Glossary
- A-Share
- AAA rating
- abs.
- Accrual bond
- Accumulate
- Acquisition currency
- Actively managed fund
- Ad-hoc disclosure
- Additional margin
- Admission of securities to the Regulated Market
- Admission to the exchange
- Admissions Office
- Advance-decline (AD)
- AIBD return (ISMA return)
- AIBD return (ISMA-return)
- All-time high
- All-time low
- Allocation
- Allotment
- Alpha
- American depositary receipt (ADR)
- American depositary share (ADS)
- American-style option
- Annual General Meeting
- AQR (VWAP) executions
- Arbitrage
- Asian option
- Ask
- Ask price
- Asset class
- Asset-backed security
- Asterisk * (price addendum)
- At the money
- Attentism
- Auction principle
- Automatic exercise (warrants)
Alpha
A measure for the differing performance of an investment.
"Alpha" represents the performance of an investment compared to a reference investment, the benchmark. A positive alpha signals a higher performance, and a negative alpha represents a underperformance. Regarding funds, the performance is usually compared to an index which tracks the overall market. In this case, a positive alpha equals a successful fund management compared to an investment in the reference market, due to the selection of individual securities.
Our glossary explains important financial terms and should not leave any questions unanswered. However, if you are missing a definition, please write to us at redaktion@deutsche-boerse.com. We will then include the term if possible.