A measure which can help you identify whether an actively managed portfolio has added value in relation to risk taken relative to a benchmark index. A positive Alpha indicates that a manager has added value.

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) regulates participants and products in France’s financial markets (listed companies, financial intermediaries, collective investment products). It regulates, authorises, monitors, and, where necessary conducts investigations and issues sanctions. In addition, it ensures that investors receive material information, and provides a mediation service to assist them in disputes.

Measures the average extent to which a fund moves relative to the broader market. The beta of a market is 1. A fund with a beta of more than 1 moves on average to a greater extent than the market. A fund with a beta of less than 1 moves on average to a lesser extent. If beta is a minus number, it is likely that the stock and the market move in opposite directions.

A security representing the debt of the company or government issuing it. When a company or government issues abond, it borrows money from the bondholders; it then uses the money to invest in its operations. In exchange, thebondholder receives the principal amount back on a maturity date stated in the indenture, which is the agreement governing a bond's terms. In addition, the bondholder usually has the right to receive coupons or payments on thebond's interest. Generally speaking, a bond is tradable though some, such as savings bonds, are not. The interest rates on Treasury securities are considered a benchmark for interest rates on other debt in the United States. The higher the interest rate on a bond is, the more risky it is likely to be.

The exercise price of the call option corresponds to the bond floor of the convertible bond, so it is variable over time and tends towards the redemption price of the convertible bond.

CAC 40 stands for Cotation Assistée en Continu, which translates to continuous assisted trading, and is used as a benchmark index for funds investing in the French stock market. The index also gives a general idea of the direction of the Euronext Paris, the largest stock exchange in France formerly known as the Paris Bourse. The CAC 40 represents a capitalization-weighted measure of the 40 most significant values among the 100 highest market caps on the exchange. The index is similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in that it is the most commonly used index that represents the overall level and direction of the market in France.

The year-over-year growth rate of an investment over a specified period of time.

Capital employed, also known as funds employed, is the total amount of capital used for the acquisition of profits. It is the value of all the assets employed in a business, and can be calculated by adding fixed assets to working capital, it is a measure of the value of assets minus current liabilities. By employing capital, you make an investment. It also refers to the value of assets used in the operation of a business.

The capitalization is a financial investment. It involves in integrating into the initial capital the interest generated during a given period. The interest of the next period will then be calculated on this new capital and so on and so forth till the end of the investment.The capitalization is opposed to the distribution which tranfers periodically the interest to the beneficiary without transforming it beforehand in capital.

Cash flow is the amount of cash generated by a company and is taken to be an indication of its ability to pay a dividend and of its future financing requirements. When a company produces more cash than it uses, it has a positive cash flow; the opposite is a negative cash flow. At the most fundamental level, a company’s ability to create value for shareholders is determined by its ability to generate positive cash flows, or more specifically, maximize long-term free cash flow.

A CDS is a derivative. It is a type of insurance against the default of debt. The buyer of a CDS pays a premium to a CDS seller in exchange for the insurance that if the debt defaults, the CDS seller will pay it to them. The CDS seller is speculating against the risk of default and hopes to make a profit from the premium payments. The higher the risk of default, the higher the premium.

An arrangement made in a futures contract whereby differences in settlement are made through cash payments, rather than the delivery of physical goods or securities.

The objective of the Competitiveness and Employment Tax Credit is to give companies leeway to invest, prospect new markets, innovate, encourage research and innovation, hire, restore working capital, or support the ecological and energy transition thanks to a drop in labour cost.

Commercial paper is an unsecured, short-term debt instrument issued by a corporation, typically for the financing of accounts receivable, inventories and meeting short-term liabilities. Maturities on commercial paper rarely range any longer than 270 days. Commercial paper is usually issued at a discount from face value and reflects prevailing market interest rates. Commercial paper is negotiable, which means it can be sold or transferred to another party.

Type of collective investment scheme without legal personality that issues units. An investor who buys units has shared ownership of the securities but does not have voting rights and is not a shareholder. An FCP is represented and managed, from an administrative, financial and accounting standpoint, by a single management company, which is allowed to delegate these tasks.

Short-term unsecured obligation, normally issued at a discount and fully repayable on maturity. One of the methods favoured by companies to raise working capital. Unlike certificates of deposit, commercial paper does not normally pay interest. Commercial paper is negotiable, which means it can be sold or transferred to another party.

