owner. The call owner pays a premium to the call writer.
Capital Gains
The increase in value of an investment above the original purchase price or basis of the investment.
Citigroup World Government Bond Index (WGBI)
An unmanaged index that includes the most significant and liquid government bond markets globally that carry at least an investment-grade rating.
Contract Expiration
The date through which an advisor has given a fund a binding contract in order to limit the fund’s annual operating expenses.
Credit Quality
Quality reflects the highest credit rating assigned to individual holdings of the fund among Moody's, S&P or Fitch; ratings are subject to change. The Fund's shares are not rated by any rating agency and no credit rating for Fund shares is implied.Cumulative Total Returns
Cumulative Total Return is the measure of an investment's performance during a given amount of time. This measure includes all gains or losses realized during the stated time period, including interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions.
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D
Days to expiration (weighted)
Weighted average time until the expiration date of the options, measured in days.
Dividend per share
Ordinary income, generally consisting of dividends, interest, and other income earned on the fund’s investments, less fund expenses.
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E
Ex-date
The date when the distribution amount per share is deducted from the fund's NAV. Shareholders who purchase fund shares on the ex-dividend date are not eligible to receive the distribution.
Expense Cap Expiration
The date through which an advisor has given a fund a binding contract in order to limit the fund’s annual operating expenses.
Expense Caps
Expense caps are either voluntary or contractual limits placed on expenses that can be charged to to a fund's shareholders and are expressed as a percentage of a fund's assets under management.
Expense Ratio
The amount of money it costs a company to operate a mutual fund. These operating expenses are included in the value of the fund, which lowers the fund's return to an investor.
Expiration Date (Expiration of Calls/Puts)
The date on which the obligations of an option writer and rights of an option owner expire. If the option is in the money (ITM) on this date, the writer will have to deliver the stock or other specified asset. If the option is out of the money on this date, the option will be worthless and the writer will have no obligation.
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F
Front-End Load (Initial Sales Charge)
A fee charged when an investment fund is purchased. The fee is deducted from the investment, lowering the size of the investment in the fund
Fund Name
A fund's legal name.
Fund Objective
The mutual fund's financial goal.
Fund Performance
A mutual fund's results during a certain period of time.
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G
Gross Expense Ratio
Gross expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expense ratio before any fee waivers or reimbursements.
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H
HFRI Fund of Funds Composite Index
An unmanaged, equally-weighted hedge fund index including over 800 domestic and offshore funds of funds. Funds included within the index either have at least $50 million in assets under management or have been actively trading for at least twelve (12) months. Performance information is submitted by the funds of funds to the index provider, which does not audit the information submitted. The index is rebalanced monthly. Performance data is net of all fees charged by the hedge funds. Index returns are calculated three times each month and are subject to periodic recalculation by Hedge Fund Research, Inc. The Fund does not expect to update the index returns provided if subsequent recalculations cause such returns to change. In addition, because of these recalculations, the HFRI Index returns reported by the Fund may differ from the index returns for the same period published by others.
Hedge (% Hedged with Options)
A strategy involving the use of one position (call or put option) to protect another, e.g., stock, or other asset, is purchased in the belief it will rise in value, and a put is purchased on the same stock, or other asset, to protect against the risk that its value will decline.
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I
In the Money (ITM)
The status of a call option when the market value of the underlying stock, or other asset, is higher than the option’s strike price. Similarly, the status of a put option when the market value of the underlying stock, or other asset, is lower than the option’s strike price
Inception Date
The date a fund began operating.
Investment Strategy
The set of rules, behaviors or procedures designed to guide the selection of securities for an investment portfolio or mutual fund.
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L
Lipper Balanced Funds Index
An unmanaged index which tracks the average performance of the 30 largest balanced funds according to Lipper Inc.
Load-Adjusted Return
The total returns of a fund adjusted to include any front-end or back-end sales fees applied to the fund.
Load
A sales charge applied to a mutual fund when buying the fund or selling shares. This sales charge is added to the price of the fund. The fee may be either a one-time charge or a yearly fee.
Long term capital gains
Capital gains realized from the disposition of investments held for more than one year.
Long
Long or long position is the purchase of a security such as a stock, commodity or currency with the expectation that the asset will rise in value.
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M
MSCI All Country (AC) Asia Pacific ex Japan Index (Net Dividends)
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance in the developed and emerging markets of the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan. Net Dividends approximates the minimum possible dividend reinvestment after deduction of withholding tax, applying the rate to non-resident individuals who do not benefit from double taxation treaties.
MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) ex USA
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets, excluding the United States.
MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East)
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada.
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of emerging markets.
MSCI US REIT Index
An unmanaged index that is composed of the most actively traded equity REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) securities.
MSCI World Index
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
MSCI World ex USA Index
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States.
MSCI World ex USA Small Cap Index
An unmanaged index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of small-cap companies in developed markets, excluding the United States.
Management Fee
A charge implemented by the fund's investment manager or advisor for overseeing the fund. The fee is usually between one-half and one percent of the fund’s value.
