What Is Tort Law? Tort law is the area of the law that covers most civil suits. In general, any claim that arises in civil court, with the exception of contractual disputes, falls under tort law. The concept of tort law is to redress a wrong done to a person and provide relief from the
What Is a Total Return Index? A total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains as well as any cash distributions, such as dividends or interest, attributed to the components of the index. A look at an index’s total return displays a more accurate representation of the index’s
What Is a Total Bond Fund? A total bond fund is a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that seeks to replicate a broad bond index. A total bond fund owns many securities across a range of maturities, from both public and private sectors. The most common index used as a benchmark is the Barclays Aggregate
What Is the Total Debt Service (TDS) Ratio? The total debt service (TDS) ratio—total debt obligation divided by gross income—is a financial metric that lenders use to determine whether or not to extend credit, primarily in the mortgage industry. To calculate the percentage of a prospective borrower’s gross income already committed to debt obligations, lenders
What Is the Total-Debt-to-Total-Assets Ratio? Total-debt-to-total-assets is a leverage ratio that defines how much debt a company owns compared to its assets. Using this metric, analysts can compare one company’s leverage with that of other companies in the same industry. This information can reflect how financially stable a company is. The higher the ratio, the
What Is Total Finance Charge? A finance charge is the total amount of money a consumer pays for borrowing money. This can include credit on a car loan, a credit card, or a mortgage. Common finance charges include interest rates, origination fees, service fees, late fees, and so on. The total finance charge is typically
What Is Total Permanent Disability? Total permanent disability (TPD) is a condition in which an individual is no longer able to work due to injuries. Total permanent disability, also called permanent total disability, applies to cases in which the individual may never be able to work again. Key Takeaways Total permanent disability (TPD) is a
What Is Total Quality Management (TQM)? Total quality management (TQM) is the continual process of detecting and reducing or eliminating errors in manufacturing, streamlining supply chain management, improving the customer experience, and ensuring that employees are up to speed with training. Total quality management aims to hold all parties involved in the production process accountable
What Is Total Return? Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over a period. Total return accounts for two categories of return: income including interest paid by fixed-income
What Is a Total Return Swap? A total return swap is a swap agreement in which one party makes payments based on a set rate, either fixed or variable, while the other party makes payments based on the return of an underlying asset, which includes both the income it generates and any capital gains. In total
