Ginnie Mae
An acronym for Government National Mortgage Association, it is one of several government agencies (such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Sallie Mae) that is permitted to issue debt for sale to the investing public. See Fannie Mae.

 

Goodwill
An intangible asset that typically arises in connection with the acquisition of another firm. Goodwill is the excess between the price paid for the acquired company relative to the value of the acquired company's assets. Because of the unusual and difficult-to-define nature of this asset, in general, accountants in the U.S. have adopted an arbitrary 40-year period for writing down (amortizing) the value of this asset.

 

Government Bonds
Typically used to describe bonds and notes issued by the U.S. government or one of its agencies which pay interest periodically.

 

Gross Margin
Equal to gross profit dividend by sales. Gross profit represents the difference between what it costs a firm to produce a product and what the firm received from its customers for that product. Gross margin takes that relationship and puts it in relative terms that permit comparison.

 

Gross Profit
Calculated by deducting cost of goods sold from net sales.

 

Growth Investment Strategy
One of a variety of stock market investment strategies. An investor following a growth investment strategy would generally purchase only those firms exhibiting rapid growth in sales and/or earnings.

 

GTC Order
A "good 'til cancelled" order is an order to buy or sell a security that remains in effect, or "good," until is is either executed or cancelled.

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Hedge
To reduce one's investment risk.

 

Hedging
Also known as "putting on a hedge," hedging is the purchase or sale of a financial instrument, often an option or futures contract, with the intent of offsetting some of the risk associated with owning a different security.

 

Holding Company
A company that owns or "holds" the securities of another.