Maximum Sales Charge
Maximum fee on the purchase of new shares of a mutual fund. Paying a sales charge is similar to paying a premium for a security in that the customer must pay a higher offering price. Sometimes called a load.Moneyness (Average Call/Put Moneyness)
Moneyness is how much an option contract’s strike price is in the money (ITM) or out of the money (OTM) expressed as a percentage of the price of the option contract’s underlying asset.
Morningstar Investment Category
Morningstar created Morningstar Categories to distinguish funds by what they own, along with their prospectus objectives and styles. Since some prospectus objectives may not explain how the fund invests, this tool helps investors and investment professionals compare funds and makes it easier to assess risk and diversify a portfolio.
Morningstar Rating
Mutual funds are ranked from one to five stars (five being the best) in this rating system. The star ratings are calculated monthly, on a risk-adjusted basis.
Morningstar’s Overall Rating
Funds with at least a three-year history are given a Morningstar rating. The rating rewards consistent performance and emphasizes poorer performance. The overall rating is calculated from performance figures from its three-, five- and 10-year Morningstar Ratings metric.
Mutual Fund
An investment that includes a pool of funds collected from more than one investor. The fund invests in multiple securities including stocks, bonds, money markets, etc. The fund is maintained and managed by an investment manager.
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N
Natixis Income Diversified Portfolio - Blended Index
An unmanaged, blended index composed of the following weights: 40% Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, 25% MSCI US REIT Index, 20% Dow Jones Select Dividend Index, and 15% Barclays Capital U.S. TIPS Index. The four indices composing the Blended Index measure, respectively, the performance of investment-grade fixed-income securities, equity REIT securities, dividend-yielding equity securities, and Treasury inflation-protected securities. The weightings of the indices that compose the Blended Index are rebalanced on a monthly basis to maintain the allocations as described above. These rebalancings will not necessarily correspond to the rebalancings of the Fund’s investment portfolio, and the relative weightings of the asset classes in the Fund will generally differ to some extent from the weightings in the Blended Index.
Net Asset Value (NAV)
Net asset value is a mutual fund's price per share. The value is calculated daily, based on the value of the securities in the portfolio at market close.
Net Expense Ratio
Net expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expense ratio after any fee waivers or reimbursements.
No-Load
A mutual fund with no sales fees charged. 12b-1 fees are less than 0.25%.
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O
Out of the Money (OTM)
The status of a call option when the market value of the underlying stock, or other asset, is lower than the option’s strike price. Similarly, the status of a put option when the market value of the underlying stock, or other asset, is higher than the option’s strike price.
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P
Pay Date
The date when shareholders are paid their distribution, either in cash or by reinvestment in additional fund shares.
Put Option (Puts)
The owner of a put option has the right to sell stock, or other specified assets, at the strike price on or until the expiration date. The writer, or seller, of a put has an obligation to buy stock, or other specified assets, at the strike price on or until the expiration date if the option is exercised by the owner.
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R
Record date
The date used to determine which shareholders are eligible to receive the distribution. Shareholders who purchase fund shares on or before the record date will receive the distribution.
Reinvestment NAV
The price at which shareholders reinvest dividends and/or capital gains.
Russell 1000® Growth Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
Russell 1000® Value Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values.
Russell 2000® Growth Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the small-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
Russell 2000® Value Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the small-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
Russell Midcap Growth Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the mid-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell Midcap Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
Russell Midcap Value Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the mid-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell Midcap Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
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S
S&P 500 Index
A widely recognized measure of U.S. stock market performance. It is an unmanaged index of 500 common stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation, among other factors.
S&P GSCI Index
A composite index of commodity sector returns that is broadly diversified across the spectrum of commodities.
S&P MidCap 400 Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the U.S. equities market.
Sales Charge (Load)
A commission or fee charged for the purchase of shares in a mutual fund. The fee is a percentage of the fund's offering price.
Share Price
The price of one share in a fund. This price is calculated daily after market close.
Short term capital gains
Capital gains realized from the disposition of investments held for less than one year.
Short
Short or short position is the sale of a borrowed security, commodity or currency with the expectation that the asset will fall in value.
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T
Top 10 Holdings
The 10 largest investments in a portfolio.
Total Net Assets
Reported in millions, the fund’s total assets including fees and expenses.
Total Return
The rate of return on an investment or pool of investments during an evaluation period. Total return includes sales charges (loads), interest, capital gains, dividends and distribution, if any, realized during the period.
Total capital gains
The sum of dividends, short-term and long-term capital gains.
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W
Weighted % of annualized cash flow
Weighted average cash flow produced from selling options measured as a percentage of net portfolio assets.
Weighted % of annualized cost
Weighted average cost of buying options measured as a percentage of net portfolio assets.
Wilshire 4500 Index
An unmanaged index that measures the performance of U.S. small and mid-cap stocks.
w/MSC
With maximum sales charge. Maximum sales charge is the maximum fee on the purchase of new shares of a mutual fund. Paying a sales charge is similar to paying a premium for a security in that the customer must pay a higher offering price. Sometimes called a load.
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