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I/O Pattern I/O Pattern (Interest Only Pattern) is the shape of a loan or bond where the borrower pays only interest for a while before the main sum falls due.
Iceberg Order Iceberg Order means a large stock order split so only a small slice shows on the market at a time, hiding the true size until it is fully filled.
Iceberg Principle Iceberg Principle: the idea that visible wealth is a small tip, while the real mass of discipline, sacrifice and habit sits hidden below the surface.
Idea Stage Idea Stage is the very first moment of a business, when all you have is a thought, maybe a name, and no customers, money or product yet.
Identity Theft Identity theft is somebody using your personal details to impersonate you, usually to take money or borrow in your name.
Idle Capacity Idle capacity is the gap between what a factory, business or economy can produce at full stretch and what it is actually producing right now.
Idle Cash Idle Cash is money sitting in a current account or under a mattress, earning nothing, while inflation calmly eats its value every month.
Idle Funds Idle funds are money sitting in a low interest or no interest account, doing nothing, when it could be earning returns or clearing a debt somewhere else.
IFRS IFRS is the shared accounting language that lets a company's books in Lagos mean the same thing to an investor reading them in London or New York.
Illiquid Illiquid describes an asset that is hard to sell quickly at a fair price, such as land in a village or shares nobody is trading.
Illiquid Asset Illiquid Asset: something valuable that you cannot quickly turn into cash without cutting the price or waiting a long while for a buyer.
Illiquid Market Illiquid Market means there are so few buyers and sellers that you can struggle to sell an asset quickly without cutting the price to attract someone.
IMF IMF is the International Monetary Fund, a global institution that lends money to countries in economic trouble and gives advice on how to fix their finances.
Immediate Annuity Immediate Annuity: hand an insurer a lump sum today and they start paying you a regular income almost straight away, usually within a month or year.
Immediate Family Immediate family means your spouse, children, parents and siblings, the small circle banks, insurers and pension schemes trust you to name without extra proof.
Immigrant Immigrant: someone who has moved to another country to live, and whose money life now runs across two currencies, two systems, and two sets of expectations.
Immigration Immigration is the movement of people into a country to live, work or settle, and it shapes everything from remittance flows to visa rules and family plans.
Impact Investing Impact investing means putting your money into businesses that solve real problems, like clean water or solar power, while still expecting your money to grow.
Impaired Asset Impaired Asset: something a company owns that is now worth less on paper than it says in the books, and the accounts must be corrected to admit it.
Impairment Impairment is when a company admits, on paper, that something it owns is now worth less than it once said it was worth.
Impairment Charge Impairment Charge is the write down a business books when an asset it owns is worth far less than what its accounts currently say.
Imperfect Competition Imperfect competition is a market where sellers have enough power over price or product that the textbook consider of many equal firms simply does not apply.
Imperfect Information Imperfect information means buyers and sellers in a market do not know everything they need to, so someone always has the upper hand.
Imperfect Market Imperfect market: a real market where sellers, buyers or information are not equal, so prices and power get distorted by whoever holds the advantage.
Implicit Cost Implicit Cost is the value you give up by using something you already own, like your own time or savings, even though no cash actually leaves your hand.
Implied Authority Implied authority is the power a manager or staff member seems to have because of their role, even if nobody wrote it down or signed it off.
Implied Volatility Implied volatility is the market's guess, priced into an option, of how wildly a stock or asset might swing before that option expires.
Import Import means bringing in goods or services from another country, and every naira spent on one is a naira asking a foreign supplier to smile, not a Nigerian one.
Import Cover Import cover is how many months of imports a country could still pay for out of its foreign reserves if no new foreign currency came in at all.
Import Quota Import Quota is a limit the government sets on how much of a particular good can be brought into Nigeria from abroad within a given period.
Import Substitution Import substitution means a country deliberately makes at home what it used to buy abroad, so it can spend less on foreign goods and grow its own factories.
Import Tariff Import Tariff: a tax the government charges on goods brought in from outside Nigeria, usually to raise money or protect local producers.
Importer Importer: a person or business that brings goods into a country from abroad, usually to sell at a profit, and must deal with customs and forex to do it.
