Indices:
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad base index, maintained by Barclays Capital, and is often used to represent investment grade bonds being traded in United States.
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal 1-15 Year Index (1-17) is a subset of the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index covering only maturities between 1 and 17 years. The Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index is an unmanaged index composed of tax-exempt bonds with maturities greater than one year and a minimum credit rating of Baa.
The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000® companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
The Russell 1000® Index is a stock market index that represents the highest-ranking 1,000 stocks in the Russell 3000 Index, which represents about 90% of the total market capitalization of that index.
The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000® companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values.
The Russell 2000® Index consists of the smallest 2,000 companies in a group of 3,000 U.S. companies in the Russell 3000® Index, as ranked by market capitalization.
The Russell 2500® Growth Index measures the performance of the small to mid-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2500® Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
The Russell Midcap® Index measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe.
The Russell 2500® Value Index measures the performance of the small to mid-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2500® companies that are considered more value oriented relative to the overall market as defined by Russell’s leading style methodology.
The Russell 2000® Growth Index consists of the smallest 2,000 companies in a group of 3,000 U.S. companies in the Russell 3000® Index, as ranked by market capitalization, with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
The Russell 2000® Value Index consists of the smallest 2,000 companies in a group of 3,000 U.S. companies in the Russell 3000® Index, as ranked by market capitalization, with relatively low price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
The Russell Midcap® Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
Russell Midcap® Value Index measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe with relatively low price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
The S&P 500 Index, an unmanaged index, consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. It is a market-value weighted index (stock price times number of shares outstanding), with each stock’s weight in the Index proportionate to its market value.
MSCI EAFE Growth Index focuses on companies exhibiting overall growth style characteristics. These characteristics include long-term forward earnings per share (“EPS”) growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend, and long-term historical sales per share growth trend.
MSCI EAFE Value Index focuses on companies exhibiting overall value style characteristics. These characteristics include book value to price, 12-month forward earnings to price, and dividend yield.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East Index (EAFE) is an unmanaged index of over 900 companies, and is a generally accepted benchmark for major overseas markets. Source: MSCI Inc. MSCI information may not be redisseminated or used as a component of any financial product. No MSCI information constitutes investment advice and may not be relied on as such. MSCI information is provided on an “as is” basis and you assume the entire risk of any use of this information. MSCI, its affiliates and others involved in compiling or creating any MSCI information (the “MSCI Parties”) disclaim all warranties with respect to this information. Without limiting the foregoing, in no event shall the MSCI Parties have any liability for direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive, consequential lost profits or any other damages. (www.msci.com).
One cannot invest directly in an index.
Financial Terms:
Free Cash Flow is a measure of financial performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Free cash flow (FCF) represents the cash that a company is able to generate after laying out the money required to maintain or expand its asset base. Free cash flow is important because it allows a company to pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value. Without cash, it’s tough to develop new products, make acquisitions, pay dividends and reduce debt.
P/E Ratio is a valuation ratio of a company’s current share price compared to its per-share earnings.
Price to Book Ratio is a ratio used to compare a stock’s market value to its book value. It is calculated by dividing the current closing price of the stock by the latest quarter’s book value per share.