Glossary of Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Accrued Interest - Interest that is earned on a bond or other fixed income security since the last payment was made.

Actuary - A professional in the pension area who is responsible for calculating the liabilities of pension plans and the costs of providing pension plan benefits.

Additional Voluntary Contribution - Optional contributions made to a registered pension plan by a plan member.

Administrator - Generally referred to as the party responsible for managing the pension fund and administering the plan in accordance with the terms and applicable legislation. The administrator is usually the employer, board of trustees where the plan is a multi-employer plan, or a pension committee.

Ancillary Benefits - Benefits that are in addition to a regular lifetime pension, such as survivor or death benefits, indexation, etc.

Annuity - A contract purchased from an insurance company to provide periodic payments to a person for his or her lifetime.

Arm's length transaction - A transaction between two parties who are not related or affiliated in any manner, to avoid any question or conflict of interest.

Asset Allocation Fund - A single mutual fund which tries to accomplish the goals of dividing investments among different kinds of assets to optimize the risk/reward trade-off based on an individual's specific situation and goals.

Average Cost - The total cost of all the fund shares divided by the total number of shares owned.