E
EMU - European Monetary Union - The process
by which the national currencies of the European Union are
being replaced by the Euro.
Endowment Policy - A life insurance and savings
policy which pays a specified amount of money at the end of
an agreed term or on the death of the life assured. Often linked
to a mortgage.
Equities - The ordinary shares of a company.
ERM - Exchange Rate Mechanism - An agreement
by which most EU countries maintain the exchange rates between
their currencies within certain limits.
EURO - The currency adopted by some European
countries in place of their national currencies, intended to
replace the national currencies in 2002.
F
Final Salary Scheme - Also known as Defined
Benefit Scheme. This is the traditional form of company or
occupational pension where your pension at retirement is calculated
as a proportion of your salary in the last few years of work,
with the proportion depending upon how many years you have
been in your company scheme.
Fiscal Policy - Influencing an economy through
taxation.
Fixed Rate Mortgage - A mortgage product
where your monthly payments do not change over a certain agreed
period.
Flexible Mortgage - A mortgage product where
you can vary the amount you pay each month, reduce the term
by making extra or increased payments and take breaks from
your monthly payments.
Flexible Pension Plan - A pension product
where you can vary the amount you pay each month and take breaks
from your monthly payments.
FOOTSIE (FTSE 100) - The popular name for
the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100, the main UK share index
which represents the prices of the top 100 shares in public
limited companies.
FSA - The Financial Services Authority, the
main regulatory body of the financial services industry.
FSAVCs - Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions -
Extra payments you can make into an individual plan, which
runs alongside your company pension scheme, to top up your
pension fund. The plan is independent of your employer's main
pension scheme.
Fund - General term for an investment vehicle
which pools the money of investors and invests it according
to a defined set of investment objectives.
Fund Manager - A professional who takes decisions
on what to buy and sell on behalf of a fund's investors.
Fundamentals - The underlying economic factors
such as industry output, wages, cost of materials and fluctuations
in currency which affect a market, country or sector.
FURBS - Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefits Schemes -
This is an occupational pension scheme that is not designed
to be approved. This type of scheme saves up assets to pay
members’ benefits, unlike an unfunded scheme. Most FURBS
are top-up pension schemes.
Futures - A contract to buy or sell a fixed
amount of currencies, shares or commodities at a fixed rate
in the future at a fixed price. |
