The Devil's Financial Dictionary
by Jason Zweig
Synergy, n. Often, the only thing one company gets when it buys another...
Rumor, n. The Wall Street equivalent of a fact.
Safe, adj. A term used to promote any investment that is about to explode.
Risk, n. The chance that you don't know what you are doing when you think you do; the prerequisite for losing more money in a shorter period of time than you could ever imagine possible...
Long-Term, adj. On Wall Street, a phrase used to describe that begins approximately thirty seconds from now and ends, at most, a few weeks from now.
Plus, conj. Minus. When added to the name of a mutual fund or portfolio strategy, this word almost always signifies the subtraction of something from investors’ results. An “income plus” fund, for instance, typically yields income plus losses. An “index plus” fund generally produces the results of an index portfolio plus greater risk. The use of the word “plus” does, however, accurately indicate the addition of higher fees by the company marketing the investment.
Idiot, n. See Day-Trader
Day-Trader, n. See Idiot
INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR, n. Someone who, without wise advice, is likely to ruin a small portfolio, generally $1 million or less. See INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR, n. Someone who, without wise advice, is likely to ruin a large portfolio, generally $10 million or more. See INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR.
IRRATIONAL, adj. A word you use to describe any investor other than yourself.
Patience, n. A quality found among lower life forms such as snails & tortoises, but rarely among humans who invest in financial assets.
Thrift, n. The obsolete practice of spending less money than you earn, once believed to be a virtue, now regarded as a disturbing form of deviant behavior.
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