# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z all
A Shares
One of the flexible pricing options offered by Nuveen mutual funds. An investor purchasing A shares pays an up-front sales charge plus an on-going 12b-1 service fee over time. The up-front sales charge declines as the amount of the purchase increases, and Nuveen offers a number of additional ways to qualify for a reduced sales charge, including Rights of Accumulation and Letter of Intent (LOI) privileges.
Absolute Return
This measure looks at the return appreciation or depreciation (expressed as a percentage) that an asset achieves over a given period of time. When used in the context of an investment objective, absolute return strategies seek positive returns regardless of market conditions, rather than returns relative to a benchmark.
Account Registration
Includes the name(s) that appear on client accounts.
Accredited Investor
An accredited investor is a person or entity that can deal with securities not registered with financial authorities by satisfying one of the requirements regarding income, net worth, asset size, governance status or professional experience.
Accreted Value
The current value of your zero-coupon bond, taking into account interest that has been accumulating and automatically reinvested in the bond.
Accrued Dividend Income
An accrued dividend is remuneration (monetary payment) accumulated but not yet paid by a company to its shareholders.
Accrued Interest
Interest which accumulates on an investment, but has not yet been paid to the investor is called accrued interest.
Active Portfolio Management
Management of a fund's investment portfolio that seeks to exceed the returns of an unmanaged ("passive") benchmark or index. Active managers may rely on research, market forecasts and/or quantitative models as well as their own judgment and experience in making investment decisions.
Active Share
Active share refers to the degree to which the manager’s stock selection differs from a benchmark index; the portfolio holdings of high active share funds differ from an index to a greater degree than a fund with lower active share. There is no guarantee that a fund with high active share will outperform funds with lower active share or the benchmark.
Advance Refunding
A refinancing approach under which new bonds are issued to repay an outstanding bond issue prior to its first call date. Generally, the proceeds of the new issue are invested in government securities, which are placed in escrow. The interest and principal repayments on these securities are then used to repay the old issue, usually on the first call date.
Advisory Fee
The amount a fund pays to its investment adviser for the management associated with overseeing the fund's portfolio and managing the fund overall. Also referred to as a Management Fee.
After-Tax Return
The return from an investment after all income taxes have been deducted. Comparing after-tax returns may help investors determine which investment makes the most sense based on their tax brackets.
Agency RMBS
Agency RMBS have agency guarantees that assure investors that they will receive timely payment of interest and principal, regardless of delinquency or default rates on the underlying loans. Agency RMBS include securities issued or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and other federal agencies.
Alerian MLP Index
The Alerian MLP Index is the leading gauge of energy Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). The float-adjusted, capitalization-weighted index, whose constituents represent approximately 85% of total float-adjusted market capitalization, is disseminated real-time on a price-return basis (AMZ) and on a total-return basis (AMZX).
Alpha
A measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Alpha Return
Measures the non-systematic return which cannot be attributed to the market. It shows the difference between a fund’s actual return and its expected return, given its level of systematic (or market) risk as measured by beta. A positive alpha indicates that the fund has performed better than its beta would predict. Alpha is widely viewed as a measure of the value added or lost by a fund manager.
Alt-A Loans
Alt-A loans tend to be mortgages of fair to decent, but relatively uncertain, credit quality, worse than "prime" but better than "subprime". Alt-A loans are typically characterized by the following: i) limited or alternative documentation, ii) lower levels of owner-occupied and single family, iii) primarily investor properties, iv) floating rate or interest only, and v) higher prepayments due to borrower refinancing.
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
The federal income tax regime in which the taxpayer will pay the "greater of" (a) the taxpayer's "regular" federal income tax or (b) the "alternative minimum" tax determined by adding normally deductible tax preference items back into adjusted gross income. If the alternative income tax calculated by this method is higher than the regular tax liability, the regular tax and the amount by which the AMT exceeds the regular tax are paid.
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) - (Non-AMT)
Income exempt from the Alternative Minimum Tax.
American Depositary Receipt (ADR)
ADRs are receipts issued by a U.S. bank representing shares of a foreign corporation, which are then listed on a U.S. stock exchange or trade in U.S. over-the-counter markets. ADRs enable U.S. investors to invest in foreign-traded stocks in U.S. markets.