Imprest System Imprest System is a way of managing small office cash where a fixed float is topped up only after every kobo spent has been accounted for with receipts.
Imputed Cost Imputed cost is the value of what you gave up by using something you already own, even though no cash left your account for it.
Imputed Income Imputed income is money you never actually collected in cash, but the tax authorities still treat it as income because you benefited from it in kind.
In and Out Trader In and Out Trader means someone who buys a stock and sells it again the same day or within days, chasing quick profit instead of holding for the long run.
In Demand In demand describes a product, skill, or person that many people want at the same time, which usually means you can charge more and choose your customers.
In Escrow In escrow means money or documents sit with a neutral third party until both sides of a deal keep their promises.
In Kind Distribution In Kind Distribution means receiving actual property, shares or goods instead of cash, like inheriting your grandfather's land instead of its money value.
In Specie In specie means paying or transferring something in its actual form, like shares, property or goods, instead of converting it to cash first.
In the Money In the Money describes an option that would put cash in your pocket right now if you used it, because the market price has moved in its favour.
Inactive Account Inactive Account: a bank account that has had no transactions for a long stretch, usually six months to a year, and that the bank has calmly put to sleep.
Income Income is the money that flows to you regularly, from a job, a business, rent, interest or a hustle, before anything is spent on it.
Income Bracket Income bracket is the range your yearly earnings fall into, which decides the rate at which government taxes that portion of your money.
Income Fund Income Fund is a pooled investment built to pay you regularly, from interest or dividends, rather than to grow fast and be sold later for a lump sum.
Income Generating Asset Income Generating Asset: something you own that keeps paying you, so your money works even while you sleep, travel, or scroll Instagram.
Income Inequality Income inequality is the gap between what the richest and poorest people in an economy earn, and in Nigeria that gap can be a whole ocean, not a stream.
Income Investing Income investing means buying assets that pay you steadily, like dividends or interest, rather than betting only on the price going up.
Income Profile Income profile is the full consider of everywhere your money comes from, how steady it is, and how it moves through the year, more than your salary alone.
Income Property Income property is any building or land you buy mainly to earn money from it, through rent or resale, rather than to live in yourself.
Income Smoothing Income smoothing is when a company spreads its profits evenly across periods instead of showing the natural bumps, so investors see calm, steady growth.
Income Statement Income Statement shows whether a business made money or lost money over a period, by listing what came in, what went out, and what is left.
Income Stream Income Stream is any regular flow of money coming into your account, and the whole game of building wealth is about growing the number of streams you have.
Income Tax Income tax is the tax you pay on what you earn, and for most salaried Nigerians it is deducted before the money ever reaches you.
Income Tax Return Income Tax Return is the form where you tell the tax authority what you earned in a year and let them check if you paid the right amount.
Incoming Capital Incoming Capital is money coming into a business from outside, such as investment, loans or grants, meant to fund growth rather than pay for yesterday's bills.
Incoterms Incoterms are the standard rules deciding who pays for shipping and who carries the risk at each point of an international sale.
Increasing Returns Increasing Returns means that as a business or economy produces more, it gets cheaper and easier to produce even more, instead of harder.
Incremental Cash Flow Incremental Cash Flow is the extra cash a business gains or loses because of one new decision, compared to what would have happened without it.
Incremental Cost Incremental cost is the extra money a business spends to produce one more unit, serve one more customer, or take on one more order.
Incumbent Incumbent means the business already sitting comfortably in a market, the one every newcomer has to fight past to get customers.
Indemnity Indemnity means insurance restores you to where you were before the loss, never better, which is why you cannot profit from a claim.
Independent Auditor Independent Auditor is an outside accountant who checks a company's financial statements and gives an honest opinion on whether they can be trusted.
Independent Contractor Independent Contractor is someone who works for a business without being its employee, invoiced job by job rather than paid a monthly salary with benefits.
Independent Director Independent Director is a board member with no family, business or financial ties to the company, there to question decisions rather than rubber stamp them.
Independent Variable Independent Variable is the factor you change on purpose to see what happens to something else, like raising fuel prices to watch how transport fares react.
