Definition of 'Capital Structure' A mix of a company's long-term debt, specific short-term debt, common equity and preferred equity.

The capital structure is how a firm finances its overall operations and growth by using different sources of funds.

Definition of 'Capital Markets' A market in which individuals and institutions trade financial securities. Organizations/institutions in the public and private sectors also often sell securities on the capital markets in order to raise funds. Thus, this type of market is composed of both the primary and secondary markets.

Definition of 'Leverage' 1. The use of various financial instruments or borrowed capital, such as margin, to increase the potential return of an investment. 2. The amount of debt used to finance a firm's assets. A firm with significantly more debt than equity is considered to be highly leveraged. Leverage is most commonly used in real estate transactions through the use of mortgages to purchase a home.

Definition of 'Merger' The combining of two or more companies, generally by offering the stockholders of one company securities in the acquiring company in exchange for the surrender of their stock.

Definition of 'Acquisition' A corporate action in which a company buys most, if not all, of the target company's ownership stakes in order to assume control of the target firm. Acquisitions are often made as part of a company's growth strategy whereby it is more beneficial to take over an existing firm's operations and niche compared

to expanding on its own. Acquisitions are often paid in cash, the acquiring company's stock or a combination of both.

Definition of 'Equity Capital Market - ECM' A market that exists between companies and financial institutions that is used to raise equity capital for the companies. Some activities that companies operate in the equity capital markets include: overall marketing, distribution and allocation of new issues; initial public offerings, special warrants, and private placements. Along with stocks, the equity capital markets deal with derivative instruments such as futures, options and swaps.

Debt Capital Market The debt capital market trades in such financial instruments which pays interest. There are the bonds and several loans which act as the prime financial instrument of this market. Because of this interest factor, the debt capital market is also known as fixed income market.

Definition of 'Hedge Fund' An aggressively managed portfolio of investments that uses advanced investment strategies such as leveraged, long, short and derivative positions in both domestic and international markets with the goal of generating high returns (either in an absolute sense or over a specified market benchmark).

Definition of 'Asset Management' 1. The management of a client's investments by a financial services company, usually an investment bank. The company will invest on behalf of its clients and give them access to a wide range of traditional and alternative product offerings that would not be to the average investor.

2. An account at a financial institution that includes checking services, credit cards, debit cards, margin loans, the automatic sweep of cash balances into a money market fund, as well as brokerage services. Also known as an "asset management account" or a "central asset account".

Definition of 'Wealth Management' A professional service which is the combination of financial/investment advice, accounting/tax services, and legal/estate planning for one fee. In general, wealth management is more than just investment advice, as it can encompass all parts of a person's financial life.

Definition of 'Commercial Bank' A financial institution that provides services, such as accepting deposits, giving business loans and auto loans, mortgage lending, and basic investment products like savings accounts and certificates of deposit. The traditional commercial bank is a brick and mortar institution with tellers, safe deposit boxes, vaults and ATMs. However, some commercial banks do not have any physical branches and require consumers to complete all transactions by phone or Internet. In exchange, they generally pay higher interest rates on investments and deposits, and charge lower fees.

Definition of 'Investment Bank - IB' A financial intermediary that performs a variety of services. This includes underwriting, acting as an intermediary between an issuer of securities and the investing public, facilitating mergers and other corporate reorganizations, and also acting as a broker for institutional clients.

Definition of 'Leveraged Buyout - LBO' The acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (bonds or loans) to meet the cost of acquisition. Often, the assets of the company being acquired are used as collateral for the loans in addition to the assets of the acquiring company. The purpose of leveraged buyouts is to allow companies to make large acquisitions without having to commit a lot of capital.

Definition of 'Discounted Cash Flow - DCF' A valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of an investment opportunity. Discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis uses future free cash flow projections and discounts them to arrive at a present value, which is used to evaluate the potential for investment. If the value arrived at through DCF analysis is higher than the current cost of the investment, the opportunity may be a good one.