Glossary

A-Book

Industry term for client risk hedged externally; it is not an authorisation category.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Agent

The contractual role of a service provider acting for a client; the contract and specific mandate determine its scope.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Ask

Ask price; offer

The price at which the quoted side sells; in the standard quote model, Ask is the relevant side for a client buying.

Context: A bid chart alone does not show the Ask history.

B-Book

Industry term for client risk retained internally; it does not by itself establish misconduct.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Backwardation

Inverted curve

The reverse of contango in the specified price comparison.

Context: Specify the maturities compared and the spot or futures reference.

Basis risk

Basic risk

The risk that the holding and hedging instrument move differently.

Context: A calculated full hedge does not guarantee complete protection of value.

Beta

Market sensitivity

An estimated response of a position or portfolio to a chosen market benchmark.

Context: An estimate, rather than a fixed future relationship.

Bid

Bid price

The price at which the quoted side buys; in the standard quote model, Bid is the relevant side for a client selling.

Context: Do not equate it with Last or a mid-price.

CFD

Contract for difference

A contract on the economic price difference, governed by the provider’s terms.

Context: An exchange reference does not automatically make the client contract exchange-traded.

Clone

Misuse of an existing identity or brand by a different offering.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Collar

Protective collar

A holding combined with a purchased put and a written call.

Context: Protection comes with limited upside and an obligation under the written call.

Contango

Upward-sloping term structure

Depending on the comparison, futures priced above spot or higher prices for later maturities.

Context: It does not reliably predict rising spot prices.

Copy trading

Copying trade

Execution of signals or trades generated by another trading approach.

Context: Automation, decision-making and service provider role determine the classification.

Deal

Transaction; execution

A completed transaction with its actual executed quantity and price.

Context: An order can generate several deals.

Equity

Account equity

Account value including the open-position results recognised under the applicable rules.

Context: Separate from balance and free margin.

Expert Advisor

EA; trading programme

A program that automates activity in the terminal.

Context: Code, permissions and operational environment determine the effect.

Exposure

Market exposure; notional exposure

The extent of economic exposure to price movements.

Context: Is neither account balance nor required margin.

FOK

Fill or kill

A filling policy requiring the entire volume to be filled, otherwise no fill is permitted.

Context: Permissibility depends on symbol and execution mode.

Future

Futures contract

A standardised futures contract with a defined maturity and settlement method.

Context: The market name alone does not determine a full contract.

Gap

A jump between price observations; how it arises and how it is processed are separate questions.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Leverage

Leverage

The ratio of exposure to the capital or collateral base being considered.

Context: If the position remains unchanged, less margin does not change the price gain.

Hedge ratio

Hedge ratio

The proportion of the explicitly defined exposure intended to be hedged.

Context: 100% of an estimate is not 100% of all risks.

Hedging

May refer to separate opposite positions in a client account or to a broker’s hedge. Specify which level is meant.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

IOC

Immediate or Cancel

Execute the immediately available quantity and cancel the unfilled remainder.

Context: A partial fill is still an actual transaction.

Journal

Platform log; protocol

A log of terminal events, messages and actions.

Context: Check local time zone and data resolution.

Continuous chart

Continuous futures chart

A price history assembled from multiple maturities using a specified method.

Context: Adjusted history is not consistently an actual tradable contract price.

Contract multiplier

Contract multiplier

The conversion of a price unit into a monetary amount or contract quantity.

Context: Broker lot and stock market contract do not equate without examination.

Last

Last trade price; last trade

The price of the last recorded transaction.

Context: Not automatically currently tradable bid or ask.

Short sale

Short sale

A sale without an owned deliverable holding, using the relevant borrowing and settlement arrangements.

Context: A short CFD is another contract mechanic.

Limit order

Limit order

A buy subject to a maximum price or a sell subject to a minimum price.

Context: The price condition can prevent execution.

Liquidity

Liquidity

Trading opportunities in terms of price, quantity and availability over time.

Context: Spread, depth and recovery after stress are different dimensions.

Long

Long position

Positive directional price exposure in the linear model considered.

Context: Says nothing yet about ownership or derivatives contract.

MAM

Multi Account Manager

A tool for managing and allocating trades across multiple trading accounts.

Context: It is not independent proof of authorisation.

Margin

Collateral

Collateral for the position under the account and product rules.

