NISM Series XV key terms

A person who prepares or publishes research reports or recommendations on securities and is regulated under the SEBI research analyst framework.

A written or electronic communication containing analysis of securities and a recommendation, but excluding impersonal advice given through public media to the general audience.

Advice to buy, sell or hold a security, including a target price or rating, that a client may reasonably rely on when investing.

A situation where personal, financial or business interests could improperly influence the objectivity of research, requiring disclosure and management by the analyst and employer.

An internal information barrier separating research staff from investment banking, trading or other business units so that material non-public information does not flow improperly.

Information about a company or security that is not publicly available and that a reasonable investor would consider important in making an investment decision.

Trading in securities while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information, or communicating such information to others who then trade on it.

Any information relating directly or indirectly to a company that is likely to materially affect the price of its securities once disclosed.

The act of making required information public, such as holdings, conflicts, compensation or rating history, so investors can assess the objectivity of research.

A short label such as buy, hold or sell that summarises an analyst's view on the expected performance of a security relative to a benchmark or defined horizon.

The price an analyst expects a security to reach within a stated period, based on valuation assumptions that should be disclosed in the report.

The process of estimating the worth of a security using methods such as discounted cash flow, relative multiples or asset-based approaches.

Evaluating a security by studying the underlying business, its financial statements, industry and economy to estimate intrinsic value.

Studying historical price and volume charts and patterns to forecast future price movements, without relying primarily on business fundamentals.

A rolling average of closing prices over a chosen number of periods, used in technical analysis to smooth short-term noise and identify trends.

Price levels at which a declining market tends to find buying support or a rising market tends to meet selling pressure, often used to plan entries and exits.

The theory that security prices quickly reflect available information, so consistently earning excess returns from that information is difficult.

A measure of a security's sensitivity to movements in the overall market; a beta above one indicates greater volatility than the market.

Market-wide risk that cannot be eliminated through diversification, arising from factors such as interest rates, inflation or economic cycles.

Company- or industry-specific risk that can be reduced by holding a diversified portfolio of unrelated securities.

Spreading investments across securities, sectors or asset classes to reduce the impact of any single holding's poor performance.

A model that estimates the expected return on an asset as the risk-free rate plus a risk premium proportional to its beta.

The market price per share divided by earnings per share, a common relative valuation measure showing how much investors pay per unit of earnings.

Profit attributable to equity shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding, a key driver of valuation and share price.

A financial statement listing a company's assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity at a specific date, showing its financial position.

A financial statement showing revenues, expenses and profit over a period, used to assess profitability and operating performance.

A statement classifying cash movements into operating, investing and financing activities, helping assess liquidity and earnings quality.

Current assets minus current liabilities, indicating the short-term funds available to run day-to-day operations.

The market where securities are issued and sold for the first time, such as through an initial public offering, raising capital for the issuer.

The market where already-issued securities are bought and sold among investors, providing liquidity without raising new capital for the issuer.

A company's first sale of shares to the public, governed by disclosure and allotment rules administered by the securities regulator.

A formal document issued during a public offering that discloses the company's business, finances, risks and use of proceeds.

A regulated marketplace where securities are listed and traded, providing price discovery, settlement and surveillance infrastructure.

An entity that holds securities in electronic form for investors and facilitates transfer and settlement through dematerialised accounts.

An account with a depository participant that holds an investor's securities electronically, replacing physical share certificates.

The process of transferring securities and funds between buyers and sellers after a trade, completing the transaction on the exchange.

A financial contract whose value is based on an underlying asset, index or rate, used for hedging or speculation.

An agreement to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price on a future date, traded on an exchange with margin requirements.

A contract giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a stated price before or on expiry.