What 'Ponzi Scheme'? Definition & meaning

A form of fraud designed to lure new investors, and pays the earlier backers by using the new investors' money.

More terms

After-hours trading

Trading outside of a stock exchange's opening hours.

Fixed Income

An investment that provides a fixed rate of return, often over a specific set of time.

Equity

The amount of money a company would be left with by subtracting its liabilities from the value of its assets.

Arithmetic Mean

The sum of a set of numbers added together and then divided by the total amount of numbers in that set.

Technical Analysis

Examining price movements of shares and other assets, and trying to predict how they will move in the future.

Growth stocks

These are stocks in companies that are considered to be “growing”. These companies may be delivering new products and services, or entering new markets.

index-linked gilts

Gilts where the dividends and principal repayments are related to movements in the Retail Prices Index (RPI). This is as opposed to a conventional gilt, where the dividends and principal repayments are fixed in nominal terms.

Rate of Return

Profit on an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment.

Year to Date (YTD)

A period of time that starts with the first day of the current calendar year and ends with today.

Ponzi Scheme