Investing Glossary
Definition, formula, interpretation and pitfalls for 137 core terms across stock, fund, macro, crypto and derivatives markets.
137 terms
A
- AI fair priceAI fair price is the estimated value of a stock computed by machine learning models from financial ratios, price history and market data, compared with today’s price.
- Analyst consensusAnalyst consensus is the average or distribution of target prices and recommendations from all brokers covering a stock.
B
- Balance sheetThe balance sheet is the financial statement showing a company’s assets, liabilities and equity at a specific date.
- BEFAS (Pension Fund Trading Platform)BEFAS is the Takasbank-operated platform that lets private pension participants choose pension investment funds of companies other than their own pension company.
- BenchmarkA benchmark is the index or index combination appropriate to a fund’s strategy against which its performance is compared.
- BES (Private Pension System)BES is a voluntary savings system supported by state contributions in which individuals pay regular contributions during their working life to build retirement savings.
- Beta coefficientBeta is a risk coefficient measuring how sensitive a stock’s return is to the return of the market index (BIST 100).
- BIST 100 indexBIST 100 is the main benchmark index of Borsa Istanbul, made up of the 100 stocks with the largest market value and trading volume.
- BIST 30 indexBIST 30 is the index of Borsa Istanbul’s 30 largest and most liquid stocks and the underlying of futures and options contracts.
- Bitcoin (BTC)Bitcoin is the first and largest cryptocurrency, created in 2009 under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, with supply capped at 21 million coins.
- Bond (government and corporate)A bond is a debt instrument evidencing that the issuer has borrowed from the investor, with a maturity of at least one year and usually paying coupon interest at set intervals.
- Bonus share issue (scrip issue)A bonus issue converts internal resources (retained profit or reserves) into share capital and gives shareholders new shares without payment.
- Book valueBook value is the equity value found by subtracting total liabilities from total assets according to the company’s accounts.
- Borsa Istanbul (BIST)Borsa Istanbul (BIST) is Türkiye’s exchange for shares, debt instruments, futures, options and precious metals, operating under CMB oversight.
- Broker distributionBroker distribution (AKD in Turkish) is trade data showing which brokerage houses bought and sold how much of a stock.
- Bull and bear marketA bull market is a long, broad rise in prices driven by optimism; a bear market is a long, broad fall in prices driven by pessimism.
C
- Cash flow statementThe cash flow statement shows how much cash a company generated and spent in operating, investing and financing activities over a period.
- Ceiling and floor priceCeiling and floor are the highest and lowest prices a stock can trade at in a day, set by applying the exchange’s price margin to the reference price.
- Circuit breakerA circuit breaker is an automatic mechanism that temporarily halts trading when an index or stock price moves beyond a set threshold.
- CMB (Capital Markets Board of Türkiye)The CMB (SPK) is the public authority with administrative and financial autonomy that regulates and supervises capital markets in Türkiye.
- CMB bulletinThe CMB bulletin is the official publication in which the Capital Markets Board announces issue approvals, fund decisions, administrative sanctions and other board decisions.
- Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)CAGR converts an investment’s total return over several years into a single annual rate, as if it had grown at the same rate every year.
- Core inflation (B and C indices)Core inflation is a measure calculated by excluding items whose prices swing sharply on temporary or external factors, showing the underlying trend of inflation.
- CPI (Consumer Price Index)CPI is the index measuring the price level of a fixed basket of goods and services consumed by households, from which consumer inflation is computed.
- CryptocurrencyA cryptocurrency is a digital asset created and transferred with cryptographic methods on blockchain technology without a central authority.
- Current ratioThe current ratio divides current assets by current liabilities and shows the company’s ability to pay debts due within a year.
D
- Debt instruments (bond) fundA debt instruments fund invests at least 80% of its portfolio in fixed-income securities such as government bonds, treasury bills and corporate bonds.
- Deposit rateThe deposit rate is the annual interest a bank pays on money placed with it for a fixed term.
- DividendA dividend is the portion of a company’s profit distributed to shareholders in cash or in shares.
- Dividend yieldDividend yield is the annual cash dividend per share divided by the share price and shows the cash return rate of a stock.
E
- Earnings per share (EPS)Earnings per share is net profit divided by the total number of shares and shows the profit attributable to each share.
- EBITDAEBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation; it measures the cash-like profit generated by core operations.
- Equity fundAn equity fund is a high-risk, high-potential fund investing at least 80% of its portfolio in stocks traded on Borsa Istanbul.
- ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund)An ETF is a fund tracking an index or basket of assets that trades intraday on an exchange like a stock.
- EurobondA eurobond is a long-term debt instrument that a government or company issues in international markets, usually in dollars or euros.
- EV/EBITDA (Enterprise Value/EBITDA)EV/EBITDA divides a company’s total value including debt (enterprise value) by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, giving a valuation independent of capital structure.
