Account Password
Your account password is issued to you when you open an account with us. This password is required to view your account online, or when you telephone us, to service your account or trade.

Bonds
A bond is a loan that can be traded. Investors lend money ordinarily in return for a series of interest payments and, usually, the promise to have the loan repaid on a fixed date.

Cash Management Account
The Direct Trader Cash Management Account works like a deposit account. When you buy or sell shares, money is either withdrawn from, or credited to, the account.

Certificates
Certificates are the traditional way of holding shares and means your shares will be in paper format.

Commission
Commission is the charge made by the brokers who buy and sell shares on your behalf. The commission charge is usually based on the value of the shares being bought and sold.

Dividends
When a company makes a profit, the board of directors may opt to distribute a portion to shareholders in the form of dividends. Dividends are usually distributed according to the number or shares each person holds. Usually, the more shares you hold, the more dividend income you receive.

Equities
Equities are company shares.

FTSE
This is an abbreviation for the Financial Times Stock Exchange.

The FTSE 100
This is an index of the share prices of the 100 largest companies in the UK. It fluctuates throughout the trading day.

ISA
ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. It is a savings and investment account that is more or less free from tax. An ISA isn't an investment itself, but you put savings or investments in it to protect them from tax.

Investment fund
This means a fund that is itself made up of funds. It is managed as one entity by one or more managers. The legal structure of the fund can take many forms and can include unit trusts and OEICs.

New Issues
These are also known as IPOs - Initial Public Offerings. New Issues give investors the chance to apply for shares that have never before been publicly traded.

Nominee account
A nominee account is where we hold your assets on your behalf. The shares you buy are registered in our name but you retain ownership of them. Holding your shares in our nominee account means settlement is quicker (three working days rather than 10 working days for certificate shares). There is also less paperwork and you don't have to worry about losing your share certificates.

OEICs
An Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC) means a collective investment fund similar to a unit trust. The differences are that OEICs quote a single price rather than a bid and offer price, and they are governed by company law rather than trust law.

PEP
PEP stands for Personal Equity Plan. ISAs replaced PEPs in April 1999. You can no longer open a PEP, but you might still have one that you opened before April 1999.

Self-Select ISA
With a Self-Select ISA, you can buy and sell shares the same way you would with a Share Dealing Account. The difference is that any growth and returns are free from capital gains and income tax. You can fund your Self-Select ISA by investing either cash or existing shares (although you will need to sell them and buy them back within the ISA) up to your annual ISA allowance.

Settlement
Settlement, or the settlement date is when your trade is completed. It is the day your receive your money from sales or pay for shares you have bought. Settlement is usually three working days after you bought or sold the shares if you hold them electronically in our nominee account, or 10 working days after you bought or sold the shares if you have certificate shares, on paper.

Shares
A share is a portion of ownership in a company. You can buy and sell shares on the stock market. Shares are sometimes called equities.

T+ 3
This means the settlement date will be three working days after the trading date. For example, if you sell £1,000 of shares on Monday 1 June and settlement is T+3, you'll receive the £1,000 three working days later on Thursday 4 June.

T+ 10
This means the settlement date will be 10 working days after the trading date. For example, if you sell £1,000 of shares on Monday 1 June and settlement is T+10, you'll receive £1,000 10 working days later on Tuesday 16 June.

Unit trusts
Unit trusts are investment funds that enable you to invest your money together with other investors. This means you can invest in a greater variety of stock. Each investor owns a unit or a number of them. The value of unit depends on the value of the assets owned by the trust.