Index Index: a single number that tracks how a whole group of shares is doing, so you can tell the mood of the market without checking every company one by one.
Index Annuity Index Annuity: a savings contract where your returns rise and fall with a market index, but a floor stops you from losing your original money.
Index ETF Index ETF is a basket of shares that copies a market list, like the NGX 30, so you own a small slice of many companies with one purchase.
Index Fund Index Fund: a fund that simply buys the whole market instead of trying to pick winners, so your money grows with the market itself.
Index Futures Index Futures let you bet on where a whole stock market is headed, without buying a single share in it.
Index Option Index Option is a contract that lets you bet on where a whole stock market index will go, without owning a single share in it.
Indexed Annuity Indexed Annuity: a contract that pays you based on how a stock market index performs, but with a floor so you never lose money when the market falls.
Indexing Indexing means investing to match the performance of a whole market or group of shares instead of trying to pick winners yourself.
Indirect Cost Indirect Cost means the money a business spends that keeps everything running but cannot be tied to one product, one client, or one job alone.
Indirect Investment Indirect Investment means putting your money into a fund or pooled scheme that then buys the actual shares or assets, instead of you buying them yourself.
Indirect Method Indirect Method is the way of preparing the cash flow statement that starts from profit and adjusts it for non cash items to arrive at actual cash movement.
Indirect Tax Indirect tax is a tax folded into the price of something you buy, so you pay it without ever filing a form or seeing your name on a receipt to government.
Individual Investor Individual Investor is an ordinary person who buys shares or other assets with their own money, not on behalf of a bank or big fund.
Individual Retirement Account Individual Retirement Account is a personal savings account, common in the United States, that gives you tax advantages for putting money away until you retire.
Industrial Bank Industrial Bank was a Nigerian bank that promised high returns and folded in the 1990s, leaving depositors with lessons instead of their money.
Industrial Park Industrial Park is a planned zone where factories and workshops share power, roads, water and security, so businesses spend less setting up and more producing.
Industrial Production Index Industrial Production Index is a monthly score that tracks how much factories, mines and power plants actually produced compared with a fixed base year.
Industrial Property Industrial property is land or buildings used for making, storing or moving goods, like a factory in Agbara or a warehouse near Apapa port.
Industry Industry means the whole group of businesses that do the same kind of work, like all the banks together or all the fashion designers together.
Industry Analysis Industry Analysis is the habit of studying a whole market before you enter it, so you know your rivals, your customers, and your odds ahead of time.
Industry Group Industry Group means companies that make their money the same way, grouped together so investors can compare like with like before they buy.
Industry Standard Industry Standard is the unwritten level of quality or practice that everyone in a trade is expected to meet before customers will trust them at all.
Inelastic Demand Inelastic demand is when people keep buying something even after the price rises, because they cannot easily do without it.
Inelastic Supply Inelastic supply is when the amount of something on offer barely changes even if the price shoots up or crashes down.
Inflation Inflation is the rate at which prices rise, which means the same naira buys you less than it did last year.
Inflation Accounting Inflation Accounting adjusts financial statements so that rising prices do not make a business look more profitable or valuable than it truly is.
Inflation Hedge Inflation hedge is an investment you hold because it tends to keep or grow its value even as prices rise and money loses power to buy things.
Inflation Index Inflation Index is the number that tracks how much prices for a fixed basket of goods have risen over time, used to measure the true cost of living.
Inflation Linked Bond Inflation Linked Bond: a bond whose payout grows as prices rise, so your money keeps its shopping power instead of calmly losing it.
Inflation Premium Inflation Premium is the extra return a lender or investor demands to make up for the fact that ₦1,000,000 today will not buy as much in five years' time.
Inflation Rate Inflation Rate is how fast prices are rising over time, showing how much more money you need today to buy what the same money bought last year.
Inflation Targeting Inflation targeting is when a central bank picks a specific inflation number, tells everyone what it is, and steers interest rates to hit it.
Inflation-Indexed Bond Inflation Indexed Bond is a bond whose value rises with inflation, so your returns keep their real buying power instead of shrinking as prices climb.
Inflationary Pressure Inflationary pressure is the build up of forces pushing prices upward before they actually rise, like heat gathering under a pot before it boils.
