Scrip Issue - The issue of new share certificates to existing shareholders to reflect an accumulation of profits on a company's balance sheet.

Securities - The general name for stocks and shares.

SERPS - State Earnings Related Pension Scheme - A state pension in addition to the basic state pension based on earnings, to be renamed State Second Pension (S2P).

Shares - A stake in a company which entitles you to vote at annual meetings and benefit from the company's profits in the form of a dividend.

Small Caps - Another name for small companies.

SOFA - The Society of Financial Advisers, the professional and educational body for financial advisers. It awards qualifications for progressive levels of examination achievement.

SSAS - Small Self Administered Scheme - Small Self Administered Scheme, an occupational scheme where the members are trustees and are directly responsible for administering the fund and paying out the benefits. Some funds are invested in assets other than insurance premiums.

Stakeholder pension - New low cost pension schemes introduced by the government in 2001 to encourage people to make provision for their financial future. They are aimed at those who may not have been able to afford a personal pension and were not eligible for an occupational or group scheme.

Stock market - The marketplace for the sale and purchase of shares, government bonds and other securities.

Switching - Moving an investment out of one fund and into another.

Tax Harmonisation - The process whereby the tax rates in the countries of the European Union are being equalised to make trade easier and ensure that no country has a competitive advantage over another.

Term Assurance - A life assurance contract with a fixed term and a sum assured which is paid out only if the life assured dies within the term specified.

TESSA - Tax-exempt special savings accounts replaced by ISAs in 1999. You can no longer invest in a new TESSA but you can transfer your existing TESSA into an ISA.

Tied Agent - Financial advisers who have an agreement with one particular company to recommend its products. They can range from self employed individuals to banks and building societies and can give you advice on your financial circumstances but they cannot survey the whole market for you.

Total Return - The combination of capital growth and reinvested income at the end of any given period.

Transfer Value - The amount of money which is available to be transferred to another pension arrangement.

Unit Linked Policy - An insurance policy in which the benefits depend on the performance of units in a fund invested in shares, bonds and property.

Unit Trust - An investment contract which invests in a variety of different stocks and shares and is divided into units which are issued to its members instead of shares.

Variable Rate Mortgage - A mortgage product where the amount of the monthly payment goes up or down in accordance with variations in the interest rate, based on the Bank of England rate.

VAT - Value Added Tax - A form of indirect taxation levied on goods and services.

Volatility - The degree by which share prices in a particular market or sector go up or down.