American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”)
Represents shares of foreign companies traded in U.S. dollars on U.S. exchanges that are held by a U.S. bank or a trust. Foreign companies use ADRs in order to make it easier for Americans to buy their shares.
Asset-Backed Securities (“ABS”)
Asset-backed securities represent interests in pools of underlying assets such as motor vehicle installment sales or installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, and receivables from credit card arrangements.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index measures the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Bond Index
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Bond Index measures the U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield, fixed-rate corporate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
Build America Municipal Insured (“BAM”)
Build America Municipal Insured Bonds are municipal bonds insured against default by Build America Mutual, a Financial Guaranty insurance company.
Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”)
An open-end fund that is traded on a stock exchange. Most ETFs have a portfolio of stocks or bonds that track a specific market index.
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”)
A government-owned corporation that buys mortgages and packages them into mortgage-backed securities.
Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”)
A government-sponsored, publicly traded enterprise that makes mortgages available to low- and moderate-income borrowers. It does not provide loans, but backs or guarantees them in the secondary mortgage market.
Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”)
A U.S. government corporation that guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) issued by approved Ginnie Mae lenders, with the goal of expanding the pool of homeowners by mostly aiding lending to homeowners who are traditionally underserved in the mortgage marketplace such as first-time home buyers and low-income borrowers.
London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”)
A benchmark rate that some of the world’s leading banks charge each other for short-term loans and that serves as the first step to calculating interest rates on various loans throughout the world.
Morgan Stanley Structured Asset Security (“MASTR”)
A flexible and evolving segment of the capital markets, structured investments typically combine a debt security or certificate of deposit (CD) with exposure to other underlying asset classes (such as equities, commodities, currencies or interest rates) to create a way for investors to express a market view (bullish, bearish or market neutral), complement an investment objective (conservative, moderate or aggressive), hedge an existing position or gain exposure to a variety of underlying asset classes.
MSCI EAFE® Index (net)
The MSCI EAFE® (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that measures developed foreign market equity performance, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The index is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (net)
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets. The index is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The index is unmanaged, its returns do not reflect any fees, expenses, or sales charges, and it is not available for direct investment.
Payment-in-Kind Security (“PIK”)
A bond which pays interest in the form of additional bonds, or preferred stock which pays dividends in the form of additional preferred stock.