Saving and Investing for Students

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SAVING AND INVESTING
Keep in Touch With Us
We hope that you’ve found this brochure helpful. Please let us 
know how it can be improved. 
We’ve only covered the basics, and there’s a lot more to learn 
about saving and investing. But you’ll be learning as you go and 
over your lifetime. 
As we said at the beginning, the most important thing is to 
get started. And remember to ask questions as you make your 
investment decisions. 
Be sure to find out if the person is licensed to sell invest-
ments, and if the investment is registered with us. So, we look 
forward to hearing from you. And in the years ahead, let us 
know how well your money is growing.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549-0213
Toll-free: [phone]
Investor.gov

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U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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Saving and Investing for Students 
Glossary
Annual Return
—
An annual rate of return is the profit or loss 
on an investment over a one-year period. 
There are many ways of 
calculating the annual rate of return. If the rate of return is calcu-
lated on a monthly basis, the monthly rate can be multiplied by 12 
to express an annual rate of return. This is often called the annual 
percentage rate (A.P.R.). 
Asset
—
Any tangible or intangible item owned by an individual 
or a firm that has value in an exchange. A bank account, a home, 
or shares of stock are all examples of assets.
Bonds
—
A bond is a debt security, similar to an IOU. When you 
purchase a bond, you are lending money to a government, mu-
nicipality, corporation, federal agency, or other entity known as the 
issuer. In return for the loan, the issuer promises to pay you a speci-
fied rate of interest during the life of the bond and to repay the 
face value of the bond (the principal) when it “matures,” or comes 
due. In contrast to bondholders who have IOUs from the issuer, 
shareholders are owners of the company they purchase.
Broker
—
An individual who acts as an intermediary between a 
buyer and seller, usually charging a commission to execute trades. 
Brokers are required to seek the best execution of trades they make 
for clients, and if they recommend investments to clients, those 
investments must be suitable for the client.