Terms and Acronyms

The lists below include terms and acronyms candidates may encounter in FINRA qualification exams. While not all terms and acronyms appear in each exam, candidates can use this list as a study tool to help them prepare.

General Industry Terminology

  • acceptance, waiver, and consent (AWC)
  • accumulation unit value (AUV)
  • alternative minimum tax (AMT)
  • annual percentage yield (APY)
  • anti-money laundering (AML)
  • assets under management (AUM)
  • assumed interest rate, assumed investment rate (AIR)
  • average daily trading volume (ADTV)
  • Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
  • collect on delivery (COD)
  • compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
  • consumer price index (CPI)
  • contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC)
  • continuing education (CE)
  • continuous net settlement (CNS)
  • delivery versus payment (DVP), receive versus payment (RVP)
  • direct market access (DMA)
  • discounted cash flow (DCF)
  • dividend discount model (DDM)
  • dividend per share (DPS)
  • doing business as (DBA)
  • dollar-cost averaging (DCA)
  • don’t know (DK)
  • driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated (DWI)
  • expiring exercise declaration (EED)
  • Floor Member Continuing Education (FMCE)
  • foreign financial institution (FFI)
  • good-til-canceled (GTC)
  • government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)
  • gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP)
  • growth at a reasonable price (GARP)
  • guaranteed minimum income/withdrawal/accumulation benefit (GMIB, GMWB, GMAB)
  • indication of interest (IOI)
  • information technology (IT)
  • internal revenue code (IRC)
  • letter of authorization (LOA), letter of intent (LOI)
  • leveraged buyout (LBO)
  • Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
  • magnetic ink character recognition (MICR)
  • market participant identifier (MPID)
  • material nonpublic information (MNPI)
  • mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
  • mortality and expense (M&E)
  • national best bid and offer (NBBO), national best bid (NBB), national best offer (NBO)
  • net asset value (NAV)
  • outside business activity (OBA)
  • over-the-counter (OTC)
  • payment on delivery (POD)
  • personal consumption expenditure (PCE)
  • personally identifiable information (PII)
  • producer price index (PPI)
  • public offering price (POP)
  • real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC)
  • remote supervisory location (RSL)
  • required minimum distribution (RMD)
  • right of accumulation (ROA)
  • Securities Industry Essentials (SIE)
  • supervisory control policies and procedures (SCP)
  • tax increment financing (TIF)
  • tenants by the entirety (TBE), tenants in common (TIC)
  • to-be-announced (TBA) transaction (or position)
  • total addressable market (TAM)
  • transfer-on-death (TOD)
  • volume-weighted average price (VWAP)
  • weighted average maturity (WAM)
  • well-known seasoned issuer (WKSI)
  • widgets, defined as "a placeholder name for an unnamed item considered for purposes of hypothetical examples"
  • write once, read many (WORM)

Industry Regulators and Organizations

  • Alternative Display Facility (ADF)
  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
  • Army Post Office (APO)
  • Automated Clearing House (ACH)
  • BOX Options Exchange LLC (BOX)
  • Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe)
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
  • Depository Trust Company (DTC), Depository Trust and Clearing Company (DTCC)
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
  • Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)
  • Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC)
  • Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
  • Financial Services Authority (FSA)
  • Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
  • Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
  • FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility (TRF)
  • FINRA/NYSE Trade Reporting Facility (TRF)
  • Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC)
  • Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac)
  • Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
  • Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
  • Government Securities Clearing Corporation (GSCC)  
  • Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae)
  • International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
  • International Securities Exchange, Inc. (ISE)  
  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
  • Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)
  • National Adjudicatory Council (NAC)
  • North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. (NASAA)
  • National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)
  • Nasdaq 
  • National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC)
  • New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
  • Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)
  • Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)
  • Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA)
  • OTC Reporting Facility (ORF)
  • Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
  • Self-Regulatory Organizations Consultative Committee (SROCC)
  • SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae)
  • Standard & Poor’s (S&P)
  • U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
  • Securities Information Center (SIC)
  • Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, Inc. (STAMP)
  • The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)
  • Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA)
  • United States (U.S.)
  • United Kingdom (U.K.)