The conversion premium represents the overcost of a share obtained by the purchase of convertible bond immeidatly converted in share.

Hybrid securities that have both bond and equity characteristics. Convertible bonds make periodic interest payments like a bond, but bondholders also get an option to exchange their bonds for a specified number of shares of common stock. Convertible bonds typically carry lower coupon rates, thus reducing the corporation’s cost of borrowing.

Correlation is a measure of how securities or asset classes move in relation to each other. Highly correlated investments tend to move up and down together while investments with low correlation tend to perform in different ways in different market conditions, providing investors with diversification benefits. Correlation is measured between 1 (perfect correlation) and -1 (perfect opposite correlation). A correlation coefficient of 0 suggests there is no correlation.

Counterparty risk results from over-the-counter transactions (futures contracts, repurchase or reverse-repo transactions and option agreements) underwritten by the same counterparty. The counterparty’s bankruptcy or a downgrade in the counterparty’s creditworthiness may cause a decrease in NAV.

It is the amount of compensation (interest) paid at regular intervals to bondholders. The payment of coupons can more or less spaced in time and sometimes interets are paid only at maturity (zero-coupon bonds).

Credit risk corresponds to the risk that an issuer is unable to honours its commitments.

A currency represents a monetary units which is most of the time issued by the central bank (Euro, Dollars, pound Sterling). A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money (monetary units) in common use, especially in a nation. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies.

A safekeeping service that a financial institution provides for a customer's securities. For a fee, the institution collects dividends, interest, and proceeds from security sales and disburses funds according to the customer's written instructions.

A share in a company whose performance is strongly affected by the rate of growth in the economy as a whole.

When the bond issuer is not be able to meet their debt payments and subsequently default on their contractual obligation to investors.

One of the shares in a company that people think will still make good profits even if economic growth is low.

The delta of a position expresses the change in the price of an option when its underlying asset price varies. It corresponds to the derivative of the theoretical value of the option relating to the price of the underlying asset.

The collective name used for a broad class of financial instruments that derive their value from other underlying financial instruments. Futures, options and swaps are all types of derivative.

A payment made by a company to its shareholders. The company decides how much the dividend will be, and when it will be paid.

Annual dividends per share / Price per share

A credit portfolio derivative, specifically a portfolio default swap, in which the protection buyer may change the actual composition of the portfolio over the term of the agreement, based on comprehensive criteria to select the assets or obligations forming part of the portfolio.

EBIT is all profits before taking into account interest payments and income taxes. An important factor contributing to the widespread use of EBIT is the way in which it nulls the effects of the different capital structures and tax rates used by different companies. By excluding both taxes and interest expenses, the figure hones in on the company's ability to profit and thus makes for easier cross-company comparisons.

Analyze and compare profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank responsible for monetary policy of those European Union (EU) member countries which have adopted the euro currency. This region is known as the euro area or eurozone and currently comprises 19 members. The principal goal of the ECB is to maintain price stability in the euro area, thus helping preserve the purchasing power of the euro.

The PEA is a tax-friendly investment format. A SICAV is eligible for the Equity Savings Plan (PEA) when it is under French law and it holds at least 60% French shares. A common funds is eligible at the PEA when it is under French law and it holds at least 75 % French shares.

The entrance fee are a commission received on suscription of SICAV's shares or FCP's shares. The maximum amount is indicated on the information note. The exit fee are a commission received on the buyout of SICAV's shares or FCP's shares.

The portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. Earnings per share serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.

If equity markets fall, the NAV of the fund may decrease.

Euronext is a European stock exchange. It was formed following a merger of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris Stock Exchange. In 2007, Euronext merged with NYSE Group, Inc. to form NYSE Euronext (NYX).

Market value of common stock + market value of preferred equity + market value of debt + minority interest - cash and investments.

A measure of financial performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. FCF is calculated as: EBIT(1-Tax Rate) + Depreciation & Amortization - Change in Net Working Capital - Capital Expenditure.

Foreign-exchange risk is incurred when the fund is exposed to a currency other than its valuation currency.

A forward contract is an agreement between two traders to make a transaction at a future date. It provides for the delivery of a specified asset for a specified price on a specified date. The underlying asset is called the spot asset.

