Our Glossary
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| Call option | An option that gives the holder the right to buy the underlying instrument. |
| Cancellation | Redemption prior to the end of maturity. |
| Cap | In the context of capital markets, this term defines the “capping of profits”: The cap is a maximum amount, set in advance for a security such as for example a discount certificate, up to which the holder can participate in rising returns. |
| Capital adjustment | Capital increase or decrease out of retained earnings. |
| Capital decrease | Reduction in the share capital within the framework of a restructuring (e.g. by cancellation of shares). |
| Capital protected products | Capital protected products attach great importance to the full or partial protection of the invested capital in connection with interesting return opportunities. Essential features are return opportunities that do not depend on the direction the underlying instrument is taking as well as variable payout structures (e.g. lock-in of all-time high or average performance of the underlying). The products of this category therefore offer you a lower degree of risk for your investment in combination with attractive return opportunities. |
| Capital increase | Increase of the share capital by issuing new shares (as decided in the Annual General Meeting). |
| Capital investment company | A private or public limited company that is entitled to manage capital investment funds. |
| Cash or share bonds | Cash or share bonds are debentures with a very attractive interest rate. Given that the bond is linked to a share (underlying), coupons are substantially above market rates. In return for the high coupon, the investor also bears the risk from the share: at the end of maturity, the redemption of the share bond is based on the price of the underlying instrument. If at the end of maturity the share price is above the initial value, the coupon and the nominal value are redeemed. If the share price at the end of maturity is below the initial value, the initially agreed on number of shares per nominal value are transferred (usually physical delivery) on top of the coupon. In addition to share bonds with one underlying instrument, there are also share bonds with more shares as underlying instruments. These multi-cash or multi-share bonds tend to pay a higher coupon. Their redemption is based on the share with the worst performance at the end of maturity. A fixed coupon is paid out here as well, regardless of the way of redemption. |
| Certificate | A certificate is a security that belongs to the group of structured financial products. This relatively recent form of investment has been around in German-speaking countries for only about 20 years. One distinguishes between certificates with a defined redemption profile, and participation certificates. Financially speaking, a certificate is a combination of a classic security – such as a bond – and a forward transaction – such as an option; the security and its return hinges on the development of prices, indices, or other key figures in a specified manner. By linking the certificate to abstract, intangible assets, the holder can generate a profit from them without entirely owning them. This way one can for example benefit from the development of the ATX by buying an index certificate without having to buy every single security the ATX contains. |