Value funds
These funds like to invest in companies that the market has overlooked. Companies favored by value funds may have an undistinguished track record because they are cyclical companies in industries such as steel or auto manufacturing, which are tied to the ups and downs of the business cycle. Value funds try to buy such stocks when they are near the bottom of a down cycle. The big risk is that the "undiscovered gems" they try to spot sometimes remain undiscovered. Still, because these fund managers tend to buy stocks and hold them until they turn around, expenses and turnover are low. That makes them suitable for conservative, tax-averse investors. See "Investment Strategy."
BACK TO TOP

Value Index-Composite
Index that includes all common shares listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange.
BACK TO TOP

Value investing
Value investors are the stock market's bargain hunters. They often lean toward beaten-down companies whose shares appear cheap when compared to current earnings or corporate assets. Value investors typically buy stocks with high dividend yields, or ones that trade at a low price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) or low price-to-book ratio (P/B). The value investment style often is contrasted with the growth style. The two styles tend to take turns being popular on Wall Street. One year growth stocks will be all the rage; the next year value stocks may dominate. See "Value vs. Growth."
BACK TO TOP

Value Line Composite Index
A gauge that covers about 1,700 stocks tracked by the Value Line Investment Survey and are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the American Stock Exchange.
BACK TO TOP

Variable life
Variable-life insurance combines a mortality charge with a savings vehicle that you choose from among a number of alternatives offered by your insurer. The savings vehicle is usually one of several investment portfolios that are structured like mutual funds. On average, most companies offer 10 different portfolios, including stock, bond and money-market funds. The insurers often manage these funds themselves, collecting fees for administering the insurance and managing the portfolios. There are two basic types of variable life. One demands a fixed premium payment. The other, variable-universal life, has a flexible premium like universal life.
BACK TO TOP

Venture capital
Financing for new businesses. Start-up companies that receive venture capital are perceived to have excellent growth prospects but don't have access to capital markets because they are private companies. In return for venture capital, investors may receive a say in the company's management, as well as some combination of profits, preferred shares or royalties. Sources of venture capital include wealthy individual investors, investment banks, and other financial institutions that pool investments in venture-capital funds or limited partnerships. The risks and rewards of venture-capital investing can be extreme.
BACK TO TOP

Volatility
The characteristic of a security or market to fall or rise sharply in price in a short-term period. A measure of the relative volatility of a security or mutual fund to the overall market is beta. A stock may be volatile because the outlook for the company is particularly uncertain, because there are only a few shares outstanding (i.e., it's illiquid) or because of various other reasons. See "Beta." While beta can apply to both stocks and funds, standard deviation is more widely used to measure the volatility of mutual funds. Standard deviation examines a fund's range of historical returns, thus determining a portfolio's potential to swing between high and low returns. See "Standard Deviation."
BACK TO TOP

Volume
Number of shares traded in a company or an entire market during a given period. Unusually high volume days typically correspond with the announcement of company news, either positive or negative. In the absence of news, high volume can indicate institutional (or professional) buying and selling. Technical analysis places a great emphasis on the amount of volume that occurs in the trading of a security. A sharp rise in volume is believed to signify future sharp rises or falls in price because it reflects increased investor interest in a security or a market.
BACK TO TOP

Vulture funds
Funds that invest in distressed property at bargain prices, in hopes of turning it around and selling it at a profit.
BACK TO TOP