What Is There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL)? “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” (TANSTAAFL), also known as “there is no such thing as a free lunch” (TINSTAAFL), is an expression that describes the cost of decision-making and consumption. The expression conveys the idea that things appearing free
What Is a Tap Issue? A tap issue is a procedure that allows borrowers to sell bonds or other short-term debt instruments from past issues. The bonds are issued at their original face value, maturity, and coupon rate but are sold at the current market price. A tap issue is also referred to as a
What Is Tape Reading? Tape reading is an old technique that day traders used to analyze the price and volume of a given stock. From roughly the 1860s through the 1960s, stock prices were transmitted over telegraph lines on ticker tape that included a ticker symbol, price, and volume. These technologies were phased out in
What Is Tapering? Tapering modifies a central bank’s monetary expansion policies initiated to stimulate an economy. During a program of quantitative easing, a nation’s central bank may buy asset-backed securities from its member banks, injecting money into the economy, to boost recovery. Tapering is initiated after the quantitative easing policies have stabilized an economy and
What Is the Taper Tantrum? The phrase, taper tantrum, describes the 2013 surge in U.S. Treasury yields, resulting from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) announcement of future tapering of its policy of quantitative easing. The Fed announced that it would be reducing the pace of its purchases of Treasury bonds, to reduce the amount of money
What Is the Taping Rule? The taping rule requires special monitoring of FINRA-registered persons with a troubled history and firms that hire such individuals in large numbers. More formally known as Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Rule 3170, “Tape Recording of Registered Persons by Certain Firms,” the so-called “taping rule” is meant to help meet an
What Is a Traded Average Price Option (TAPO)? A traded average price option (TAPO) is an option contract in which the investor’s profit or loss is based on the difference between the strike price and the average price, and not solely on the price of the underlying asset at expiration. First offered in 1987 by the Banker’s Trust
What Is a Target Cash Balance? A target cash balance describes the ideal level of cash that a company seeks to hold in reserve at any given point in time. This figure is optimized to strike a balance between the opportunity costs of holding too much cash and the balance sheet costs of holding too
What Is a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP)? A systematic withdrawal plan (SWP) is a scheduled investment withdrawal plan typically used in retirement. Investors can structure SWPs in various ways. Mutual funds typically allow an investor to determine a systematic withdrawal plan that includes interval payouts monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. Key Takeaways A systematic withdrawal
What Is a Systematic Withdrawal Schedule? A systematic withdrawal schedule is a method of withdrawing funds from an annuity account that specifies the amount and frequency of the payments to be made to the annuitant. Annuitants are not guaranteed lifelong payments as they are with the standard annuitization method, but they provide a stream of