American Stock Exchange (AMEX)
The second largest stock exchange in the U.S. Companies that trade on the AMEX are generally smaller than those traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Amortization
Refers either to the natural decline of a bond's premium price toward its par-at-maturity price or some other possible termination price such as a call price, or to the liquidation of a debt through installment payments.
AMT Bonds
Certain types of municipal bonds whose income is subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT). AMT bonds include those issued to finance such private purpose activities as industrial redevelopment and sports stadium construction.
Annual Report
A legally required document that every fund sends to its shareholders within 60 days after the end of the fund's fiscal year. The annual report describes the fund's financial condition and performance and includes a list of portfolio securities and audited financial statements.
Annualized Rate of Return
The average return over a stated number of years, taking into account the effect of compounding. For example, a 100% return over five years is equivalent to an annualized rate of return of 14.9% per year.
Annualized Leverage Cost
The annualized ratio of the sum of leverage costs to the average leverage amount for a given time period.
Ascending, Or Positive, Yield Curve
The interest rate structure which exists when long-term interest rates exceed short-term interest rates.
Asset Allocation
The process of apportioning your investment across various classes of financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, and short-term reserves. According to financial experts, the investment mix choosen has a greater impact on long-term investment results than the performance of individual investments selected.
Asset Allocation Fund
A mutual fund that invests its assets in a wide variety of investments that may include domestic and foreign stocks and bonds, government securities, commodities, and real estate. Some asset allocation funds keep the proportions allocated between different investments relatively constant, while others alter the mix as market conditions change.
Asset-Backed Securities (ABS)
Securities whose value and income payments are derived from and collateralized (or "backed") by a specific pool of underlying assets. The pools of underlying assets can include credit cards, auto loans or mortgages, aircraft leases, royalty payments, among others.
Assets
Net assets of a fund plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
Asset Coverage
The asset coverage shown is coverage for a fund’s preferred shares and/or debt, as defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940. Essentially, the asset coverage figure represents the ratio of the fund's total assets (including the assets attributable to the preferred shares or debt) to the liquidation value of the debt, or in the case of preferred stock, to the total liquidation value of the preferred stock and any debt.
Auction Rate Bond
An auction rate bond is a security whose interest payments are adjusted periodically through an auction process, which process typically also serves as a means for buying and selling the bond. Auctions that fail to attract enough buyers for all the shares offered for sale are deemed to have “failed,” with current holders receiving a formula-based interest rate until the next scheduled auction.
Automatic Investment Plan
See Systematic Investment Plan.
Average Annual Total Return
This is a commonly used method to express an investment's performance over a particular, usually multi-year time period. It expresses the return that would have been necessary each year to equal the investment's actual cumulative performance (including change in NAV or market price and reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions, if any) over the time period being considered.
Average Call Option % Coverage
Percentage of the fund’s underlying equities overwritten by call options; equals sum of notional values of call options divided by the market value of equities in the portfolio.
Average Call Strike vs. Spot Price
Average ratio of call option strike price vs. its spot price, weighted by notional value of the call.
Average Cost Basis Method
Calculating cost basis by determining the average price paid for Fund shares that may have been purchased at different times for different prices.
Average Coupon
Average Coupon is the average coupon rate, or amount of interest paid as expressed by a percentage, of all fixed-income investments in the Fund's portfolio.
Average Days to Reset
Weighted average number of days until the coupon rate of the floating rate holdings portion of a fund’s portfolio is scheduled to reset.
Average Effective Maturity
Average Effective Maturity is a weighted average of all the stated maturities of the bonds in a portfolio except in cases where the bond has been advance-refunded and secured by an escrow to an earlier redemption date, or where the bond is subject to an optional or mandatory tender or put provision.
Average Life
The par-weighted average time (in years) to the principal repayment for non-callable securities and the par-weighted average time (in years) to the probable call/put for callable securities.
Average Maturity
For a bond fund or defined portfolio, the average of the stated maturity dates of the fixed-income securities held. In general, the longer the average maturity, the greater the fund's or defined portfolio's sensitivity to interest-rate changes, which means greater price fluctuation. A shorter average maturity usually means a less sensitive, and consequently, less price volatile, portfolio.
Average Price
An illustrative measure of a range of prices which is calculated by taking the sum of the values and dividing it by the number of prices being analyzed.
Average Weighted Market Capitalization
Average weighted market capitalization is the portfolio weighted mean capitalizations of all equity securities.