- Exchange rateAn exchange rate is the price of one country’s currency in terms of another; in Türkiye the most watched pairs are USD/TRY and EUR/TRY.
F
- Flexible fundA flexible (variable) fund is a fund that, in terms of portfolio limits, falls into none of the other fund types defined by the CMB and can change its asset allocation over a wide range at the manager’s discretion.
- Free float ratioThe free float ratio is the percentage of a company’s share capital that trades freely on the exchange.
- Fund management feeThe management fee is the fee, expressed as an annual percentage, that the portfolio manager collects daily from fund assets.
- Fund of fundsA fund of funds is a fund whose portfolio consists mainly of units of other investment funds and exchange-traded funds.
- Fund risk valueThe fund risk value is a standard risk indicator from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest) set according to the fund’s historical price fluctuation (volatility).
- Fund sizeFund size is the total value in TL of the assets a mutual fund manages (its portfolio value).
- Fund unit (participation share)A fund unit is a book-entry capital market instrument that represents an investor’s participation in an investment fund and carries the investor’s rights in the fund.
- Fund unit priceThe fund unit price is the value of one participation unit, calculated daily by dividing the fund’s net asset value by the total number of units.
- Futures contractA futures contract is a standardised derivative obliging the holder to buy or sell an asset on a set future date at a price fixed today.
G
- Gold ounce and gram priceAn ounce of gold is the 31.1035-gram unit priced in US dollars on international markets; the gram price converts the ounce price to lira at the USD rate and divides by grams.
- Gross profit marginGross margin is the profit left after deducting cost of sales from sales, expressed as a percentage of sales, and shows per-unit profitability.
- Gross settlementGross settlement is a measure requiring each trade in a share to be settled separately with the full cash and share amounts, without netting purchases and sales at broker level.
H
- Hedge fund (free fund)A hedge fund is a flexible-strategy fund sold only to qualified investors, exempt from portfolio limits and free to use leverage and derivatives.
- Hit rate (accuracy)The hit rate is the share of predictions in which the direction a forecasting model predicted (up or down) matched the realised direction.
I
- Income statementThe income statement shows the revenue a company earned, the expenses it incurred and the resulting profit or loss over a period.
- Index weightIndex weight is a stock’s share of the index value, found by dividing its free-float market cap by the total for all index constituents.
- InflationInflation is the sustained rise in the general price level of goods and services and the decline in the purchasing power of money.
- Inflation accounting (IAS 29)Inflation accounting (IAS 29) restates financial statements in hyperinflationary economies in terms of purchasing power at the reporting date.
- InterestInterest is the price paid for the use of money lent or deposited for a period and is usually expressed as an annual percentage.
- Interim financial report (quarterly results)An interim financial report is the set of balance sheet, income statement and notes that listed companies publish on KAP for the 3, 6 and 9-month periods.
- IPO (Initial Public Offering)An IPO is a company selling its shares to the broad investor public for the first time or in addition, and starting to trade on the exchange.
K
- KAP (Public Disclosure Platform)KAP is the official electronic platform where listed companies publish financial statements, material event disclosures and other legal notifications.
- KYD indicesKYD indices are bond, repo, deposit, gold and eurobond return indices calculated by the Turkish Institutional Investment Managers’ Association and used as fund benchmarks.
L
- Lease certificate (sukuk)A lease certificate is a capital market instrument, economically similar to a bond, that gives investors a share of the income from an asset or right and is issued in line with interest-free finance principles.
- Leverage ratioThe leverage ratio is total liabilities divided by total assets or equity and shows what share of assets is financed by debt.
- Liquidation (fund liquidation)Fund liquidation winds up an investment fund: the portfolio is sold for cash and the remaining liquidation balance is paid to unitholders pro rata.
- LiquidityLiquidity is the ease with which an asset can be bought or sold quickly without significantly affecting its price.
- Live fund estimateA live fund estimate values the fund’s last disclosed portfolio breakdown at intraday market prices to approximate the fund’s return before the official price is announced.
- LotA lot is the standard trading unit on the exchange; on the Borsa Istanbul equity market 1 lot equals 1 share.
M
- MACDMACD is a technical indicator that tracks the difference between two exponential moving averages to show trend direction and momentum.
- Margin (VIOP margin)Margin is the collateral an investor opening a futures or options position must keep in the account to meet their obligations.
- Margin tradingMargin trading is buying more shares than your own cash allows by borrowing from the broker.
- Market capitalisationMarket capitalisation is the total number of shares multiplied by the current share price; it is the total value the market assigns to the company.
- Market makerA market maker is a brokerage obliged to provide liquidity by continuously quoting bid and ask prices in a given security.
- Mixed fundA mixed fund spreads its portfolio across several asset classes, such as shares, bonds and precious metals, within limits set in its prospectus.
