no prepayments. Amortizing interest rate swap Swap in which the principal or notional amount declines over time. Amount outstanding and in circulation All currency issued by the Bureau of the Mint and intended as a medium of exchange. Coins sold by the Bureau of the Mint at premium prices are not included; uncirculated coin sets sold at face value plus handling charge are included. Amsterdam Exchange (AEX) Exchange that comprises the AEX-Effectenbeurs, the AEX-Optiebeurs (formerly the European Options Exchange or EOE) and the AEX-Agrarische Termijnmarkt. AEX-Data Services is the operating company responsible for the dissemination of data from the Amsterdam Exchange via its integrated Mercury 2000 system. AMTEL Used in context of general equities. In-house message system entered and displayed through Quotron A page. Analyst Employee of a brokerage or fund management house who studies companies and makes buy-and-sell recommendations on stocks of these companies. Most specialize in a specific industry. And interest An indication that the buyer will receive accrued interest in addition to the price quoted for a bond. Andean Pact A regional trade pact that includes Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Angel An investment-grade bond. Antithesis to fallen angel. In the context of venture capital, the first investor. Angels Individuals providing venture capital. Ankle biter Stock issued with a market capitalization of less than $500 million. Announcement date Date on which particular news concerning a given company is announced to the public. Used in event studies, which researchers use to evaluate the economic impact of events of interest. Annual basis The technique in statistics of taking a figure covering a period of less than one year and extrapolating it to cover a full one year period. The process is known as annualizing. Annual effective yield See: Annual percentage yield. Annual exclusion A tax rule allowing the deduction of certain income from taxation. Annual fund operating expenses For investmentcompanies, the management fee and "other expenses," including the expenses for maintaining shareholder records, providing shareholders with financial statements, and providing custodial and accounting services. For 12b-1 funds, selling and marketingcosts are also included. Annual meeting Meeting of stockholders held once a year at which the managers of a companyreport to the stockholders on the year's results. Annual percentage rate (APR) The periodic rate times the number of periods in a year. For example, a 5% quarterly return has an APR of 20%. Annual percentage yield (APY) The effective, or true annual rate of return. The APY is the rate actually earned or paid in one year, taking into account the effect of compounding. The APY is calculated by taking one plus the periodic rate, raising it to the number of periods in a year and then subtracting one. For example, a 1% per month rate has an APY of 12.68% (1.01^12 -1). Annual rate of return There are many ways of calculating the annual rate of return. If the rate of return is calculated on a monthly basis, we sometimes multiply this by 12 to express an annual rate of return. This is often called the annual percentage rate (APR).