Growth at a reasonable price (GARP) is an equity investment strategy that seeks to combine tenets of both growth investing and value investing to select individual stocks. GARP investors look for companies that are showing consistent earnings growth above broad market levels while excluding companies that have very high valuations. The overarching goal is to avoid the extremes of either growth or value investing.

Growth management is an investment style and strategy that is focused on growth stocks or companies whose earnings are expected to grow at an above-average rate compared to its industry or the overall market. The investment sectors are cyclical. Volatily is higher but the performance are also higher.

Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices and processes by which a firm is directed and controlled. Corporate governance essentially involves balancing the interests of a company's many stakeholders, such as shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community. Since corporate governance also provides the framework for attaining a company's objectives, it encompasses practically every sphere of management, from action plans and internal controls to performance measurement and corporate disclosure.

A collective name for funds targeting absolute returns through investment in financial markets and/or applying non-traditional portfolio management techniques. Hedge funds can invest using a broad array of strategies, ranging from conservative to aggressive.

Also called High Grade, Investment Grade have a rating between AAA and BBB-, for the rating agency Standard & Poor's or above Baa+ for Moody's. It indicates a low risk of a credit default, making it an attractive investment vehicle.

A management aim at over perform a major market index (CAC40, S&P…), a benchmark index, with a limited risk. The performance is generally close to the benchmark index.

Interest-rate risk may cause a decrease in NAV if rates vary.

An International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) uniquely identifies a security. Its structure is defined in ISO 6166. The ISIN code is a 12-character alphanumeric code that serves for uniform identification of a security through normalization of the assigned National Number, where one exists, at trading and settlement.

A situation when a fund is exposed to a portfolio of assets which its value exceed the total value of net asset. The leverage effect can be created by buying derivatives to obtain the same exposure as buying directly the asset but in mobilizing just a part of the capital.

A comparison of this year's sales to last year's sales in a particular company, taking into consideration only those activities that were in effect during both time periods. Like-for-like sales is a method of valuation that attempts to exclude any effects of expansion, acquisition, foreign currency effects or any other event that artificially enlarge a company's sales. Companies may disclose like-for-like sales for various time periods, such as quarterly and yearly.

The ease with which an asset can be sold for cash. An asset can be described as illiquid if it takes a long time to sell, such as property, or if it is difficult to find someone willing to buy it.

Market imbalances may affect the price at which the fund is able to liquidate, initiate or modify positions.

An long strategy is an investing strategy, used primarily by hedge funds, that involves taking long positions in stocks that are expected to increase in value, means buying it. A long/short equity strategy seeks to minimize market exposure, while profiting from stock gains in the long positions, along with price declines in the short positions.

The amount charged to run a mutual fund and manage the assets, assessed as a percentage of the total assets. This fee pays for overhead, salaries and research. It also pays for the costs of the custodian and other administrative responsibilities of fund management. The management fee often ranges from 1% to 2%.

The time when a bond or other debt instrument is due to for redemption (is due to mature); or the length of time between the issue of such an instrument and the date it is due for redemption (the maturity date).

A medium sized-company is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million euro.

The MSCI World is a stock market index of 1,654 'world' stocks. As with all MSCI indices, it is weighted for market capitalization. It is used as a common benchmark for 'world' or 'global' stock funds.

It is a life insurance contract allowing to invest savings on various investments products (shares, bonds, property, euro funds). The insured allocate freely his capital and can change at any time his distribution.

The Nasdaq Stock Market is an American stock exchange. It is the second-largest exchange in the world by market capitalization, behind only the New York Stock Exchange. We mainly find companies with high growth rate, particularly new technologies, IT, telecommunications, biotechnologies sectors.

A measurement of leverage, calculated as a company's interest-bearing liabilities minus cash or cash equivalents, divided by its EBITDA. The net debt to EBITDA ratio is a debt ratio that shows how many years it would take for a company to pay back its debt if net debt and EBITDA are held constant.

Net debt shows a business's overall financial situation by subtracting the total value of its cash, cash equivalents and other liquid assets.
The net debt figure is used as an indication of a business's ability to pay off all its debts if they became due simultaneously on the date of calculation, using only its available cash and highly liquid assets.

Also called Speculative Grade or High Yield, Non Investment Grade have a rating between BB+ and D, for the rating agency Standard & Poor's or below Ba1 for Moody's. Low-quality notes or bonds that may be in danger of default because of the relatively high levels of debt that the issuing company has relative to the amount of equity.