Inflexible Demand Inflexible demand describes a good or service that people keep buying almost the same amount of, no matter how much the price rises or falls.
Influencer Marketing Influencer Marketing is paying or gifting someone with an engaged audience to talk about your product so their trust rubs off on your brand.
Informal Economy Informal Economy is all the buying, selling and working that happens outside government records, tax and regulation, from roadside food to okada rides.
Informal Sector Informal Sector is the huge world of work that runs without registration, tax records or payslips, from roadside vulcanisers to market traders and okada riders.
Information Asymmetry Information asymmetry is when one side of a deal knows more than the other, and uses that gap to strike a better bargain for themselves.
Information Memorandum Information Memorandum is a detailed document that lays out a company's business, finances and risks for potential investors before they commit money.
Information Ratio Information Ratio measures how much extra return a fund manager squeezes out for every unit of risk taken beyond just tracking the market.
Infrastructure Infrastructure means the roads, power, water and networks a country builds so businesses and homes can function without inventing their own solutions every day.
Infrastructure Bond Infrastructure Bond is a loan you give the government or a company so they can build roads, rail or power projects, and they pay you interest for your patience.
Infrastructure Fund Infrastructure Fund: a pool of money that invests in the roads, power plants, airports and toll bridges that a country needs to function.
Infrastructure Investment Infrastructure investment means putting money into the roads, power plants, ports and networks a country runs on, and it can be a personal portfolio choice too.
Inheritance Tax Inheritance Tax is a government charge collected on the total value of money and property left behind after someone dies.
Initial Coin Offering Initial Coin Offering is a way a crypto project raises money by selling its own new coins or tokens to the public before the project is fully built.
Initial Deposit Initial deposit is the first amount you pay in to open an account or start a savings plan, the money that wakes the account up.
Initial Margin Initial margin is the upfront deposit you must put down before you can open a leveraged trade, like a security deposit that proves you can handle the risk.
Initial Outlay Initial outlay is the total cash you must pay upfront to start a project or buy an asset, before it earns you anything back.
Initial Public Offering An initial public offering is the moment a private company sells shares to the public for the first time, letting ordinary people become owners.
Inland Revenue Inland Revenue is the old British name for the tax office, now called HMRC, that collects income tax and enforces tax rules in the UK.
Inorganic Growth Inorganic Growth means a business getting bigger by buying or merging with other companies, rather than growing sales the slow, organic way.
Input Cost Input cost is the money a business spends on the raw materials and ingredients it needs to make what it sells, before labour and overheads join the bill.
Inside Day Inside Day is a trading day when a stock's whole price movement stays tucked inside the previous day's high and low, like a small step after a big stride.
Inside Director Inside Director is a board member who is also part of the company's daily management, like the managing director sitting on the same board that supervises them.
Inside Information Inside Information is a big company secret, like an unannounced profit or merger, that can move a share price once the public finds out.
Inside Sales Inside Sales means selling to customers by phone, email or video call from an office or your home, rather than visiting them in person.
Insider Insider is someone, like a company director or top staffer, who has access to important information about a company before the public does.
Insider Trading Insider trading means buying or selling shares using secret company information that ordinary investors do not yet have, and it is illegal almost everywhere.
Insolvency Insolvency is when the money owed grows past the ability to pay it.
Insolvent Insolvent means a person or company owes more than they own, or cannot pay debts as they fall due, even if things looked fine on paper last month.
Inspection Report Inspection Report: the written record of everything a professional found, or failed to find, when they checked a property before you paid for it.
Instalment Loan An Instalment Loan is borrowed money that you pay back in regular, fixed slices over time.
Instalment Payment Instalment Payment is paying for something in smaller regular amounts over time rather than all at once.
Instalment Sale An Instalment Sale is an agreement where a buyer takes an item immediately and pays for it through scheduled portions over time.
Institutional Investor Institutional Investor: a big organisation, like a pension fund or insurance company, that invests large sums of money on behalf of many people at once.
Insurable Interest Insurable interest means you must actually stand to lose something before you can insure it, which is what stops insurance becoming gambling.
