FINANCIAL DICTIONARY-Q

Q
Nasdaq stock symbol specifying that a particular stock is in bankruptcy proceedings.

QAR
In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Qatar Riyal.

QQQQ
Formerly the QQQ, this is the ticker symbol for the Nasdaq 100 Trust, which is an ETF that trades on the Nasdaq. This security offers broad exposure to the tech sector by tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest and most actively traded non-financial stocks on the Nasdaq. It is also known as "cubes" or the "quadruple-Qs".

Qstick Indicator
A technical indicator developed by Tushar Chande to numerically identify trends in candlestick charting. It is calculated by taking an 'n' period moving average of the difference between the open and closing prices. A Qstick value greater than zero means that the majority of the last 'n' days have been up, indicating that buying pressure has been increasing.

Quadrix
A stock valuation system that uses over 100 variables in seven major categories to determine the value of a stock. The overall score for a particular stock is determined by a weighted average of all 100 variables.
Quadruple Witching
A day on which contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single stock futures (SSF) all expire
Qualified Acquisition Cost
These are items, in the context of IRA withdrawls, that constitute penalty free withdrawls for an IRA owner who uses the assets to purchase a first home.
Qualified Adoption Expenses - QAE
Used for the adoption credit, this includes all the necessary expenses surrounding the adoption of a child.

Qualified Disclaimer
A refusal to accept property that meets with provisions set forth in the Internal Revenue Code Tax Reform Act of 1976 allowing for the property or interest in property to be treated as an entity that has never been received. These types of refusals can be used to avoid federal estate tax and gift tax, and to create legal inter-generational transfers which avoid taxation, provided they meet the following set of requirements:
1. The disclaimer must be made in writing and signed by the disclaiming party.
2. The disclaimer must identify the property, or interest in property that is being disclaimed.
3. The disclaimer must be delivered, in writing, to the person or entity charged with the obligation of transferring assets from the giver to the receiver(s).
4. The disclaimer must be written less than nine months after the date the property was transferred. In the case of a disclaimant aged under 21, the disclaimer must be written less than nine months after the disclaimant reaches 21.
Disclaimed property is given to the "contingent beneficiary" by default.

Qualified Distribution
Distributions made from a Roth IRA that are tax and penalty free. In order to be a qualified distribution, the following two requirements must be met:
1) It must occur at least five years after the Roth IRA owner established and funded his/her first Roth IRA
2) At least one of the following requirements must be met:
a) The Roth IRA holder must be at least age 59.5 when the distribution occurs.
b) Distributed assets limited to $10,000 are used towards the purchase or rebuilding of a first home for the Roth IRA holder or a qualified family member.
c)The distribution occurs after the Roth IRA holder becomes disabled.
d)The assets are distributed to the beneficiary of the Roth IRA holder after his/her death

Qualified Dividend
A type of dividend to which capital gains tax rates are applied. These tax rates are usually lower than regular income tax rates

Qualified Higher Education Expense
Expenses such as tuition and tuition related expenses that an individual, spouse, or child must pay to an eligible post-secondary institution.
Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB)(QUIB)
Primarily referring to institutions that manage at least $100 million in securities including banks, savings and loans institutions, insurance companies, investment companies, employee benefit plans, or an entity owned entirely by qualified investors. Also included are registered broker-dealers owning and investing, on a discretionary basis, $10 million in securities of non-affiliates.

Qualified Joint And Survivor Annuity - QJSA
An annuity payment from a qualified plan or 403(b) account that provides a life annuity to the participant and a survivor annuity for the spouse after the participant's death. QJSA rules apply to money-purchase pension plans, defined-benefit plans and target benefits. They can also apply to profit-sharing and 401(k) plans, but only if so elected under the plan.

Qualified Opinion
A statement written upon the front page of an audit done by a professional auditor. A qualified opinion suggests that the information provided was limited in scope and/or the company being audited has not maintained GAAP accounting principles.

Qualified Retirement Plan (Qualified Plan)
A plan that meets requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and as a result, is eligible to receive certain tax benefits. These plans must be for the exclusive benefit of employees or their beneficiaries.
Qualified Savings Bond
Refers to a series EE savings bond which has been issued after December 1989 and purchased by an individual at least 24 years of age.
Qualified Special Representative Agreement - QSR
An agreement between broker-dealers to clear trades without the interaction of the NASDAQ ACT system. This is achieved by sending trades directly to the National Securities Clearing Corporation (a subsidiary of the DTCC).

Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust
A type of trust that enables the grantor to provide for a surviving spouse and also to maintain control of how the trust's assets are distributed once the surviving spouse has also died. Income, and sometimes principal, generated from the trust is given to the surviving spouse to ensure that he or she is taken care of for the rest of his or her life

Qualified Trust
A trust whose underlying beneficiary may use his or her life expectancy to determine RMD (required minimum distribution) amounts, including those for the beneficiary of a retirement account.