Nominal value, with respect to bonds and stocks, is the stated value of an issued security, as opposed to its market value.

A measurement of what proportion of a company's revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. A healthy operating margin is required for a company to be able to pay for its fixed costs, such as interest on debt.

A contract that entitles the holder to buy or sell an underlying asset (stock, bond, commodity, currency, etc.) at a given price (the exercise or strike price) and before a certain date (the expiry date). A call option entitles the holder to buy the underlying, while a put option gives the holder the right to sell. However, the buyer of the option is not obliged to exercise the contract. This differentiates options from futures, which are an undertaking between two parties to buy or sell an underlying asset or commodity. Options are used as a tool to leverage or hedge against changes in the value of the underlying asset.

Passive management is a style of management associated with mutual and exchange-traded funds (ETF) where a fund's portfolio mirrors a market index.

The Price to Book Ratio - P/B Ratio is used to compare a firm's market to book value and is calculated by dividing price per share by book value per share. The P/B ratio reflects the value that market participants attach to a company's equity relative to its book value of equity. A high P/B means either that investors have overvalued the company, or that its accountants have undervalued it.

The price-to-cash-flow ratio is an indicator of a stock’s valuation.

The PEA was created in 1992 to encourage the taxpayers to invest in the capital of companies. The PEA allows to manage a portfolio of French values (shares, FCP, FCPI eligible at the PEA…) and certain European Values, only without making any withdrawal during 5 years. The payments on a PEA are limited to 150 000€.

This share savings plan was adopted with the principle aims of diversifying companies’ funding sources and creating a new financing tool for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). Available to every resident in France, the PEA-PME allows to manage a European assets and UCITS portfolio while benefiting from tax advantages.

A company's share price divided by the amount of profits it makes for each share in a 12-month period. PE ratios are normally calculated on the base of all the profit made in the period, whether or not the profit is paid out to shareholders in that period.

Absolute performance over a period of a financial security or an index is calculated in percentage and corresponds to the difference between asset value at the end of the period and the one at the beginning of the period. We suppose that any dividend or coupon is reinvested during the period.
We talk about relative performance when the performance of a security is compared with the benchmark index. We can mesure investment policy of a fund with this information.

Shares that do not give the holder voting rights at shareholder meetings. Close to an investment certificate.

A qualified institutional buyer (QIB), in United States law and finance, is a purchaser of securities that is deemed financially sophisticated and is legally recognized by securities market regulators to need less protection from issuers than most public investors. Certain private placements of stocks and bonds are made available only to qualified institutional buyers to limit regulatory restrictions and public filing requirements.

A registration granted to a company enabling their shares to be officially listed and traded. Its value is define by the market. Quatotation allows to have acess to capital market (for the company to fundind and also for the shareholder's to take advantage of liquidity with the shares) and to externalise business value.

Independant agency which evaluate and mark financial situation of the various economics agents (State, company, institution… ) who borrow on financial markets and, particularly, their solvency risk. Each rating agency has their own scale which influence access to issuers' funding (interest rate). The major rating agencies au Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch.

The notion of risk in finance is very close of incertainty. The risk of a financial investment can have various origins. We distinguish the economic risks (political, natural, inflation…) which threaten security flow and refer to economic world, with financial risks (liquidity, exchange, rate...), they don't have an impact on this flow but they concern only the financial sphere. Risk is the possibility that the actual return on an investment will be different from its expected return. A vitally important concept in finance is the idea that an investment that carries a higher risk (volatility) has the potential of a higher return.

The risk premium of a financial market measures the expected difference in profitability between the market as a whole and risk-free assets (the government bond).

Securities with a « speculative » rating, as determined by the investment management company or the ratings agencies, incur a higher risk of default and their valuations are likely to vary more sharply and/or more frequently, which may cause a decrease in NAV.

The operating conditions and supervision of these markets can't be controlled by the state or don't be independent from issuers.

There is a risk that the fund does not invest in the most profitable stocks or funds at all times. The performance of the fund may therefore fail to meet its investment-management objectives.

The use of derivative products may temporarily reduce any sharp moves in the NAV of the fund if it is exposed to the opposite market trend.

Limited trading volume may cause listed small-cap securities to decline more steeply than large-caps during a market downturn. The NAV of the fund may therefore decrease more rapidly.