- MKK (Central Registry Agency)MKK is the central institution in Türkiye that records dematerialised capital market instruments and related rights on a beneficial-owner basis.
- Model portfolioA model portfolio is a sample portfolio built from a brokerage research team’s favourite stocks whose performance is tracked over time.
- Money market fundA money market fund is a low-risk fund investing in highly liquid deposits, repos and short-term debt instruments with at most 184 days to maturity.
- Moving averageA moving average recalculates the average of the last N closing prices every day, filtering price noise and revealing the trend.
- MPC (Monetary Policy Committee)The Monetary Policy Committee is the CBRT body that decides on the policy rate and other monetary policy instruments.
- Mutual fundA mutual fund is a collective investment vehicle in which money pooled from many investors is invested by a professional manager in assets such as stocks, bonds and gold.
N
- Net asset value (NAV)Net asset value is the total value of a fund found by subtracting liabilities and expenses from the market value of all its assets; divided by the number of units it gives the unit price.
- Net debtNet debt is a company’s interest-bearing financial debt minus cash and cash equivalents: the part of its debt it could not repay from the cash on hand.
- Net debt / EBITDANet debt/EBITDA subtracts cash from interest-bearing debt and divides by EBITDA to show how many years of operating profit are needed to repay debt.
- Net profit (net income)Net profit (net income, the bottom line) is what is left after all expenses, financing costs and tax; net revenue (net sales) is the top line.
O
- Opening and closing auctionThe opening and closing auctions are single-price periods where orders are collected for a set time and matched at one equilibrium price.
- Operating profitOperating profit is the profit from the company’s core business after deducting selling, administrative and R&D expenses from gross profit.
- OptionAn option is a derivative contract giving its holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) an asset at a set price until a set date.
- Order types (limit and market orders)A limit order asks to execute at a specified price or better; a market order executes immediately at the best available price without a price limit.
P
- P/B (Price-to-Book) ratioP/B divides a company’s market capitalisation by the book value of its equity and shows the premium the market assigns to its net assets.
- P/E (Price-to-Earnings) ratioThe P/E ratio divides the share price by annual earnings per share and shows how many units of price an investor pays for one unit of profit.
- Paid-in capitalPaid-in capital is the total nominal value of a company’s issued shares; it equals the number of shares multiplied by the nominal value per share.
- Participation fundA participation fund invests in lease certificates (sukuk), participation accounts and advisory-board-approved stocks in line with interest-free finance principles.
- Participation index (BIST Participation)Participation indices are Borsa Istanbul indices made up of shares of companies whose activities comply with interest-free finance principles.
- Pension fundA pension fund is a fund set up by pension companies and managed by portfolio managers in which the savings of Private Pension System (BES) participants are invested.
- Policy rateThe policy rate is the rate the CBRT applies to banks in one-week repo auctions and the main instrument of monetary policy.
- Portfolio custodianA portfolio custodian is a CMB-authorised institution that holds an investment fund’s assets separately from the founder and oversees the fund’s transactions for regulatory compliance.
- Portfolio management company (PYŞ)A portfolio management company (PYŞ in Turkish) is a CMB-licensed joint-stock company that sets up and manages investment funds and client portfolios.
- PPI (Domestic Producer Price Index)The Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI) is the TurkStat index that measures changes in producer prices of goods produced and sold domestically.
- Precious metals fund (gold fund)A precious metals fund keeps at least 80% of its portfolio continuously in exchange-traded gold and other precious metals or capital market instruments based on them.
- Prospectus and key investor informationA prospectus is a public document containing all the information investors need to make an informed decision about a fund or issue, its rights and its risks; the key investor information form is a short summary of the fund’s structure, strategy and risks.
Q
- Qualified investorA qualified investor is a person or institution defined in CMB regulation that can access products offered only to experienced or wealthy investors, such as hedge funds, real estate funds and venture capital funds.
- Quick ratio (acid-test ratio)The quick ratio divides current assets excluding inventory by current liabilities and shows the ability to pay debts without selling inventory.
R
- Real estate investment fund (GYF)A real estate investment fund manages a portfolio of property, property projects and property-based rights funded by money raised from qualified investors.
- Real returnReal return is the nominal return of an investment adjusted for inflation, showing the true change in purchasing power.
- REIT (GYO)A real estate investment trust (GYO) is a capital market institution that manages a portfolio of property, property projects and property-based rights and whose shares are listed on the exchange.
- Repo (repurchase agreement)A repo is the sale of a security with a promise to buy it back at a set price on a set date; the seller is effectively borrowing short-term cash against collateral.
- Return on assets (ROA)ROA (return on assets) is net profit divided by total assets and shows how efficiently a company uses all the resources it owns.
- Return on equity (ROE)ROE (return on equity) is net profit divided by shareholders’ equity and measures how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ capital.