Qualifying Investment
An investment purchased with pretax income. Money invested in a qualifying investment trust, annuity or plan is exempt from income taxes until it is withdrawn. These sorts of investments are tax-deferred, because the money invested in them is taxed at withdrawal only.

Qualitative Analysis
Securities analysis that uses subjective judgment based on nonquantifiable information, such as management expertise, industry cycles, strength of research and development, and labor relations. This type of analysis technique is different than quantitative analysis, which focuses on numbers. The two techniques, however, will often be used together.

Quality of Earnings
The amount of earnings attributable to higher sales or lower costs rather than artificial profits created by accounting anomalies such as inflation of inventory.

Quality Spread Differential - QSD
In an interest rate swap, the difference between the interest rates of debt obligations offered by two parties of different creditworthiness that engage in the swap. A swap transaction is considered beneficial to both parties only when the QSD is positive.

Quant Fund
An investment fund that selects securities based on quantitative analysis. In such funds, the managers build computer-based models to determine whether or not an investment is attractive. In a pure "quant shop" the final decision to buy or sell is made by the model. However, there is a middle ground where the fund manager will use human judgment in addition to a quantitative model.

Quantitative Analysis
A business or financial analysis technique that seeks to understand behavior by using complex mathematical and statistical modeling, measurement and research. By assigning a numerical value to variables, quantitative analysts try to replicate reality mathematically.
Quantitative analysis can be done for a number of reasons such as measurement, performance evaluation or valuation of a financial instrument. It can also be used to predict real world events such as changes in a share price.

Quantity-Adjusting Option - Quanto
A cash-settled cross-currency derivative in which the underlying asset is denominated in a currency other than the currency in which the option is settled. Quantos are settled at a fixed rate of exchange, providing investors with shelter from exchange-rate risk because they contain an embedded currency forward based on a variable notional amount on which the derivatives are quantity adjusted.

Quanto Swap
A swap with varying combinations of interest rate, currency and equity swap features, where payments are based on the movement of two different countries' interest rates.
This is also referred to as a differential or "diff" swap

Quarter (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)
A three-month period on a financial calendar that acts as a basis for the reporting of earnings and the paying of dividends

Quarter on Quarter - QOQ
A measuring technique that calculates the change between one financial quarter and the previous financial quarter. This is similar to the year over year measure, which compares the quarter of one year (Q1 2005) to the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2004). The measure gives investors and analysts an idea of how a company is growing over each quarter

Quarterly Earnings Report
A quarterly filing made by public companies to report their performance. Included in earnings reports are items such as net income, earnings per share, earnings from continuing operations and net sales. These reports follow the end of each quarter. Most companies file in January, April, July and October.

Quarterly Income Preferred Securities - QUIPS
Shares that are an interest in a limited partnership that exists solely for the purpose of issuing preferred securities and lending the proceeds of the sales to its parent company. They usually have a $25 par value, NYSE listing and cumulative quarterly distributions.

Quartile
A statistical term describing a division of observations into four defined intervals based upon the values of the data and how they compare to the entire set of observations.

Quick Assets
Assets that can be easily be converted into cash or are already in cash form. It is calculated as current assets minus inventories

Quick Ratio
An indicator of a company's short-term liquidity. The quick ratio measures a company's ability to meet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. The higher the quick ratio, the better the position of the company.
The quick ratio is calculated as:
Also known as the "acid-test ratio."

Quid Pro Quo
A Latin phrase meaning "something for something". This term is typically used in financial circles to describe a mutual agreement between two parties in which each party provides a good or service in return for a good or service.

Quiet Filing
The name given to an IPO filing where important details are intentionally excluded. Sent to the SEC in order to begin the process of issuing a new security, these details must be submitted through amendments. This form of filing generally takes longer than the conventional methods.

Quiet Period
In terms of an IPO, the period where an issuer is subject to a SEC ban on promotional publicity. The quiet period usually lasts either 40 or 90 days from the IPO.

Quitclaim Deed
A deed releasing all of a person's interest in a property or land.

Quorum
The minimum acceptable level of individuals with a vested interest in a company needed to make the proceedings of a meeting valid under the corporate charter.

Quota
In the context of international trade, this is a limit put on the amount of a specific good that can be imported.

Quotation
A very common term which actually refers to two numbers - the highest bid price currently available for a security or commodity and the lowest ask price currently available for the same security/commodity

Quote
1. The last price at which a security or commodity traded, meaning the most recent price on which a buyer and seller agreed and at which some amount of the asset was transacted.
2. The bid or ask quotes are the most current prices and quantities at which the shares can be bought or sold. The bid quote shows the price and quantity at which a current buyer is willing to purchase the shares, while the ask shows what a current participant is willing to sell the shares for.
This is also known as an asset's "quoted price".

Quote Driven Market
An electronic stock exchange system in which prices are determined from quotations made by market makers or dealers. Also known as a "price driven market".