Glossary

Financial lingo isn’t the easiest to understand. To help, we have provided this glossary of common terms found throughout our site.

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  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
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  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
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401k

An employer-sponsored retirement savings plan that allows employees to save pre-tax money from their paychecks, often with a partial match from their employers. Money deposited into 401(k) accounts is not taxed until it is withdrawn. Some 401(k) plans also allow for post-tax earnings to be saved, depending on the employer plan.

A

Accrual

The accumulation or increase of a thing over time, specifically for annuities, the accumulation of interest earned.

D

Diversification

An investment strategy that manages risk by allocating an investor’s assets in a mix of stocks, bonds and cash.

G

Gold IRA

Also known as precious metals IRA, refers to a specialized individual retirement account (IRA) that allows investors to hold physical gold or other approved precious metals as a qualified retirement investment.