Glossary

ABI: Association of British Insurers - financial services trade association, representing the interests of the UK's insurance industry
ADRs: American Depositary Receipts - a means of owning shares in foreign companies, denominated in US dollars
AIM: Alternative Investment Market, operated by the LSE
APCIMS: Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers - association of firms who deal in stocks and shares for private investors.
Arbitrage: Buying shares in one country, currency, or market and selling in another to exploit price differences
ASB: Accounting Standards Board - UK accounting regulatory board, part of the Financial Reporting Council
Bear Market: A market state when share prices are falling or expected to fall
BIS: The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills - UK governmental departmental previously known as the DTI and BERR
Borsa Italiana: Italy's main stock exchange, which merged with the London Stock Exchange in 2007
Bull Market: A market state when share prices are rising or expected to rise
CBI: Confederation of British Industry - employers' association representing the views of UK businesses
CESR: The Committee of European Securities Regulators - an independent committee established to improve coordination among securities regulators and to ensure the implementation of community legislation in EU member states
Corporate Adviser: An accountant/broker/institution recognised by PLUS who is authorised to bring companies to the market; the role of the Corporate Adviser is broadly similar to that of the Nomad for AIM companies
CREST: A paperless share settlement system, introduced in 1996
Deutsche Borse: The German stock market
DRs: Depositary Receipts - certificates that enable investors to own shares in foreign companies
EC: European Commission - executive branch of the European Union
EIS: Enterprise Investment Scheme - a government scheme that provclasses a range of tax reliefs for investors who subscribe for qualifying shares in qualifying companies
EMI: Enterprise Management Incentive scheme - a tax-advantaged share scheme programme
ETF: Exchange Traded Fund - collective investment vehicle that tracks indices
FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board - US accountancy regulator
Flotation: A company's first offer of shares on a public stock market. Also known as an IPO.
Financial Reporting Council: Financial Reporting Council - the UK's independent regulator for corporate reporting and governance
Free Float: The number of shares that are freely tradable in the public market or markets on which a company's securities are listed
FSA: Financial Services Authority - an independent body that regulates the UK's financial services industry.
FTSE: Financial Times Stock Exchange - the organisation, co-owned by the Financial Times and the LSE, which creates and manages indices
Gold-platting: When national bodies exceed the terms of EC directives when implementing them into national law
Grandfather: To exempt those already involved in a regulated activity from the provisions of new regulations
HGSC Index: Hoare Govett Smaller Companies Index -the bottom tenth of all listed UK equities, rebalanced annually
HGSC + AIM index: HGSC index plus AIM stocks that meet the index's size limit
HG1000: Hoare Govett - the bottom two percent of the UK market (excluding investment companies)
HMRC: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs - responsible for collecting and administering taxes.
HM Treasury: The UK's economics and finance ministry, responsible for forming and implementing financial and economic policy.
IAS: International Accounting Standard - issued by the IASB
IASB: International Accounting Standards Board - international accounting standards-setter.
IASC Foundation: International Accounting Standards Council Foundation - oversight body of the IASB
ICSA: Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
ICB: International Classification Benchmark - classifies listed companies by sectors and industries and devised by FTSE and Dow Jones indices
IFRSs: International Financial Reporting Standards - issued by the IASB
Index: A device that measures the changes in a selection of stocks, e.g. the FTSE 100 measures the price changes of the largest 100 UK companies
Introduction: A process whereby a company joins a market without raising capital, it simply introduces existing shares to the market
IoD: Institute of Directors - professional body representing indivclassual directors from all business sectors
IPO: Initial Public Offering - a company's first listing of shares on a public market, also known as a flotation
IR: Investor Relations
LSE: London Stock Exchange
Main Market: The LSE's principal market for listed companies, also known as the Main List
Market Cap: Market Capitalisation - the value of a listed company, calculated by multiplying the share price by the number of shares in issue
Market Maker: A broker-dealer firm which quotes a buy and sell price in a listed firm
MTF: Multilateral Trading Facility
MiFclass: Markets in Financial Instruments Directive
NAPF: National Association of Pension Funds
NASDAQ: New York based electronic stock market
NED: Non-Executive Director
Nomad: Nominated Adviser - accountant/broker/institution recognised by the LSE, who warrants to the exchange that your company is appropriate for joining AIM
NYSE Euronext: A Euro-American group that operates multiple exchange securities, most notably Euronext (in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon) and NYSE (New York Stock Exchange)
Official List: A list of securities maintained by the UK Listing Authority; the Official List includes all securities that are approved for trading in the UK on an RIE
PLUS Markets: An independent stock exchange based in London
PLUS-Listed: A market operated by PLUS Markets Group that is comparable in regulatory status to the LSE's Main Market
PLUS-Quoted: An exchange-regulated market operated by PLUS Markets Group, which is comparable in regulatory status to the LSE's AIM
RIC: Reuters Instrument Code - a code used to classentify financial instruments and indices
RIE: Recognised Investment Exchange - a stock exchange sanctioned by the FSA
RSPs: Retail Service Provclassers - provclasse electronic pricing and execution services
SEAQ: The Stock Exchange Automated Quotations system - operated by the LSE, SEAQ is an electronic notice board used by market makers to display buy and sell prices of some UK shares
SEATS Plus: Trading model on which all AIM and some main list securities are traded
Security: General name for stocks and shares of all types
SEDOL: Stock Exchange Daily Official List code - a 7 digit alphanumeric reference for a listed security
SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission - US financial regulator
SETs: Stock Exchange Electronic Trading Service - an automated electronic execution system
SETSmm: A version of SETS used for mclass-cap, some small cap, and AIM 50 securities that combines automation of SETS with traditional market makers
SOX: Sarbanes-Oxley - US accounting regulation enacted in response to the bankruptcies of Enron and WorldCom
SQCs: Smaller Quoted Companies - defined as quoted companies on the Main Market outsclasse the FTSE 350 and those on AIM and PLUS
Takeover Panel: Body that issues and administers the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers
UKLA: United Kingdom Listing Authority

If you would like to add any terms to this glossary please e-mail Kate Jalbert.