Industry Positions and Entities

  • assistant representative (AR)
  • branch office manager (BOM)
  • broker-dealer (BD)
  • business development company (BDC)
  • chief executive officer (CEO)
  • certified financial planner (CFP)
  • certified public accountant (CPA)
  • chartered financial analyst (CFA)
  • chief compliance officer (CCO)
  • chief financial officer (CFO)
  • chief operating officer (COO)
  • designated examining authority (DEA)
  • designated options examining authority (DOEA)
  • designated market maker (DMM)
  • designated primary market maker (DPM)
  • emerging growth company (EGC), non-emerging growth company (non-EGC)
  • financial and operations principal (FINOP)
  • lead market maker (LMM)
  • limited liability company (LLC)
  • municipal finance professional (MFP)
  • non-objecting beneficial owner (NOBO)
  • objecting beneficial owner (OBO)
  • office of supervisory jurisdiction (OSJ)
  • political action committee (PAC)
  • politically exposed person (PEP)
  • power of attorney (POA)
  • private securities transaction (PST)
  • qualified independent underwriter (QIU)
  • qualified institutional buyer (QIB)
  • qualified service representative (QSR)
  • registered investment advisor (RIA)
  • registered options principal (ROP)
  • registered representative (RR)
  • research analyst (RA)
  • securities information processors (SIP)
  • self-regulatory organization (SRO)
  • sophisticated municipal market professional (SMMP)
  • special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
  • subject matter expert (SME)
  • supervisory analyst (SA)
  • trade reporting facility (TRF)

Forms, Documents and Identification

  • business continuity plan (BCP)
  • confidential information memorandum (CIM)
  • Currency Transaction Report (CTR)
  • Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP)
  • Continuing Membership Application (CMA)
  • customer identification program (CIP)
  • Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single (FOCUS)
  • Form BD
  • Form CMA
  • Form U4, Form U5
  • identification (ID)
  • large trader identification (LTID)
  • off-balance sheet (OBS)
  • options disclosure document (ODD)
  • personal identification number (PIN)
  • preliminary official statement (POS)
  • portable document format (PDF)
  • request for proposal (RFP)
  • Social Security number (SSN)
  • Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SND) list
  • standing settlement instructions (SSIs)
  • statement of additional information (SAI)
  • Supplemental Statement of Income (SSOI)
  • Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)
  • taxpayer identification number (TIN)
  • Transfer Initiation Form (TIF)
  • written supervisory procedures (WSPs)

Security, Order and Account Types

  • All-or-none (AON)
  • American Depositary Receipt (ADR)
  • American Depositary Shares (ADS)
  • asset-backed securities (ABS)
  • auction rate security, auction rate securities (ARS)
  • bankers’ acceptances
  • bond anticipation note (BAN)
  • Cboe Flexible Exchange Options (FLEX Options)
  • certificates of accrual on Treasury securities (CATS)
  • certificate of deposit (CD)
  • certificates of participation (COPs)
  • collateralized debt obligation (CDO)
  • collateralized loan obligation (CLO)
  • collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO)
  • collective investment trust (CIT)
  • Commercial Paper and Institutional Certificates of Deposit Data Service (CP/Institutional CD)
  • credit default swaps (CDS)
  • direct participation program (DPP)
  • dividend reinvestment plan, dividend reinvestment program (DRIP)
  • education savings accounts (ESAs)
  • employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
  • environmental, social and governance (ESG)
  • equity-indexed annuity (EIA)
  • exchange-traded notes (ETNs)
  • exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
  • exchange-traded products (ETPs)
  • exchange-traded vehicle (EVP)
  • fill-or-kill (FOK) orders general obligation (GO) bonds
  • floating rate note (FRN)
  • Global Depositary Receipts (GDR), Global Depositary Shares (GDS)
  • grant anticipation note (GAN)
  • imbalance only (IO) orders
  • immediate-or-cancel (IOC) orders
  • individual retirement account (IRA)
  • intangible drilling costs (IDCs)
  • initial coin offering (ICO)
  • initial public offering (IPO)
  • intermarket sweep order (ISO)
  • International Depositary Receipt (IDR)
  • joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS)
  • limit-on-close (LOC) orders
  • local government investment pools (LGIPs)
  • Long-term Equity AnticiPation Securities (LEAPS)
  • market-on-close (MOC) orders, market-on-open (MOO) orders
  • mortgage-backed securities (MBS)
  • non-fungible token (NFT)
  • options contract equivalent of the net delta (OCEND)
  • original issue discount (OID) bond
  • proprietary accounts of broker-dealers (PAB accounts)
  • private investment in public equity (PIPE)
  • principal-protected note (PPN)
  • real estate investment trust (REIT)
  • registered index-linked annuities (RILAs)
  • repurchase agreement (repo)
  • revenue anticipation note (RAN)
  • reverse repurchase agreement (reverse repo)
  • Roth Individual Retirement Account
  • savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA)
  • Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities (STRIPS)
  • simplified employee pension (SEP) plan
  • simplified employee pension individual retirement account (SEP IRA)
  • special memorandum account (SMA)
  • tax anticipation note (TAN)
  • Treasury income growth receipts (TIGRs)
  • tax and revenue anticipation note (TRAN)
  • Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE)
  • Treasury bill/note/bond (T-bill, T-note, T-bond)
  • Treasury Eurodollar (TED) spread
  • Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)
  • unit investment trust (UIT)

