See: Mutual Fund; Risk; Speculation

Going Ahead
Unethical practice whereby the broker trades for his own account before filling his customers' orders.

See: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; Rules of Fair Practice

Going Away
Bonds bought by dealers for immediate sale to investors, as opposed to being held in inventory for resale at future date. The importance of the difference is that bonds bought going away will not cause adverse pressure on prices.

See: Debt Security

Going Concern Value
A corporation's value as an operating business as opposed to the value of its assets or its liquidating value. In accounting, going-concern value in excess of asset value is considered an intangible asset and is called goodwill. Goodwill represents the value of a corporation's name, customer service, employee morale, and other such factors that are anticipated to translate into higher earning power. However, as an intangible asset, it does not have a liquidation value and accounting principles require that it is written off over a specific time period.

See: Goodwill; Intangible Assets; Private Market Value

Going Long
A purchase of a security that creates a "long position." The opposite of going long is "going short," when investors sell a security they do not own and hence, a short position is created.

See: Going Short; Long Position; Short Position

Going Private
Going from public to private ownership of a corporation's shares. It is usually accomplished by either the company's repurchase of shares or a private investor purchasing the public shares. A corporation will usually go private when its shares are priced considerably below their book value and thus the assets can be bought cheaply. Another reason a company's management may decide to go private is to ensure their own existence by removing the company as a takeover prospect.

See: Book Value; Going Public; Takeover

Going Public
Industry lingo used to describe the initial sale of shares of a privately held corporation to the public. To fund corporate expansion, a company may go public to raise the needed money. In exchange, the corporation's management gives up some decision-making control to public shareholders. The stock being sold to the public is called an "initial public offering" (IPO).

See: Going Private; Initial Public Offering; New Issue

Going Short
Selling a security that is not owned and hence, a short position is created. An investor who goes short borrows the security from their broker and hopes to buy other shares of the security at a lower price. The investor replaces the borrowed security with the lower priced security. The difference is the investor's profit.

See: Going Long; Long Position; Selling Short; Short Position

Gold Bond
A debt obligation that is issued by gold-mining companies. The interest payments are determined by gold prices. These bonds are bought by investors who believe gold prices are going to rise. Similarly, silver mining companies issue silver-backed bonds.

See: Debt Security

Goldbug
An analyst that is smitten with gold as an investment and recommends it as a hedge. Goldbugs are usually anxious about either the world economy, depression or hyperinflation.

See: Hedging

Golden Parachute
Lucrative contract that is given to top executives in the event that the company is taken over by another corporation and results in job loss. The contract usually includes a large amount of severance pay, stock options, and a bonus. Golden Parachutes are usually a part of an anti-takeover strategy.

Gold Fix
The daily price setting of gold by selected gold specialist and bank officials in London. The price is fixed at 10:30 am and 3:30 p.m. London time every business day, and is determined by the forces of supply and demand. The gold fix price is used to set the prices of gold bullion, gold-related contracts and products.

Gold Mutual Fund
Mutual fund that invests in gold mining firms. Some funds only invest in US and Canadian firms while others invest in North American and South African firms. Funds investing in South African mines usually pay high dividends because they typically pay out almost all of their earnings as dividends. Gold funds typically perform best during periods of rising inflation. They offer the investor an inflationary hedge, without the risks incurred by investing directly in gold commodities, bullion, or individual gold stocks.

See: Hedging

Gold Standard
A monetary system in which currency is convertible into fixed amounts of gold. The US used to be on the gold standard but was taken off in 1971.

Good Delivery Of Securities
Industry lingo meaning that a certificate is endorsed properly, has a signature guarantee and has met other qualifications. The certificates must be in good form to conform with the sale contract so that ownership can be transferred to the buyer. Certificates not in good form are said to be a "bad delivery."

See: Delivery; Legal Transfer

Good Through
Customer order to buy or sell securities at a limit or stop price for specific time period, unless canceled, executed, or changed. It is a type of limit order and may be specified GTW (good-this-week), GTM (good-this-month order), GTC (good-til-canceled), GTC-90 (good-til-canceled for a 90 day period), or for shorter or longer periods.

See: Good-Til-Canceled Order

Good-Til-Canceled Order (GTC)
Customer order to buy or sell securities at a limit or stop price that will remain in effect until it is either executed or canceled. If it is not executed, the order can be canceled or changed at any time. Also called an "open order."

See: Day Order; Good Through; Limit Order; Limit Price; Open Order; Stop Order

Goodwill
An intangible asset that represents the value of a corporation's name, customer service, employee morale, and other such factors that are anticipated to translate into higher earning power. However, as an intangible asset, it does not have a liquidation value and accounting principles require that it is written off over a specific time period.

See: Going Concern Value; Liquidation

Government Bond
Debt obligation of the US Government that are regarded as the highest grade of securities issues.

See: Debt Instrument; Government Obligations

Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA)
Nicknamed Ginnie Mae, a government-owned corporation that is an agency of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ginnie Maes are pools of residential mortgages. GNMA guarantees, with the full faith and credit of the US Government, that investors will receive full and timely principal and interest payments even if mortgages in the pool are not paid on a timely basis.

See: Federal National Mortgage Association; Full Faith And Credit; Ginnie Mae Pass Through; Principal

Government Obligations
US government debt obligations that the government has promised to repay.

See: Governments; Government Agency Securities; Government Bond

Governments
Securities issued and backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. Examples of such obligations are Treasury bonds, bills, and savings bonds. Because governments are backed by the US government, they are considered the most credit-worthy of all debt instruments.

See: Full Faith And Credit; Government Agency Securities; Treasuries

Government Agency Securities
Also called "agency securities," they are securities issued by US government agencies--for example, the Federal National Mortgage Association. Although agency securities have high credit ratings, they are not government obligations. Hence, they are not directly backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.