What Was Ponzi Mania? Ponzi mania described the market atmosphere after the seemingly sudden recognition of Ponzi schemes that followed the arrest of Bernard Madoff for operating an illegal operation. Ponzi mania took full force in December of 2008 when federal investigators discovered that Bernard Madoff had operated a huge Ponzi scheme over the prior
What Is Ponzimonium? Ponzimonium is an outbreak of Ponzi schemes. The term is a portmanteau of “Ponzi”—named after Charles Ponzi, for which this particular type of fraud was made famous—and “pandemonium.” It is sometimes referred to as Ponzi Mania. After the multi-billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff was revealed in 2008, many new but smaller-scale Ponzi
What Is a Ponzi Scheme? A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam which generates returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors. This is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based
What Are Pooled Funds? Pooled funds are funds in a portfolio from many individual investors that are aggregated for the purposes of investment. Mutual funds, hedge funds, exchange traded funds, pension funds, and unit investment trusts are all examples of professionally managed pooled funds. Investors in pooled funds benefit from economies of scale, which allow
What Is the Pooled Internal Rate of Return (PIRR)? Pooled internal rate of return (PIRR) is a method of calculating the overall internal rate of return (IRR) of a portfolio that consists of several projects by combining their individual cash flows. In order to calculate this, you need to know not only the cash flows
What Is Pooling-of-Interests? Pooling-of-interests was a method of accounting that governed how the balance sheets of two companies were added together during an acquisition or merger. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement No. 141 in 2001, ending the usage of the pooling-of-interests method. The FASB then designated only one method—purchase accounting—to account for
What Is Poop and Scoop? “Poop and scoop” occurs when a small group of informed people attempts to drive down a stock’s price by spreading false information, rumors, and otherwise damaging information (“poop”) in order to then buy the stock at a lower price (“scoop”). If they are successful, they can purchase the stock at
What Is Population? A population is the complete set group of individuals, whether that group comprises a nation or a group of people with a common characteristic. In statistics, a population is the pool of individuals from which a statistical sample is drawn for a study. Thus, any selection of individuals grouped by a common
What Is a Pop-Up Option? A pop-up option is a joint and survivor annuity or pension option, generally limited to married couples, that is triggered if the annuitant or pension plan member’s spouse predeceases the plan member. The pop-up option then boosts the plan member’s pension after the spouse’s death. The increase in the pension
What Is Pork Barrel Politics? Pork-barrel politics is the legislator’s practice of slipping funding for a local project into a budget. The project may have nothing to do with the bill and may benefit only the legislator’s home district. Before a bill gets to a vote, pork-barreling has often greatly inflated its costs through the
