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Stephen Eldridge & Company, Inc. |
 Stephen Eldridge & Company |
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| Top | 10% | ***** |
| Next | 20% | **** |
| Middle | 40% | *** |
| Next | 20% | ** |
| Bottom | 10% | * |
S&P Return Ranking is based on a fund's average annual total return compared to funds in the same Style Category.
Style category refers to the fund's objective such as Large Cap Value.
A fund's returns are ranked as follows:
S&P Return Ranking:
Top 10% ***** Next 20% **** Middle 40% *** Next 20% ** Bottom 10% *
Risk Category Determination : Generally, regarding equities, larger companies are less risky and value is less risky than growth.
Diversified international funds typically have exposure to a blend of market capitalizations and investment styles and are subject to currency risks, country specific risks and risks associated with capital market infrastructure (e.g., emerging capital markets risk).
Funds within each category are generally listed in risk order based on their respective three or five year standard deviations(the amount by which a fund will vary from its average price) as determined by Morningstar, Inc. Chicago, Il.
Data Provided by Morningstar. Although gathered from reliable sources, data accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed.
Sharpe Ratio : The Sharpe ratio measures a funds risk adjusted return.
It is calculated as follows:
(FUND's RETURN - TREASURY BILL RETURN) / FUND'S STANDARD DEVIATIONWhen a fund is a municipal bond, the Treasury bill return is adjusted to reflect the tax treatment of the municipal bond fund. This measure is used in the S&P fund ranking.
Standard Deviation : Standard deviation measures the variability of a fund's return. Funds with high standard deviations exhibit relatively more volatility than those with low standard deviations.
A fun'd annual return can be expected to be within one full standard deviation of its average annual return two-thirds of the time. As an example, a fund with an average annual return of 12% and a standard deviation of eight percentage points can be expected to produce an annual return that is within the range of 4% to 20% two-thirds of the time. During the remaining one-third of the time, it would be expected to fall outside of these boundaries.
Style Composition : Style composition show what mix of style benchmarks (Mid-cap Value, Corporate Bond, International etc.) has best explained the fund's historical behavior over a period of time.
Standard & Poor's 500 : A market capitalization-weighted index of 500 widely held stocks often used as a proxy for the stock market. It measures the movement of the largest issues.
Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index : Includes approximately 10% of the capitalizations of U.S. equity securities. These are comprised of stocks in the middle capitalization range.
Russell 2000 :Consists of the smallest 2000 companies in the Russell 3000 index, representing approximately 7% of the Russell 3000 total market capitalization.
3-Month Treasury Bill :Three-month T-bills are government-backed short-term investments considered to be risk-free and as good as cash because their maturity is over in only three months.
Lehman Brothers Aggregate Index : Composed of the Lehman Brothers Government/Corporate Index, the Mortgage-Backed Securities Index and the Asseet-Backed Securities Index.
Balanced Benchmark : The Balanced Benchmark is comprised of the following indicies: Standard & Poor's 500 (60%) and Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond (40%).
EAFE : Listed for foreign stock funds (EAFE stands for Europe, Australasia and Far East). Widely accepted as a benchmark for international stock performance, the EAFE Index is an aggregate of 21 individual country indicies that collectively represent many of the major markets of the world.
The Merrill Lynch High Yield Master Index : is a market capitalization weighted index of all domestic and Yankee high-yield bonds. Issue included in the index have maturities of at least one year and have a credit rating lower than BBB-Baa3, but are not in default.
S&P/BARRA Growth and value indicies : Companies in each U.S. index are split into two groups based on price to book ratio to create growth and value indicies. The Value index contains companies with lower price to book ratios, while the Growth index contains those with higher ratios.
S&P/IFCI (Investable) Index : The S&P/IFCI Indicies further screen stocks for foreign ownership restrictions, factoring in minimum market capitalization and liquidity parameters. Stocks are assigned weights, representing the amount foreign institutional investors may buy because of foreign investment restrictions either at the national level or by the individual company's corporate statute.
FT-Actuaries / S&P World Index : Composed of approximately 2,400 securities in 24 countries. Selection criteria, overseen by the World Index Policy Committee, exclude all companies that cannot be purchased by foreigners. Companies then are ranked by market capitalization, and the top 5% are automatically included. Other companies then are selected based on industry representation in the local market and a balance between small and large companies, with the final index representing over 70% of each local market. Companies under $100 million generally are excluded unless they are larger than the average for their particilar market.