Context: No general loss cap.

Market maker

A participant quoting prices and willing to trade against its own capital.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Market order

Market order

An instruction primarily seeking prompt execution under the applicable execution model.

Context: No guaranteed price by the order type alone.

Market depth

Depth, order book depth

Quantities offered at individual price levels.

Context: A recording is transient; orders can disappear.

Markup

Mark-up; mark-up

A price or spread component added by the provider relative to a specified starting reference.

Context: Separate reference spread and total customer spread.

Mid-price

Mid; midpoint

The arithmetic midpoint of Bid and Ask.

Context: Does not have to be a tradable price itself.

Netting

Position netting

One net position per symbol in the relevant account system.

Context: An opposite deal can reduce, close or reverse.

Order

Instruction

An instruction to the provider specifying an instrument, direction, quantity and conditions.

Context: Do not confuse with an already completed business.

PAMM

Percentage Allocation Management Modules

Percentage allocation in the manager and account model described.

Context: Examine concrete implementation and contract roles.

Position

Open exposure

The resulting economic trading exposure.

Context: In netting, several trades can change a common position.

Price-time priority

Price-time priority; FIFO

Better prices take priority; at the same price, the earlier resting order takes priority.

Context: Not every market uses FIFO exclusively.

Principal

A counterparty acting on its own behalf. External hedging does not automatically change the client contract.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Pro rata

Proportional allocation

A matching method allocating by quantity under the specific product rules.

Context: Not a synonym for pure time priority.

Protective put

Hedging put

An appropriate holding combined with a purchased put, subject to its strike and maturity.

Context: Respect premium and underlying asset/volume adjustment.

Quote

Quotation; quotation

A price offer with conditions such as time, quantity and firmness.

Context: A display alone does not guarantee any execution.

Requote

New price level

A new price offered in response to a request.

Context: Not yet an executed transaction.

Rollover

Rolling; maturity change

Closing an earlier and opening a later futures maturity, or a product-specific change of CFD reference.

Context: Separate price distance, fee and later result.

Short

Sell position

Negative directional price exposure in the linear model considered.

Context: Selling your own stock is not automatically a short sale.

Slippage

Price deviation; execution slippage

The difference between an execution price and an explicitly specified, appropriate reference.

Context: Name direction, quote side, time and sign convention.

Spread

bid-ask spread

The distance between Bid and Ask.

Context: A narrow spread does not prove a large amount available.

Stop Loss

SL; loss limitation

A position-related closing function at an adverse level under the applicable conditions.

Context: Without a special guarantee, no fixed loss ceiling.

Stop order

Stop order

A threshold activates an order according to the specified trigger rule.

Context: Trigger and execution price are different sizes.

Stop limit

Stop limit order

A stop activates a subsequent limit order.

Context: May be triggered and still remain unexecuted.

Stop-out

Margin liquidation

Closing positions under the provider’s margin rules.

Context: Not the personal stop loss.

STP

Automated processing; its definition and the scope of the process must be specified.

Context: Check the scope and contract.

Take Profit

TP; profit-taking

A position-related closing function at a favourable level.

Context: It is not a return commitment.

Partial fill

Partial fill

Only part of the order quantity is actually executed.

Context: Check the remaining order and executed quantity separately.

Tick

Minimum price increment

The smallest regular price increment for the particular type of transaction.

Context: Tick size, point and monetary value.

Tick value

Tick value

The monetary effect of a tick per contract under the applicable multiplier.

Context: Not the same for every product.

Trailing Stop

Trailing stop

Automated adjustment of a stop-loss level as the price moves favourably.

Context: Check location; classic terminal trailing requires an ongoing terminal.

Expiry

Expiry; expiration

The end of a contract’s life, subject to product-specific trading and settlement rules.

Context: Monthly code alone does not mention an exact last trading day.

Loss-account percentage

Loss percentage; losing accounts

The percentage of relevant accounts with a negative result over the defined period.

Context: Do not measure the percentage of loss of money.

VWAP

Volume-weighted average price; volume-weighted average price

The sum of price multiplied by quantity, divided by total quantity, for a defined set of trades.

Context: A fill VWAP is not automatically a market-wide daily VWAP.

White label

White label distribution

An offering under its own brand using third-party infrastructure or services.

Context: Determine the technical supplier and the contractual partner separately.