UCITS / OGAW / OPCVM / OICVM Abbreviation for undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities. Undertakings under EU law whose sole object is the collective investment in transferable securities of capital raised from the public, which operate on the principle of risk diversification and where the units are, at the holders' request, repurchased or redeemed, directly or indirectly, out of those undertakings' assets.
UCP / ERA / RUU / NUU Abbreviation for Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits prepared by the International Chamber of Commerce.
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umbrella fund / Umbrella-Fonds / fonds à compartiments multiples / fondo a ombrello Fund construction comprising several subfunds. Since the subfunds together form a single legal entity (umbrella), it is only necessary to submit the umbrella fund for authorization. Once the umbrella has been authorized, further subfunds may be created. Investors may switch from one subfund to another free of commissions. See also investment fund, fund of funds.
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uncovered position / Découvert / découvert / scoperto (1) The seller of an uncovered position is still under obligation to deliver them.
(2) Shortage of units due to an excessive number of short sales.
(3) An uncovered amount under a Lombard loan.
underlying Synonym for underlying asset.
underlying asset / Basiswert / valeur sous-jacente / sottostante Also: underlying. Instrument on which an option or futures contract is based. The main underlying assets are currencies, bonds, equities and equity indices as well as precious metals. See also financial future.
Underperform Rating of a stock relative to the relevant sector. Over a specific investment horizon, the stock's performance is expected to be 10% or more below that of the benchmark.
undervaluation / Unterbewertung / sous-évaluation / sottovalutazione A security is said to be undervalued if its valuation is excessively low. Opposite: overvaluation.
underweight / Underweight / sous-pondération / sottopeso Qualification of securities as part of an analyst's recommendations stating that the investor would be best advised to hold a lower weighting in this security than in others or in relation to a benchmark.
underwriter / Underwriter / preneur ferme / underwriter Bank or intermediary that commits itself to taking up an unsold portion of a securities issue after placement.
underwriter listed in prospectus / En-nom-Beteiligung / participation en nom / partecipazione «en-nom» Term denoting participation in an underwriting syndicate by being named in the issue prospectus. The underwriter is listed like a syndicate member but is strictly speaking only a sub-participant because he has signed neither the loan agreement nor the syndicate agreement. See also sub-participation.
underwriting agreement / Übernahmevertrag / contrat de prise ferme / contratto di assunzione a fermo Agreement concluded between the issuer and underwriting syndicate concerning the direct underwriting of a new securities issue.
underwriting price / Übernahmepreis / prix de prise ferme / prezzo di assunzione a fermo The price to be paid by the banks to issuers for the direct underwriting of a new securities issue. The difference between the issue price and the underwriting price is the banks' gross profit margin (underwriting fee).
underwriting syndicate / Emissionssyndikat / syndicat d'émission / sindacato di emissione Also: underwriting consortium. Temporary association (consortium) of two or more investment banks for the joint underwriting of a securities issue.
undisclosed assignment / stille Zession / cession sans notification / cessione tacita Assignment not disclosed to the borrower.
undisclosed reserves / stille Reserven / réserves latentes / riserve occulte Also: hidden reserves. Reserves not shown in the balance sheet of a company; for example, if the market value of an asset is higher than its book value. Other forms: replacement reserves (maintenance of real-asset values and equity capital) and other undisclosed reserves. In Switzerland, any dissolution of undisclosed reserves which has a significant impact on the company's results must be declared in the annual financial statements. Undisclosed reserves enhance a company's creditworthiness. Opposite: disclosed reserves. See also reserves.
UN-EDIFACT / UN-EDIFACT / UN-EDIFACT / UN/EDIFACT Acronym for United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport, a set of regulations defined and continually adapted by the United Nations which is specifically developed for the electronic exchange of data. It establishes the norms for business and trade processes and counteracts proprietary standards within specific industries. UN/EDIFACT is applied worldwide and enables process integration between software programs of all participating companies.
unit / Anteil / part / quota Synonym for fund unit.
unit certificate / Anteilschein / certificat de fonds de placement / certificato di quota Certificate of participation in an investment fund issued as a security without par value.
unit of account / Rechnungseinheit / unité de compte / unità di conto Specially defined unit used in international payments, which is not in fact a real payment medium. Also used for international bond issues and for the deposits of international institutions. One example is the special drawing right (SDR) of the IMF and the ECU prior to the introduction of the euro.
unit of currency Synonym for currency unit.
unit trust Synonym for investment fund.
universal bank Synonym for full-service bank.
unlimited / unlimitiert / illimité / senza limite Synonym for at best.
unlisted security / unkotiertes Wertpapier; nicht kotiertes Wertpapier / titre non coté / titolo non quotato Security which is not listed for trading on an official stock exchange. See also over-the-counter trading.
unsecured credit / Blankokredit crédit en blanc / credito in bianco Loan granted on the strength of the borrower's credit history or reputation. Opposite: secured credit.
unpaid capital Synonym for non-paid up capital.
