Dictionary

1. An extra service charge added by phone apps to carry food from a shop to your home.

   "The $10 burrito became $22 after adding the delivery fee, service fee, app markup, and tip."

[ME deliveren + OE feoh]

See also: profit margin, real inflation

1. A public listing mechanism where a private company lists existing shares directly on an exchange without underwritten capital creation, bookbuilding, or underwriter discounts.

   "Spotify and Coinbase used a direct listing to allow existing shareholders to sell without underwriting fees."

[Lat. directus "straight" + Eng. list]

See also: oversubscription

1. A financial advisor compensated only by a flat fee or hourly rate paid directly by the client, never by commission or a percentage of assets under management.

   "A fee-only advisor has no financial stake in which specific product you choose, or whether you choose one at all."

[distinguished from "fee-based," a common and deliberately similar-sounding term that still permits commissions]

See also: fiduciary standard

1. A legal obligation requiring an advisor to act in a client's best interest at all times, as opposed to the weaker "suitability" standard that only requires a recommendation to be adequate, not optimal.

   "Ask directly whether they are a fiduciary at all times when advising you, in writing."

[L. fiducia "trust"]

See also: fee only advisor

1. The Banking Act of 1933, separating commercial and investment banking in the U.S. in response to the 1929 crash; substantially repealed in 1999.

   "Its repeal is frequently cited as a structural precondition for the excesses that led to 2008."

[named for Sen. Carter Glass and Rep. Henry B. Steagall]

See also: moral hazard, financial repression, seagull, the origin story, the complete history and doctrine

1. The practice of liquidating primary IPO shares on the first day or within the first 30 days of trading to lock in an immediate listing pop.

   "Retail accounts caught flipping an IPO face a 60-day to 180-day trading ban from future deals."

[Eng. IPO + flip, mid-20th cent. denoting quick turnover]

See also: lock up period

1. A contractual window (typically 90 to 180 days) post-IPO during which founders, early employees, and venture capital backers are legally prohibited from selling their shares on the open market.

   "Retail buyers who held past day 30 were crushed when the 180-day lock-up period expired."

[Eng. lock + up, mid-20th cent. financial slang for restricted capital]

See also: ipo flipping, oversubscription

1. A cohort measurement of recurring revenue generated from existing customers over a period, incorporating upsells, expansion, cross-sells, downgrades, and churn.

   "An S-1 filing reporting 120% Net Revenue Retention indicates that existing customer accounts grew spend by 20% net of churn."

[Eng. net + Lat. revenire "return" + retinere "hold back"]

See also: rule of 40

1. A condition where total cumulative orders for an equity offering exceed the gross number of shares made available by the issuer.

   "When the offering is 5x oversubscribed, retail investors are rationed down to 4% fills."

[Lat. superscribere, via Anglo-Fr. oversubscripcioun]

See also: lock up period, ipo flipping

1. The portion of money a business keeps as net earnings out of every dollar in total sales after paying all expenses.

   "Big chains maintained a 25% profit margin while small family diners struggled at 3%."

[Lat profectus + margo]

See also: delivery fee, real inflation

1. An empirical valuation metric in tech and venture capital stating that a software firm's year-over-year revenue growth percentage plus its free cash flow margin should total at least 40%.

   "Wall Street software multiples compress rapidly when a company drops below the Rule of 40."

[Formulated by venture capitalists circa 2015 to evaluate subscription business models]

See also: net revenue retention, profit margin

1. 1.

   A gull, especially one found near coastlines; a scavenging seabird known for opportunistic feeding and sharp downward vision.

   "The seagull circled the harbor, watching for what the tide left behind."

2. 2.

   (fig., this site) One who scavenges signal from the noise of financial markets rather than following the flock. See Manifesto.

[ME sea + gull, from Brythonic gwylan]

See also: contrarian, glass steagall act