Investing & Tax Glossary

Portfolio & Performance

Market Value

Current price × number of shares you hold.

Portfolio Value

Total market value of all holdings plus cash balance.

Unrealized P&L

Profit or loss on positions you still hold.

Realized P&L

Profit or loss from positions you have sold.

XIRR (Money-Weighted Return)

Internal Rate of Return calculated for irregular cash flows. Annualized return that accounts for the timing of every deposit and withdrawal.

Benchmark

A reference index (e.g., S&P 500, S&P/TSX) used to compare your portfolio's return.

Sector Allocation

How your portfolio is distributed across industry sectors (Tech, Healthcare, Financials, etc.).

Expense Ratio (MER)

The annual fee an ETF or mutual fund charges, expressed as a percentage of assets (e.g., 0.03% means $3/year per $10,000 invested).

Rebalancing

Buying or selling positions to bring your portfolio back to its target allocation after market moves shifted the weights.

ETF Overlap

The percentage of holdings that two ETFs share. High overlap means less diversification when you own both. Portfolio analysis →

Cost Basis & Tax

Cost Basis

The total amount you paid for your shares, including fees.

Average Cost Basis (ACB)

The average price paid across all purchases of a stock. ACB calculator →

FIFO (First In, First Out)

First In, First Out — oldest shares are sold first.

LIFO (Last In, First Out)

Last In, First Out — newest shares are sold first.

Tax Lot

A specific batch of shares you bought on a single date at a single price. Tax lots let you choose which shares to sell for tax purposes.

Capital Gains Inclusion Rate

The percentage of capital gains that is generally subject to tax. Capital gains calculator →

Wash Sale / Superficial Loss

Selling a security at a loss and buying it back within a short window. US: 30 days, Canada: 30 days (superficial loss). Disallows the loss. Superficial loss vs wash sale →

Currency Gain

Gain or loss from exchange rate changes on foreign holdings.

FX Rate

The exchange rate between two currencies (e.g., USD to CAD).

Registered & Taxable Accounts (Canada & US)

TFSA

Tax-Free Savings Account — Canadian account where investment growth and withdrawals are tax-free. Annual contribution limit applies. TFSA room calculator →

RRSP

Registered Retirement Savings Plan — Canadian account. Contributions reduce taxable income; withdrawals are taxed. RRSP room calculator →

RESP

Registered Education Savings Plan — Canadian account for a beneficiary's education. Government grants may apply. RESP calculator →

FHSA

First Home Savings Account — Canadian account for first-time home buyers, combining RRSP-style deductions with TFSA-style tax-free withdrawal.

Non-Registered (Taxable) Account

Taxable account with no special tax shelter. Capital gains, dividends, and interest are reportable each year.

Income & Instruments

Dividend

A cash (or share) payment a company sends to shareholders, usually quarterly. Tracked separately from buy/sell transactions. Dividend tracking →

Dividend Yield

Annual dividends as a percentage of current share price. Dividend yield calculator →

DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment)

Dividend Reinvestment Plan — dividends are automatically used to buy more shares of the same stock. Tracking DRIP →

Coupon (Bonds)

The fixed annual interest rate a bond pays, expressed as a percentage of face value.

Maturity (Bonds)

The date a bond's principal is repaid and the bond ceases paying interest.

Yield

The income return on an investment expressed as a percentage of price (e.g., dividend yield, bond yield).

Options Chain

The full list of available call and put contracts for a stock, organized by strike price and expiry date.

Strike Price

The price at which an option contract can be exercised (calls let you buy at strike; puts let you sell at strike).

Research & Risk

Stock Screener

A tool that filters stocks by criteria like P/E, dividend yield, sector, or market cap to surface candidates that match your rules. AI analysis →

Backtest

Running a strategy against historical price data to estimate how it would have performed.

Value at Risk (VaR)

Value at Risk — an estimate of the worst expected loss over a chosen time window at a given probability (e.g., 5%).

Stress Testing

What-if analyses that simulate how your portfolio might react to historical or hypothetical market shocks.

Efficient Frontier

The set of portfolios that offer the highest expected return for a given level of risk.

ESG Scores

Environmental, Social, and Governance scores — research signals about a company's sustainability and conduct practices.

Insider Activity

Buying or selling activity by company executives and directors, typically reported via SEC filings.

Short Interest

The percentage of a stock's float currently sold short. High short interest can indicate bearish sentiment or squeeze potential.

Related Resources