Glossary

The price at which a security is offered for sale.

The value of a company shown in its balance sheet as shareholders capital and reserves divided by the total number of shares outstanding

The highest price at which a security is being bid and the lowest price at which it is being offered

An offer to buy a security

A person engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others(SIA)

The issuance of bonus shares to shareholders; such an issue does not change the value of the company, it simply increases the number of shares outstanding

Short-term  investments (usually no longer than three (3) months) with insignificant risk of changes in value,  that can be readily converted to cash

The increase or decrease in a company’s cash due to operating, investing and financing activities. Cash refers to cash on hand, cash at bank and cash equivalents

An arrangement with respect to property of any description the purpose or effect of which is to enable the persons taking part to participate in or receive profits or income arising from such property. (SIA – abbreviated) Unit trusts are collective investment schemes.

Any issue of shares that are (1) called “common stock” or (2) not designated as being other than common stock (e.g. “deferred” stock, or “non-voting” stock, or “preferred” stock) or (3) limited in their entitlements to less than those specified under “share” in this glossary.

A practice by which stocks and shares listed on one exchange are also listed on another in a different country.

A person engaged in the business of buying and selling securities for his own account who holds himself out, at all normal times, as willing to buy and sell securities at prices specified by him (SIA).

1.  Another word for dividend.
2. A specialised term for the purposes of the SIA relating to newly issued securities or securities subject to public offerings.

A share of profits paid out to shareholders

The net profit available to shareholders divided by the total number of shares outstanding.

Common stock

A person, including an issuer itself, who by reason of his relation to an issuer has access to confidential, price-sensitive information

A bank, investment company, insurance company, building society, unit trust, mutual fund or other entity providing savings facilities to the public.

1. A natural person carrying on the business of broking or dealing [SIA].
2. Any broker who acts as an agent between investors.

Initial Public Offering, a first public offer of stock by an issuer, often connected with “going public” by obtaining a listing on the stock exchange.

A company or public sector body that issues stocks.

A record maintained by the Stock Exchange of unexecuted orders – usually on a computer

Ease with which stocks may be bought and sold, demonstrated by the volume of purchase and sale activity, the availability of buyers and sellers ready to match incoming orders, and the low level of dealing expense.

1. The start of trading on the stock market
2. A “single price auction” procedure to establish the price of a security at the start of trading

1. An instruction by a customer to a broker to buy or sell a stock
2. A regulatory pronouncement by the GSC or GASCI

A securities market that is not associated with an exchange, also called an OTC market.

A nominal value which may be assigned to shares in a company’s balance sheet; it has no connexion with the market price or the asset value and companies may assign no par value to their shares.

In laws and regulations, and in this Glossary, “person” means both a natural human being and a legal person such as a company.

The market price of a share divided by the earnings per share

A company any of whose issued shares or debentures are or were part of a distribution or an offer to the public, or, which has issued a security that is beneficially owned by more than fifty persons.

An issue of new stock to which existing stockholders have first choice (called “pre-emptive right”).

A capitalisation issue

A very general word for financial instrument going beyond stocks and shares [Full definition in SIA s.3(2)(t)]

A company which carries on a business of trading in securities on behalf of others and includes a broker, a dealer, an underwriter, an investment adviser, or a combination of these. (SIA abbreviated)

A stock exchange

The Securities Industry Act (SIA) 1998 is an Act that provides for the registration of securities brokers and dealers, self-regulatory organizations, and issuers of securities. It also provides for the regulation of securities issuances; with the purpose of encouraging capital formation and the growth of efficient securities markets, while protecting purchasers of securities and promoting ethical behavior in the securities industry.

Stated simply, the objective of the Securities Industry Act 1998, is to establish a securities regulatory system primarily designed to protect investors.

A natural person who carries on the business of acting as a broker, a dealer, a trader, an underwriter, an investment adviser or a combination of these. (SIA abbreviated)

An association of securities companies and intermediaries, a clearing agency or a securities exchange. [SIA]

UK term for “Transfer Agent” – see below.

The day upon which a trade is settled and the contractual obligations between the buyer and seller in respect of the trade are discharged.

The time between trade date and settlement date: the international standard is three days.

Fractional ownership of a company, entitling the holder to vote at general meetings, to receive dividends approved at general meeting, to participate in distribution of capital, and to participate in liquidation.

An increase in the number of shares by subdivision; the effect is the same as a capitalisation issue.

A trading system which processes a large number of buying and selling orders simultaneously to generate the single price at which the greatest volume of orders can be matched.

See Self-Regulating Organisation

A general word for a financial instrument issued by the company, whether evidence of a debt (a bond), or of ownership (a share)

1. US term for a stock market transaction. It is a contractual agreement between buyer and seller to transfer ownership of a specified number of shares or quantity of stock for a specified payment on “settlement day”.
2. A general term in the SIA (3)(2)(z) applying to transactions in general and to activities in furtherance of transactions.

The process by which ownership of stocks and shares is transferred from seller to buyer; in Guyana full legal ownership is transferred when seller and buyer have signed a transfer form.

US term for Service Registrar, that is a company that maintains shareholder registers on behalf of issuers

The income received from a security as dividend or as interest expressed as a percentage of the market price of the security. The yield on a share which had a market value of $10 and received a dividend of $1 per year would be 10%.