Insurable Risk Insurable Risk is a possible loss that an insurance company is willing to accept because it can be measured, priced, and spread across many people.
Insurance Insurance is paying a small, certain amount now so that a large, uncertain disaster does not destroy you later.
Insurance Adjuster Insurance Adjuster: the person an insurance company sends to look at your loss and decide how much they think it is worth paying you.
Insurance Broker An insurance broker finds and arranges cover on your behalf, and knowing who actually pays them tells you whose side they are on.
Insurance Claim Insurance Claim is the formal request you send your insurer asking them to pay you after a loss the policy covers, like a burglary or an accident.
Insurance Company Insurance Company: a business that collects small regular payments from many people and promises to pay a larger sum to the few who suffer a loss.
Insurance Deductible Insurance Deductible is the amount you agree to pay out of your own pocket before your insurance company starts paying the rest of a claim.
Insurance Float Insurance Float is the pool of premium money an insurer holds and invests before claims fall due, and it calmly funds much of the insurer's profit.
Insurance Policy Insurance Policy is the written contract where an insurer promises to pay you for a stated loss, in exchange for the premium you agree to pay.
Insurance Premium Insurance premium is the small, steady amount you pay so that one bad day never has to become a money disaster.
Insurance Risk Insurance Risk is the chance that something you have insured against, like a fire, an accident or a death, actually happens and the insurer has to pay out.
Insurance Underwriter Insurance Underwriter: the person who decides whether an insurance company will take on your risk, and what price you will pay for that protection.
Insured Insured means the person or thing an insurance policy protects, the one whose loss gets paid for when something bad happens.
Insurer Insurer is the company that collects your premium and promises to pay when the bad thing happens, so read their claims record before their adverts.
Intangible Asset Intangible Asset is something valuable a business owns that you cannot touch, like a brand name, a patent, or goodwill, but that still adds real worth.
Intangible Cost Intangible cost is a real cost that never shows up as a receipt, like lost trust, lower morale, or a damaged name, yet it still drains value from a business.
Intangible Value Intangible value is worth you cannot price on a receipt, like trust, a good name, peace of mind, or the comfort of family nearby.
Integrated Reporting Integrated Reporting is a way of telling a company's full story in one report, joining the money numbers to things like people, environment and reputation.
Intellectual Capital Intellectual Capital means the knowledge, skill and know how a person or business carries, which keeps earning long after the sweat that built it has dried.
Intellectual Property Intellectual Property is the legal ownership of things you create with your mind, like a brand name, a recipe, a song, or an invention, protected from copying.
Intelligent Investor Intelligent Investor describes someone who treats investing as a discipline of patience and plain thinking, not a gamble on hot tips or market noise.
Interbank Market Interbank market is where banks lend and borrow money among themselves, usually overnight, to balance their books and stay liquid.
Interbank Offered Rate Interbank Offered Rate is the interest rate banks charge each other for short term loans, and it calmly shapes the rate on your own loan or savings account.
Interbank Rate Interbank Rate is the rate banks charge each other to lend money overnight or for short periods, and it calmly shapes the rate you get on loans and savings.
Intercompany Loan Intercompany Loan is money one company in a group lends to another company in the same group, say the Nigerian branch borrowing from the UK parent.
Interest Interest is the fee you pay to borrow money, or the reward you earn for saving it, calculated as a percentage over time.
Interest Bearing Account Interest bearing account is a bank account that pays you money for leaving your cash there instead of spending it, on top of keeping it safe.
Interest Capitalisation Interest capitalisation is when unpaid interest gets added to your loan's principal, so you start paying interest on interest you never cleared.
Interest Coverage Ratio Interest Coverage Ratio shows how many times over a company's profit can pay the interest on its loans, before touching the principal at all.
Interest Expense Interest expense is the cost a business pays for borrowed money, the naira it hands over to lenders for the privilege of using their funds.
Interest Income Interest income is the money your savings or investments earn just for sitting there, paid to you by a bank, government or company for the use of your money.
Interest on Loan Interest on loan is the extra money you pay a lender for the privilege of using their money before you have earned it yourself.
Interest Only Loan Interest Only Loan is a loan where you pay only the interest for a set period, so your balance stays exactly the same until that period ends.