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upgrade / Upgrade / upgrade / upgrade Positive change in ratings for a security. An example is an analyst's upgrading of a stock such as from "sell" to "buy".
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US GAAP / US-GAAP / US-GAAP / US-GAAP Abbr. for United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
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Utilities / Versorgungsbetriebe / Services aux collectivités / Servizi di pubblica utilità Equity sector incorporating shares of companies producing, transporting and/or distributing electricity, gas or water to end users. The respective MSCI Sector index acts as a benchmark for shares of companies belonging to this sector.
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valid for one day / börsengültig / valable un jour / con validità giornaliera Only valid on the trading day specified in the order. If a stock exchange order labelled «valid for one day» cannot be executed as specified, it lapses automatically. Opposite: good-till-cancelled order. See also stock market order.
valuation / Bewertung / évaluation / valutazione Estimate of the value and potential of a security based on the security and financial analysis.
value added tax Synonym for turnover commission.
value added / Wertschöpfung / création de plus-values / creazione di valore Also: output. Increase in value created by a company or an economy over a given period. The sum of the value added by all companies in a country corresponds to the gross domestic product.
value adjustment / Wertberichtigung / réajustement de valeur / rettifica di valore Adjustment of the value of an asset on the balance sheet to its true value.
value date / Valuta / date de valeur / valuta The date on which a sum of money is credited or debited, or from which interest begins to accrue.
value-at-risk / Value-at-Risk / valeur en risque / value at risk Abbreviation: VaR. Risk statistic that expresses the potential loss if a certain scenario occurs. In the case of banks, the value-at-risk is calculated daily.
value-style investing / Value-Style-Investing / value-style investing / value investing Investment approach that consists in buying shares when they are valued less than the long-term value of the company.
variable interest rate / variabler Zinssatz / taux d'intérêt variable / tasso d'interesse variabile Interest rate which may be changed during the term of a loan or a bond issue. In the case of international loans and bonds, the periodic adjustment in line with the London Euromoney market rate is of particular significance. See also floating-rate bond.
variance / Varianz / variance / varianza Statistical measure of the risk exposure of an investment (share, bond etc) or portfolio. Variance is the amount by which individual earnings positions deviate from average earnings over a set period. High variance is an indication of high risk.
variation margin / Variation-Margin / marge de variation / margine di variazione Margin which offsets gains or losses stemming from open positions on the futures market as a result of the daily valuations, and which serves to maintain the initial margin. See also maintenance margin, margin account.
vault / Tresor / chambre forte / caveau Also: strongroom. A room at a bank for the safekeeping of valuables. See also safe deposit box.
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venture capital / Wagniskapital / capital de risque / capitale di rischio Financing provided to new and innovative companies with a view to making capital gains. Venture capital is provided by institutions specializing in this form of finance, such as venture capital companies and private equity companies.
verification / Beurkundung / acte / atto See official authentication.
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virt-x / virt-x / virt-x / virt-x Pan-European blue chip exchange, set up by the London stock exchange «Tradepoint» and Swiss Exchange SWX and based in London. virt-x is the first pan-European blue chip platform, on which all European blue chips can be traded electronically and which offers integrated clearing and settlement with a central counterparty. One of the key facets of virt-x is the extremely high level of automation, which means that an order can be traded, cleared and settled with one mouseclick. Website: www.virt-x.com.
VISA card / VISA-Karte / carte VISA / carta VISA Credit card that can be used worldwide. A VISA card also offers additional services such as cash withdrawals, hotel reservations and making phone calls without cash. Website: http://www.visaeurope.com
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volatility / Volatilität / volatilité / volatilità A measure of the fluctuations in the yield on a security within a specific period. Usually stated as a standard deviation, expressed as an annualized value.
voluntary reserves / freiwillige Reserven / réserves libres / riserve facoltative Reserves constituted over and above the minimum required by law. They may be provided for by a company's articles of association or by a resolution of the body which oversees the company's operations, e.g. the General Meeting. See also statutory reserves.