What is an account balance?

The amount of money a user has stored in a financial repository.

Account balance with a bank account

When you check your account balance at your bank, it will show the amount of cash you have stored with the bank.

If you have pending transactions, your account balance might be greater than the amount that is actually available to you. That is because the money needed to make those transactions has not yet been removed from your account.

Account balance with a stockbroker

An account balance with a brokerage is likely to look different from a bank account balance. That’s because you don’t just keep cash with a broker.

Instead, the account balance that you see when you check your brokerage account will be the sum of any cash you hold and any stocks you have bought.

Because the value of stocks changes all the time, your account balance will also vary more frequently with stockbroker than a bank.


More terms

Value Investing

The art of buying shares which trade below their value, according to the analysis of the value investor.
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After-hours trading

Trading outside of a stock exchange's opening hours.
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Time-Weighted Rate of Return (TWRR)

A return calculated over the time period invested, that excludes extraneous elements, such as deposits to and withdrawals from the investment accounted.
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Zero-Sum Game

A situation in which one person's gain is another's loss.
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Yield curve

A graphical representation of interest rates over time
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Year to Date (YTD)

A period of time that starts with the first day of the current calendar year and ends with today.
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Over-The-Counter (OTC)

A security that is sold outside of an exchange.
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Free Trade

The other free trade. International trade in which countries allow goods to flow across their borders without imposing import or export taxes.
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Oligopoly

A situation in which a market or industry is controlled by a small group of companies.
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