Interest Only Mortgage Interest Only Mortgage is a home loan where your monthly payment covers only the interest, leaving the full amount you borrowed untouched until later.
Interest Rate An interest rate is the price of money, shown as a percentage, whether you are the one lending it or the one borrowing it.
Interest Rate Cap Interest Rate Cap is the highest an interest rate on a loan is allowed to climb, no matter how much market rates rise around it.
Interest Rate Differential Interest Rate Differential is the gap between what two countries pay savers, and that gap is a big reason money flows from one currency into another.
Interest Rate Floor Interest Rate Floor is the lowest level a variable interest rate is allowed to fall to, no matter what happens in the wider market.
Interest Rate Hike Interest Rate Hike is when the central bank raises the cost of borrowing money, making loans, mortgages and overdrafts more expensive across the whole economy.
Interest Rate Parity Interest Rate Parity is the idea that a currency with a higher interest rate should lose value against a currency with a lower one, so returns even out.
Interest Rate Risk Interest rate risk is the danger that rising interest rates make your existing bond or fixed income investment lose value or look less attractive.
Interest Rate Swap Interest Rate Swap is a deal where two parties trade the type of interest they pay on a loan, one fixed and one floating, without touching the loan itself.
Interim Dividend Interim Dividend: a payout a company shares with you before its financial year even ends, usually after the half year results.
Interim Financing Interim financing is short term money that bridges a gap while a business waits for bigger, more permanent funding to come through.
Interlocking Directorate Interlocking directorate is when the same person sits on the boards of two or more companies that do business with each other or compete.
Intermediate Goods Intermediate goods are the raw materials and parts used to make other goods, like flour bought to bake bread for sale, not to eat at home.
Intermediation Intermediation is what a bank does when it takes money from people who have some and lends it to people who need some, earning a spread in between.
Internal Audit Internal Audit is the regular, in house check that makes sure a company's money, records and controls are doing what they are supposed to do.
Internal Control Internal control is the set of checks a business puts in place so money is not stolen, wasted, or misrecorded before anyone notices.
Internal Equity Internal equity is the fairness test that compares what colleagues earn for similar work inside the same company, not against the wider job market.
Internal Rate of Return Internal Rate of Return is the growth rate a project or investment actually delivers, the number that makes its future earnings worth exactly what you put in.
Internal Revenue Service Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States tax authority, the American cousin of FIRS, that collects tax and chases anyone who owes it money.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the World Bank arm that lends to governments, and surprisingly, it makes a profit while doing so.
International Banking Facility International Banking Facility is a special unit inside a bank that handles only foreign customers' money, kept separate from ordinary local banking business.
International Bond International Bond is a loan you give to a foreign government or company, and they pay you interest in a currency that is not naira.
International Business Machines International Business Machines is IBM, an old American technology company whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.
International Chamber of Commerce International Chamber of Commerce is the global business body that writes the rulebook traders everywhere use to settle who pays for what, and when, in a deal.
International Diaspora International Diaspora describes citizens of a country who live abroad but stay connected to home through money, culture, and often eventual return.
International Diversification International diversification means spreading your investments across different countries, so Nigeria's troubles alone cannot sink your whole portfolio.
International Finance Corporation International Finance Corporation is the World Bank arm that funds private businesses in developing countries, not governments, using loans, equity and advice.
International Investing International investing means buying shares, bonds or funds outside your home country, so your money grows with the world, more than one economy.
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund lends to countries in financial trouble, and its loans almost always come with conditions attached.
International Money Order International Money Order is a paper based order you buy in one country and someone else can cash in another, without either of you needing a bank account.
International Trade International Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services across borders, the reason your phone was made in one country and sold in another.
International Trade Centre International Trade Centre (ITC) is a UN and WTO agency that helps small businesses in developing countries, including Nigeria, sell their goods abroad.
International Wire Transfer International Wire Transfer is when your bank sends money straight to someone else's bank account in another country, using the SWIFT network to get it there.
Internet Banking Internet banking is using your bank's website or app on a computer or phone to check balances, transfer money and pay bills without visiting a branch.
