Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF)
What is 'Savings Association Insurance Fund - SAIF' A government insurance fund for savings and loans and thrift institutions in the United States that protects depositors from losses due to institutional failure. The Savings Association Insurance Fund was created in the aftermath of the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, during which poor real estate investments...
Small Cap
What is Small Cap? Small cap refers to companies with small market capitalization. The definition tends to change a lot, but it generally refers to companies that have a market capitalization between $300 million to $2 billion. One of the reasons why people invest in small cap companies is they have a chance to beat the institutional vendors. Mutual...
SAMA Foreign Holdings (Saudi Arabia)
What is 'SAMA Foreign Holdings (Saudi Arabia)' A Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. The fund is controlled by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, a part of the central bank. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, SAMA Foreign Holdings is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with an estimated $432 billion in assets under...
Salary Freeze
What is 'Salary Freeze' The action of a company suspending salary increases for a period of time. By freezing salary increases for a given period, management is hoping that the company will be able to produce better bottom line results by keeping fixed costs controlled. The downside of a salary freeze for a company is that employee...
Savings Club
What is 'Savings Club' A non-incorporated group that has opened some type of savings or other deposit account. The money in the account is the joint property of all club members. Explaining 'Savings Club' "Savings club" also refers to a special type of savings account that comes with a passbook with coupons. Most...
Sales Comparison Approach (SCA)
What is 'Sales Comparison Approach - SCA' A real estate appraisal method that compares a piece of property to other properties with similar characteristics that have been sold recently. The sales comparison approach takes into account the affect that individual features have on the overall property value, meaning that the total value of the property is a...
Short Selling
DefinitionIn finance, a short sale is the sale of an asset that the seller does not own. The seller effects such a sale by borrowing the asset in order to deliver it to the buyer. Subsequently, the resulting short position is "covered" when the seller repurchases the asset in a market transaction and delivers the purchased asset to the...
Sales Per Share
What is 'Sales Per Share' Sales per share is a ratio that computes the total revenue earned per share over a 12-month period. It is calculated by dividing total revenue earned in a fiscal year by the weighted average of shares outstanding for that fiscal year: Explaining 'Sales Per Share' Further Reading...
Sacred Cow
What is 'Sacred Cow' A firmly held mainstream belief that is considered to be true without independent verification. In finance, and in particular in investing, there are many sacred cows that are thought to be true, but are difficult to prove scientifically. Explaining 'Sacred Cow' Some examples of sacred cows in finance include: one...
Safe Asset
What is a safe asset When it comes to investing, there are many different strategies that can be employed in order to achieve success. Some investors focus on high-risk, high-reward stocks, while others take a more conservative approach, investing in "safe" assets that are less likely to experience sudden drops in value. So, what exactly is a safe asset? Generally...