The index includes the following countries:
Merrill Lynch Treasury Master Index : Includes approximately 160 issues in the form of publicly placed, coupon-bearing US Treasury debt. Issues must carry a term to maturity of at least one year, and par amounts outstanding must be no less the $10 million at the start and at the close of the performance measurment period. Flower bonds are excluded. Sub-indicies are calculated for a variety of maturities, including: 1-2.99 years; 3-4.99 years; and 5-6.99 years. Currency: US dollars.
Australia France Malaysia South Africa Austria Germany Mexico Spain Belgium Hong Kong Netherlands Sweden Canada Ireland New Zealand Switzerland Denmark Italy Norway United Kingdon Findland Japan Singapore United States
Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market Index (GBMI) : The Global Broad Market Index tracks the performance of investment grade public debt issued in the major domestic and eurobonds market.
Merrill Lynch US High Yield Master II Index (H0A0) : The US High Yield Master II Index tracks the performance of below investment grade US dollar-denominated corporate bonds publicly issued in the US domestic market.
Merrill Lynch Asset Backed Securities Fixed & Floating Rate Index (R010) : The asset Backed Securities Fixed & Floating Rate Index tracks the performance of the fixed floating rate US Dollar-denominated investment grade asset backed securities market.
More Definitions
401(k) Plan: A savings and investment plan through an employer. Employees contribute pre-tax dollars. The 401(k) grows tax deferred.
Bond: A formal certificate of debt of a corporation or unit of government. The certificate issuer agrees to pay a specified, fixed interest until the maturity of the bond when the borrower must pay back the money the certificate represents.
CD (Certificate of Deposit): A short-term IOU or debt certificate, usually purchased through a bank. CD maturity dates range from a few weeks to several years; there are penalties for early withdrawal.
Capital: Assets of an individual or a legal entity, such as a corporation.
Capital Appreciation: The increase in the value of the principle of an investment.
Capital Preservation: Maintaining the principle of an invesment, so that its value neither rises or falls significantly.
Cash Equivalent: An investment that functions very much like cash, such as a money market fund.
Compounf Interest: Interest that is credited at regular intervals on both principle and interest of an investment.
Dividend: Amount of net profits distributed to a company's stockholders.
Diversification: Investing in different investments with varies risk levels and rates of return.
Dollar Cost Averaging: A way to pay lower price per share of an investment by investing the same amount on a regular basis in the same investment vehicle regardless of changes in the price of the shares.
Equity: Ownership or share of ownership. Equity and ownership are synonymous. Stocks are often referred to as "equities".
Fluctuation: When a price for a security goes up or down.
Growth Strategy: Investment strategy that focuses on capital appreciation.
Income Strategy: Investment strategy that emphasizes regular income in the form of dividends or interest.
Inflation: Increase in the cost of living in general.
Interest: The cost of borrowing money, or the amount of return on an investment, usually expressed as a percentage.
Investment Strategy: How you decide to invest your money based on your short-term and long-term needs and objectives and your ability to tolerate risk.
Money Market Mutual Fund: A cash equivalent investment that is generally stable an yields interest.
Mutual Fund: A pool of moneys that is professionally managed and invested in specific types of vehicles, such as stocks or bonds, with specific objectives.
Principle: Original value of an investment at the time it is purchased.
Prospectus: Document that contains specific information about a mutual fund or other investment vehicle, such as the investment objective, share price, fees and specific investments.
Return: The amount of money your investments yield, usually done on an annual basis and described as a percentage.
Risk: The chance that an investment will lose or not gain value.
Risk Tolerance: The comfort level of an investor with taking risks.
Rollover: Transferring money from your 401(k) account into another tax deferred investment vehicle, such as another 401(k) or IRA rollover account.
Securities: Investment vehicles representing either ownership (such as stocks) or debt (such as bonds).
Share: A unit of ownership or debt.
Share Holder: Person or entity owning the shares of ownership or debt.
Stock Certificate: Certificate of ownership of a specific number of shares in a company.
Tax Deferral: Postponement of payment of taxes, such as income tax, until a future date, when you may be in a lower tax bracket.
Vesting: The right of an employee to retirement benefits whether or not the employee continues working for the employer. Usually earned over time.
Yield: Usually a percentage, this refers to the rate at which an investment pays interest or dividends.