Systems

  • Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS)
  • alternative trading system (ATS)
  • Automated Confirmation Transaction Service (ACT)
  • Central Registration Depository (CRD)
  • Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT)
  • Consolidated Options Audit Trail System (COATS)
  • Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian (DWAC)
  • Electronic Communication Network (ECN)
  • Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system
  • Electronic Municipal Market Access system (EMMA)
  • Financial Professional Gateway (FinPro)
  • Direct Registration System (DRS)
  • Institutional Delivery Netting Service (ID Net)
  • Large Options Position Report (LOPR) system
  • learning experience platform (LXP)
  • National Market System (NMS)
  • New Issue Information Dissemination Service (NIIDS)
  • order management system (OMS)
  • Real-Time Trade Matching (RTTM)
  • Real-Time Transaction Reporting System (RTRS)

Rules and Regulations

  • Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (ABLE)
  • Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
  • Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
  • FinCEN’s Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions (the CDD Rule)
  • Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
  • generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
  • Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act of 1988 (ITSFEA)
  • The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act
  • Know Your Customer (KYC)
  • Limit Up-Limit Down (LULD)
  • Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure)
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)
  • Securities Exchange Act (SEA)
  • Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA)
  • Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA)
  • USA PATRIOT Act

Indexes

  • Cboe Volatility Index (VIX)
  • Cboe Options on the DJIA (DJX)
  • Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI)
  • OEX S&P 100 Index (OEX)
  • Purchasers Managers’ Index (PMI)
  • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA)
  • S&P 500 Index (SPX)
  • SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Ratios, accounting techniques/methods, inventory management methods, financial numbers

  • cost of goods sold (COGS)
  • debtor in possession (DIP) financing
  • discounted cash flow (DCF)
  • earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), earnings before taxes (EBT) 
  • earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
  • earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent (EBITDAR) 
  • earnings per share (EPS)
  • enterprise value (EV)
  • first-in, first-out (FIFO)
  • internal rate of return (IRR)
  • last 12 months (LTM), next 12 months (NTM)
  • last-in, first-out (LIFO)
  • net operating profit after tax (NOPAT)
  • net present value (NPV)
  • pension benefit obligation (PBO)
  • price-to-book (P/B)
  • price-to-earnings (P/E)
  • price/earnings to growth (PEG)
  • price/NAV
  • price-to-sales (P/S)
  • price to tangible book value (PTBV)
  • private placement memorandum (PPM)
  • property, plant and equipment (PP&E)
  • quick ratio
  • research and development (R&D)
  • return on assets (ROA)
  • return on equity (ROE)
  • return on invested capital (ROIC)
  • return on investments (ROI)
  • secured overnight financing rate (SOFR)
  • selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense
  • weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
  • year-over-year (YOY)
  • year-to-date (YTD)
  • yield to call (YTC)
  • yield to maturity (YTM)
  • yield to worst (YTW)