Registered Investment Adviser

A Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) is a firm that is an Investment adviser in the United States, registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission or a state’s securities agency. The numerous references to RIAs within the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 popularized the term, which is closely associated with the term investment advisor (spelled “investment adviser” in U.S. financial law). An investment adviser is defined by the Securities and... Read More

Broker-dealer

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In financial services, a broker-dealer is a natural person, company or other organization that engages in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers. Broker-dealers are at the heart of the securities and derivatives trading process. Although many broker-dealers are “independent” firms solely involved in broker-dealer services, many others are business units or subsidiaries of commercial banks, investment banks or investment companies. When executing trade... Read More

Financial adviser

A financial adviser is a professional who suggests and renders financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries Financial Advisors have to complete specific training and hold a license to provide advices. In the United States for example a financial advisor carries a Series 65 or 66 license and according to the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), license designations... Read More

401(k)

In the United States, a 401(k) plan is the tax-qualified, defined-contribution pension account defined in subsection 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the plan, retirement savings contributions are provided (and sometimes proportionately matched) by an employer, deducted from the employee’s paycheck before taxation (therefore tax-deferred until withdrawn after retirement or as otherwise permitted by applicable law), and limited to a maximum pre-tax annual contribution of $18,500 (as of... Read More

Credit union

A credit union is a member-owned financial cooperative, controlled by its members and operated on the principle of people helping people, providing its members credit at competitive rates as well as other financial services. Worldwide, credit union systems vary significantly in terms of total assets and average institution asset size, ranging from volunteer operations with a handful of members to institutions with assets worth several... Read More

Family office

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The term family office can refer to a family controlled investment group, and also the two major terms: single family office (SFO) or multi-family office (MFO). The distinction is important since, despite the similar names, they provide significantly different services. This article refers principally to single family offices, which are the predominant forms of family offices today. An SFO is a private company that manages investments and trusts for a single family. The... Read More

International Monetary Fund

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of “189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.” Formed in 1945 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with... Read More

World Bank

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The World Bank (French: Banque mondiale) is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects. It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA). The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group. The World Bank’s stated goal is the reduction of poverty which its Articles of Agreement define as commitments to the promotion of foreign investment and international trade and to... Read More

European Central Bank

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The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy of the eurozone, which consists of 19 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world. It is one of the world’s most important central banks and is one of the seven institutions of the European Union(EU) listed in the Treaty on European Union (TEU). The capital stock of the bank is owned by the... Read More

Russian ruble

Alpha Z Advisors
The Russian ruble or rouble (Russian: рубль rublʹ, plural: рубли́ rubli; sign: ₽, руб; code: RUB) is the currency of the Russian Federation, the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the two unrecognized republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks(sometimes written as kopecks or copecks; Russian: копе́йка kopeyka, plural: копе́йки kopeyki). The ruble was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union (as the Soviet ruble). Today, apart from Russia, Belarus and Transnistria use currencies with the same name. The ruble was the world’s first decimal currency: it was decimalised in 1704... Read More