Internet of Things Internet of Things means everyday devices, from generators to fridges, connected to the internet so they can send information and be controlled from a phone.
Internship Internship is a short spell of supervised work, often unpaid or low paid, that trades your effort for experience, contacts and a foot in the door.
Interstate Banking Interstate Banking means you can walk into your bank's branch in Lagos, Kano, Enugu or anywhere else in Nigeria and still access your own account.
Intervention Currency Intervention Currency is the strong foreign money, usually the dollar, that a country's central bank buys or sells to steady its own currency's value.
Intervention Fund Intervention Fund is money set aside, usually by the Central Bank or government, to give cheap loans to a struggling sector, like farming or manufacturing.
Interview Interview means the conversation where an employer decides if you are the answer to a problem they are paying money to solve.
Intestate Intestate means dying without a valid will, which hands the sharing of your money and property to the law rather than to your own wishes.
Intra Day Intra Day means buying and selling a stock on the same trading day, before the market closes, rather than holding it overnight.
Intrinsic Value Intrinsic value is what a share, business or asset is truly worth based on its fundamentals, not the noisy price you see flashing on a trading screen.
Inventory Inventory is the stock of goods a business holds to sell or use in making what it sells, sitting on the balance sheet until it moves.
Inventory Financing Inventory Financing is a loan that uses the goods sitting in your warehouse or shop as collateral, so your stock helps you raise cash before it even sells.
Inventory Management Inventory management is the skill of knowing what stock you have, how much, and when to reorder, so your money is not sleeping on a shelf.
Inventory Turnover Inventory turnover measures how many times a business sells and replaces its stock within a period, showing whether goods are moving or gathering dust.
Invertebrate Risk Invertebrate Risk is an informal term for danger in an investment that has no strong internal structure or safeguard holding it up if trouble comes.
Inverted Yield Curve Inverted Yield Curve: when short term bonds pay more interest than long term ones, a sign investors expect trouble ahead and often a warning of recession.
Invest Invest means putting your money into something today with the patient hope that it grows into more, later, and with some risk attached.
Investable Universe Investable Universe means the full set of assets you are allowed and able to buy for a portfolio, before you narrow it down to what you actually pick.
Investing Activities Investing Activities shows the cash a company spent or earned buying and selling long term things like equipment, property or shares in other businesses.
Investment Investment means putting your money into something today, with patience, so it can grow into more money later, instead of spending it now.
Investment Advisor Investment Advisor: a licensed professional who helps you decide where to put your money so it grows, guided by your goals rather than their commission.
Investment Bank Investment Bank: a financial institution that helps big companies and governments raise money, list on the stock exchange, and handle huge deals like mergers.
Investment Banker Investment Banker: a finance professional who helps companies and governments raise money, buy other companies, or sell themselves, for a fee.
Investment Banking Investment banking is the business of helping companies and governments raise money, merge with others, or list on the stock exchange, for a fat fee.
Investment Club Investment Club: a group of people who pool money regularly to invest together, sharing research, decisions and profits under agreed rules.
Investment Company Investment Company: a business whose entire job is to pool people's money and put it into a basket of shares, bonds or other assets on their behalf.
Investment Discipline Investment discipline is the habit of sticking to your money plan even when the market or your mood is begging you to abandon it.
Investment Goals Investment Goals are the specific, dated targets that tell your money what job to do, so it stops wandering and starts working.
Investment Grade Investment Grade describes a bond or borrower rated safe enough by agencies like Moody's or Fitch that lending to them is considered low risk, not a gamble.
Investment Holding Company Investment Holding Company: a business built to own shares in other businesses, collecting dividends and control rather than selling anything itself.
Investment Horizon Investment Horizon is how long you plan to keep your money invested before you need it back, and it decides how much risk you can sensibly carry.
Investment Income Investment income is the money that flows to you from what your money is doing while you sleep, like rent, dividends or interest.
Investment Manager Investment Manager: the professional you pay to decide what to buy, hold or sell with your money, so you don't have to watch the market yourself.
Investment Memorandum Investment Memorandum is the detailed document a business gives serious investors, laying out the numbers, the risks and the plan, before anyone signs a cheque.
