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Topic
Accounts
13 guides in Finabase Learn
- 401(k) plan A US employer-sponsored retirement plan that lets workers contribute part of their pay before tax or as Roth, often with a match.
- Broker A firm or person that executes buy and sell orders for clients and holds their accounts, in exchange for fees or other revenue.
- Churning Excessive trading in a customer account by a broker mainly to generate commissions; it violates FINRA rules.
- Commission A fee a broker charges for executing a trade; most US online brokers now charge zero commission on stock trades.
- Cost Basis The original value of an investment for tax purposes, usually the purchase price plus fees, used to compute gains and losses.
- Custodian A financial institution that holds customers' securities and cash for safekeeping and handles settlement and record-keeping.
- Fiduciary A person or firm legally bound to act in a client's best interest, such as a registered investment adviser.
- Fractional shares Portions of a single share, offered by many brokers so investors can buy by dollar amount rather than whole shares.
- Individual retirement account (IRA) A US tax-advantaged retirement account opened by an individual, in traditional (pre-tax) or Roth (after-tax) form.
- Margin account A brokerage account that lets the holder borrow from the broker against securities to buy more or to sell short.
- Regulation T The Federal Reserve rule (12 CFR 220) on broker credit: up to 50% of a margin purchase can be borrowed, plus cash-account payment rules.
- Roth IRA A US retirement account funded with after-tax money whose qualified withdrawals, including growth, are tax-free; $7,500 limit in 2026.
- Target-date fund A fund built around a retirement year that starts stock-heavy and shifts gradually toward bonds and cash along a preset glide path.
Educational content, not investment advice. Finabase Learn explains how markets and tools work. It does not recommend any security or strategy, and examples are for illustration only. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Rules and figures are for the United States unless stated and can change — check the cited source before you act.