A business structure where ownership is divided into tradable shares.
A marketplace for buying and selling shares. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was born from the Buttonwood Agreement of 1792.
The 1792 agreement that established the foundational rules for the NYSE.
Debt issued by a government. These were the first major securities traded on the NYSE.
The practice of engaging in risky financial transactions in an attempt to profit from short-term market fluctuations.
The profit made from selling an asset for a higher price than its purchase price.
The practice of buying stocks with borrowed money, which fueled the 1920s bubble.
The catastrophic stock market collapse that triggered the Great Depression.
The U.S. government agency created in 1934 to regulate the stock market and protect investors.
Large organizations that invest on behalf of their members or clients. Key examples from this era are mutual funds and pension funds.
An investment strategy that focuses on identifying undervalued stocks by analyzing a company's fundamental financial health, such as its earnings, assets, and debts.
An influential investor and professor, widely considered the "father of value investing."
Investment vehicles that pool money from many investors to purchase a diversified portfolio of securities.
Funds established by employers or unions to provide retirement income to employees, which invest heavily in the stock market for long-term growth.
A powerful American financier who is widely credited with creating the market for high-yield bonds ("junk bonds").
The reduction or elimination of government regulations, which in the 1980s spurred financial innovation.
Bonds issued by companies with lower credit ratings that offer higher interest rates to compensate for higher risk.
A term for bonds that were originally issued with a high, investment-grade rating but have since been downgraded to junk status due to a decline in the issuer's financial health.
An economist whose 1958 study, Corporate Bond Quality and Investor Experience, provided the intellectual foundation for the modern junk bond market by showing they offered superior risk-adjusted returns.
The acquisition of a company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition.
The consolidation of companies. The 1980s saw a massive boom in this activity.
The owners of a company's stock. The 1980s saw a new focus on maximizing value for shareholders.
The name for the global stock market crash on October 19, 1987.
A modern asset class where investment funds buy and manage companies, often using the LBO model pioneered in the 1980s.
The world's first electronic stock market, which became famous as the home for most of the major tech companies during the Dot-Com Boom.
A form of private equity financing that is provided to startups and early-stage companies with high growth potential. A flood of venture capital fueled the Dot-Com Bubble.
The first time that the stock of a private company is offered to the public. The late 1990s saw a frenzy of tech IPOs.
A term used to describe a state of unjustified and unsustainable investor optimism that inflates asset prices far beyond their fundamental value.
A traditional valuation metric that compares a company's stock price to its per-share earnings. These were often ignored during the Dot-Com Bubble.
An influential venture capitalist and former Wall Street analyst famous for her annual "Internet Trends Report."
A severe global economic crisis that originated in the U.S. subprime mortgage market and developed into a global banking crisis after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
A home loan offered to borrowers with poor credit scores, indicating a higher risk of default.
A complex financial product that pools together assets like mortgages and repackages them into tranches to be sold to investors.
A financial derivative that functions like an insurance policy on a debt product. The seller of the CDS agrees to compensate the buyer if the underlying loan defaults.
The use of borrowed money to increase the potential return of an investment, which also magnifies losses.
An investor famous for being one of the first to recognize and profit from the subprime mortgage crisis.
A major global financial services firm that collapsed in September 2008, marking the pivotal moment of the crisis.
An American insurance corporation that required a massive government bailout due to its extensive issuance of CDSs.
A comprehensive U.S. financial reform law passed in 2010 in response to the 2008 crisis, aimed at increasing regulation and preventing another systemic collapse.
A type of algorithmic trading characterized by high speeds and high turnover rates, which came to dominate market volume in the post-crisis era.
Exchange-Traded Funds that focus on specific investment themes or sectors, such as robotics, clean energy, or cybersecurity.
An individual, non-professional investor who buys and sells securities for their personal account.
Stocks that experience rapid and often extreme price increases driven primarily by social media hype and coordinated retail investor activity.
Online platforms used for social networking, which became a powerful tool for coordinating retail investors during the "meme stock" phenomenon.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.