Investment Objective Investment Objective is the plain answer to why you are investing at all, the goal that decides where your money should sit and for how long.
Investment Policy Statement Investment Policy Statement is the written document that spells out your investing rules before the market tempts you to break them.
Investment Portfolio Investment Portfolio is the full basket of everything you have put your money into, stocks, bonds, property, savings, all counted together as one consider.
Investment Property Investment property is a house or land you buy to earn money from, through rent or resale, not a place you plan to live in yourself.
Investment Property Loan Investment Property Loan is money you borrow to buy a house or flat you plan to rent out or resell, not to live in yourself.
Investment Risk Investment Risk is the chance that the money you put into shares, a business, or a fund could bring back less than you hoped, or vanish entirely.
Investment Strategy Investment strategy is the plan that decides where your money goes, why it goes there, and when you touch it, instead of you buying on vibes and hope.
Investment Trust Investment Trust: a company listed on the stock exchange that pools money from many investors to buy shares in other companies on their behalf.
Investment Vehicle Investment Vehicle is the container that carries your money towards a goal, such as shares, bonds, mutual funds, or a fixed deposit.
Investor Investor: someone who puts money into something today, patiently, because they expect it to grow into more money later.
Investor Education Investor education is the habit of learning how money, markets and risk actually work before you hand your money to anyone.
Investor Protection Investor Protection means the rules, watchdogs and compensation systems that stop brokers and companies from running away with your money.
Investor Relations Investor relations is the company's job of keeping shareholders informed and confident, through results, calls and honest updates, so trust stays strong.
Invisible Hand Invisible Hand describes how people chasing their own gain in a free market end up organising prices, goods and jobs without anyone planning it from the top.
Invoice An invoice is the friendly, formal request for payment you send a customer, listing what you supplied, how much is due, and by when.
Invoice Financing Invoice financing is when a business borrows money against unpaid invoices instead of waiting weeks or months for customers to pay.
IPO Lockup IPO Lockup is the fixed period after a company lists on the stock exchange when insiders and early investors are barred from selling their shares.
Iron Condor Iron Condor is an options strategy that bets a share price will stay calm inside a range, earning small steady income if it does not stray too far.
Iron Fly Iron Fly is an options trade that bets a share price will barely move, making money if it stays calm and losing only a fixed, known amount if it does not.
Irrevocable Letter of Credit Irrevocable Letter of Credit is a bank's payment promise to a seller that cannot be cancelled or changed unless everyone involved agrees, including the seller.
Irrevocable Trust Irrevocable Trust: a trust you cannot cancel or change once it is set up, because you have given up ownership of what is inside it for good.
IRS Audit IRS Audit is when America's tax authority checks your tax return closely to confirm the income and deductions you reported are true and correct.
Isa Isa is a United Kingdom account where your savings grow completely tax free.
Isaac Oladipupo Isaac Oladipupo is not a finance term at all, it looks like a person's name that wandered into a dictionary meant for money matters.
Ishares ETF Ishares ETF is a family of exchange traded funds run by BlackRock, letting you buy a basket of stocks or bonds in one single trade on a stock exchange.
Islamic Banking Islamic Banking is a way of banking that earns no interest at all, yet still finds honest ways to grow your money and reward the bank.
Islamic Finance Islamic Finance is a way of banking and lending that follows Sharia law, avoiding interest and instead sharing profit, risk, or ownership between parties.
Islamic Mortgage Islamic Mortgage is a home financing plan that avoids interest by having the bank buy the property and sell or lease it to you at a profit margin instead.
Issuance Issuance is the act of a company or government creating and selling new shares or bonds to raise money from investors.
Issued Capital Issued Capital is the actual value of shares a company has given out to shareholders, out of the total it is permitted to issue.
Issued Share Capital Issued share capital is the portion of a company's authorised shares that has actually been given out to shareholders in exchange for money or value.
Issuer Issuer means the company, bank or government that creates and sells a financial security like a share or bond to raise money from the public.
Itemised Deduction Itemised deduction is when you list out your actual allowable expenses to reduce your taxable income, instead of accepting one flat, standard cut.
Iteration Iteration is the small, repeated adjustment you make to a product or idea after watching how real customers actually use it.