An index that correlates with a fund, used to measure a fund manager’s performance.

A measure of volatility. Beta is a fund’s volatility measured against the benchmark index, which has a set beta of 1. Therefore, if a fund has a Beta higher than 1, it is moving up and down more than the rest of the market. A fund with a Beta of 2 will move up 20 percent when the market rises 10 percent.

Highest price that any buyer is willing to pay for a security at any given time.

Profits on the sale of stocks determined at time of sale.

An active fund with higher fees that actually tracks an index fairly closely.

Future sales charge that fund may charge as a fee at time of redemption (investor exit). Common in traditional mutual funds, rare in ETFs.

A company’s declared dividends per share as a percentage of its current share price.

Investment strategy of making steady fixed investments (monthly for example) to a mutual fund. Helpful to maintain savings discipline and smooth out market swings from investor’s perspective.

A fund designed around an index but not tracking it verbatim. Often enhanced funds bet extra heavily on an index or bet against an index by selling it short.

An index fund which is traded on the stock market.