Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet

A financial statement listing a company's assets (what it owns) and liabilities (what it owes) as of a specific date, usually the last day of a company's fiscal quarter. The difference between a company's assets and liabilities is termed its net worth or shareholder's equity. 

Back Testing

Back Testing

Determining the results of using particular screening criteria, as if the screen had been run at some point back in time, and the selected stocks or funds were held for a predetermined time period and then sold. 

Back-End Load

Back-End Load

Sales charge paid when selling a mutual fund (a.k.a. deferred load).

Averaging Down

Averaging Down

Buying more of a security at a price that is lower than the price paid for the initial investment. The aim of averaging down is to reduce the average cost per unit of the investment.

Averages and Indices

Averages and Indices

Statistical tools that measure the state of the stock market or the economy, based on the performance of stocks, bonds or other components. Examples are the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index, the S&P/TSX Composite Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Consumer Price Index.