P

Penny Stock - A stock which sells for less than one dollar per share.

Pension Plan - A qualified retirement plan established by a corporation or organization to provide income for its employees when they retire.

Policy Holder - The individual or entity that owns the life insurance policy. The Policyholder may different from the insured. For example, a grandparent (the Policyholder) may own a life policy on a grandchild (the insured).

Policy Value - A Universal Life policy's equivalent of a cash value. The policy value is built by the accumulation of premiums plus interest less charges for expenses and mortality costs and other risk charges.. In Variable policies, this accumulation depends on the performance of the underlying assets and not on an interest rate set by the insurance company.

Political and Legislative Risk - The risk that governments of many foreign nations are not as stable as the U.S. and any change in power could affect the value or ownership rights of that nation's securities. It also includes the risk that new laws may adversely affect the companies you invest in, including companies in the U.S.

Portfolio - An individual's or institution's total investment holdings.

Preferred Stock - A class of stock that has preference for dividend payments over the common stock and, in many cases, also for the liquidation of the company's assets. See common stock.

Premium - The money the owner pays to the insurance company in order to obtain life insurance protection.

Prime Rate - The base interest rate that commercial banks charge on loans.

Private Placements - Stocks, bonds or other investments sold directly to an institutional investor that are intended to be investments and not resold in the secondary market.

Prospectus - A printed offering to sell a security which fully discloses relevant information on that security.

Proxy - A shareholder's written authorization that another party may vote the shareholder's shares in a corporation at a meeting of its shareholders.

Put Option - A contract giving the right to sell a certain number of shares of stock, at a definite price, within a specific period of time.