A company's profit in a particular period of time in relation to the value of its assets, used to judge how well it is using its assets compared to other companies in the same industry.

The amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. Return on equity measures a corporation's profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested.

Instrument issued by a public or private legal entity that may be transferred by book entry or delivery and that confers identical rights by category and gives direct or indirect access to a portion of the capital of the issuing entity or a general claim on its assets. FCP and FCC units are also securities.

The sensitivity of a bond measures the change in its percentage value induced by a given change in interest rates.

Certificate evidencing ownership of a fraction of the capital of the company that issued it. Shares may pay dividends and entitle the holder to vote at general meetings. It is a source of funding for the company, it has a unlimited lifetime and the holder faces the total risk (no dividend if the business performs badly). It may be listed on a stock exchange. Also known as a stock or equity.

The amount of equity in a firm owned by shareholders, calculated by subtracting liabilities from total shareholder-owned assets.

An short strategy is an investing strategy, used primarily by hedge funds, that involves taking short positions in stocks that are expected to decrease in value, means selling it. A long/short equity strategy seeks to minimize market exposure, while profiting from stock gains in the long positions, along with price declines in the short positions.

Open-ended investment company for employee savings. A SICAV set up to manage a portfolio of securities issued by a company for its employees.

The value of convertible bonds depends on several factors: interest rate levels; underlying equity price trends; value of the embedded optionality within the convertible bond. These factors may cause a decrease in the NAV of the fund.

A speculative bubble is a spike in asset values within a particular industry, commodity, or asset class that is fueled by speculation as opposed to fundamentals of that asset class. A speculative bubble is usually caused by exaggerated expectations of future growth, price appreciation, or other events that could cause an increase in asset values.

Average price of a representative sample of securities for a market, sector, etc. and showing the general price trend. Euronext Paris SA computes several indices, including the SBF 120 and the CAC 40.

To avoid the double taxation of dividends (regarding the corporate tax and the income tax payable by the investor), some countries created a compensatory mechanism called tax credit, which means neutralizing for the investor the effect of the corporate tax. In France, the tax credit was now eliminated and replaced by a allowance on 40 % on the amount of dividends taken into account in taxable incomes.

Improving bank lending to the euro area non-financial private sector, excluding loans to households for house purchase.

Tracking Error is a measure of how closely an investment portfolio follows the index against which it is benchmarked. It is the difference in the return earned by a portfolio and the return earned by the benchmark against which the portfolio is constructed. For example, if a bond portfolio earns a return of 5.15% during a period when the portfolio's benchmark (say, for example, the Lehman Brothers Index) produces a return of 5.06%, the tracking error is .09%, or 9 basis points.

Total money received in a given period. Turnover is usually the same as sales, or revenue, but it may be greater for some businesses. Turnover is made up of volume sold, price (inflation, exchange) and the scope of business.

UCITS funds are authorised funds that can be sold in any country in the EU. UCITS III regulations allow funds to invest in a wider range of financial instruments, including derivatives.

Ucits stands for Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities. Ucits provides a single European regulatory framework for an investment vehicle which means it is possible to market the vehicle across the EU without worrying which country it is domiciled in.

A statistical measure of the fluctuations of a security's price. It can also be used to describe fluctuations in a particular market. High volatility is an indication of higher risk.

A financial instrument, normally attached to a bond or other security, that entitles the holder to purchase a certain amount of ordinary shares at a fixed price (the exercise price) for a period of years or to perpetuity. Warrants have their own subscription price, and can be traded separately from the security with which they were issued. Also called subscription warrants.

The rate of return anticipated on a bond if held until the end of its lifetime. YTM is considered a long-term bond yield expressed as an annual rate. The YTM calculation takes into account the bond’s current market price, par value, coupon interest rate and time to maturity. It is also assumed that all coupon payments are reinvested at the same rate as the bond’s current yield. YTM is a complex but accurate calculation of a bond’s return that helps investors compare bonds with different maturities and coupons

The rate of return anticipated on a bond if held until the end of its lifetime. YTM is considered a long-term bond yield expressed as an annual rate. The YTM calculation takes into account the bond’s current market price, par value, coupon interest rate and time to maturity. It is also assumed that all coupon payments are reinvested at the same rate as the bond’s current yield. YTM is a complex but accurate calculation of a bond’s return that helps investors compare bonds with different maturities and coupons.