- Revenue (net sales)Revenue (sales, net sales or net revenue) is the income a company earns from its core activity over a period and the top line of the income statement.
- Reverse repoA reverse repo is the purchase of a security with a promise to sell it back at a set price on a set date; the buyer is effectively lending short-term cash against collateral.
- Rights issue (paid capital increase)A rights issue raises cash from existing shareholders by offering them new shares at a set price.
- RSI (Relative Strength Index)RSI is a momentum indicator on a 0–100 scale that compares recent gains with recent losses to show whether a stock is overbought or oversold.
S
- Sector indexA sector index is made up of the stocks of companies in the same sector and measures that sector’s performance.
- Settlement and settlement distributionSettlement is the exchange of shares and cash after a trade; settlement distribution is the table showing which custodians hold the shares.
- Share (stock)A share represents a portion of a joint-stock company’s capital and gives its holder shareholder rights such as dividends, voting and pre-emption on new shares.
- Share buybackA share buyback is a listed company purchasing its own exchange-traded shares from the market.
- Shareholders’ equityShareholders’ equity is the net value left to owners after total liabilities are deducted from total assets.
- Shares in actual circulationActual circulation is the amount and ratio of shares that genuinely change hands on the exchange according to MKK records.
- Short sellingShort selling is borrowing a stock you do not own, selling it, and aiming to profit by buying it back cheaper after the price falls.
- Spread (bid-ask spread)The spread is the difference between the best bid and the best ask price for an asset and the invisible part of transaction cost.
- StablecoinA stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to a fiat currency such as the dollar or to an asset, aiming for price stability.
- Stock indexAn index is a weighted indicator that summarises the price performance of a selected group of stocks in a single number.
- Support and resistanceSupport is the price level where a falling price finds buyers and pauses; resistance is where a rising price meets sellers and struggles.
T
- TakasbankTakasbank (Istanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank) provides clearing, settlement, custody and central counterparty services for Borsa Istanbul markets and operates TEFAS and BEFAS.
- Target priceA target price is the price an analyst expects a stock to reach, usually within 12 months, according to their valuation model.
- TEFAS (Turkish Electronic Fund Trading Platform)TEFAS is the central electronic platform where Turkish mutual funds can be bought and sold from a single account through any bank or broker.
- TLREF (Turkish Lira Overnight Reference Rate)TLREF is a reference rate calculated from overnight trades on the Borsa Istanbul Repo-Reverse Repo Market, reflecting the cost of lira borrowing and lending when credit risk is minimal.
- Total expense ratio (fund)The total expense ratio is the annual ratio of all expenses charged to a fund, management fee included, to the fund’s total value; the CMB sets a cap for each fund type.
- Trading sessionA trading session is the period with defined opening and closing times during which trades take place on the exchange.
- Trading volumeTrading volume is the number of shares (lots) changing hands in a period, or their TL value; the trade count is the number of trades executed.
- Treasury billA treasury bill is a government domestic debt security issued by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance with a maturity of less than one year at issue, usually sold at a discount.
U
V
- Value date (settlement)The value date is the period between the day a transaction is executed and the day the cash or securities are actually credited to the account.
- VBTS (Volatility-Based Measures System)VBTS is the Borsa Istanbul system that automatically applies graduated trading measures, based on predefined criteria, to shares showing unusual price and volume moves.
- Venture capital investment fund (GSYF)A venture capital investment fund invests money raised from qualified investors mainly in unlisted companies with growth potential by taking equity stakes.
- VIOP (Derivatives Market)VIOP is the Borsa Istanbul derivatives market where futures and options on indices, stocks, currencies, gold and commodities trade.
- VolatilityVolatility is a risk measure of how much an asset’s price fluctuates over a period, usually expressed as the standard deviation of returns.
W
- WarrantA warrant is a securitised option issued by a brokerage that gives the holder the right to buy or sell an underlying asset at a set price and trades on the exchange like a stock.
- Withholding taxWithholding tax is tax deducted at source from investment income at the time of payment and transferred to the state.
About the Glossary
Plain definitions, calculation methods, interpretation tips and pitfalls for the 137 terms most often met in stock, fund, macro, crypto and derivatives markets. Every term page links related concepts and, where possible, shows a live example from BIST data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sources are the definitions based on?
Definitions draw on the public regulation and methodology documents of the CMB, Borsa Istanbul, the CBRT and TurkStat as well as generally accepted finance literature; live examples come from IdealData-licensed 15-minute delayed BIST data.
Does the glossary contain investment advice?
No. The glossary only explains concepts; no term page recommends buying or selling any particular stock, fund or asset.
What if I cannot find a term?
The glossary is extended regularly. You can suggest missing terms through the contact channels on the methodology page.
Prepared by: Yatırımcı.AI Research TeamLast reviewed: Method: MethodologyEditorial policy