Final Salary Scheme: Pension scheme whereby the pension is calculated as a percentage of the final salary.

Financial Services Authority: The FSA is the regulator for the financial services industry in the United Kingdom.

Fixed Asset: Something "solid" and "real" that a company owns. Classic examples would be a warehouse, factory or office block.

Fixed Rate Mortgage: A mortgage where the interest rate is set at a fixed level, typically for the first few years of the mortgage term. Advantageous for those who want to know exactly how much they'll be paying each month, although the fixed rate will usually be set at a higher rate than a variable rate mortgage (at the start of the mortgage term). Unlike a variable rate mortgage, this type will not be susceptible to future interest rate fluctuations.

FTSE All Share Index: Index containing the 700 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

FTSE 100 Index: As the name suggests, index containing the largest 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Goodwill: The difference between the book value of a company and the actual price that another company pays to buy it.

Gross Profit: Sales, minus all costs that were directly attributable to those sales. Examples could include raw materials and labour costs.

Independent Financial Advisor: A financial advisor who is not directly employed by a company to market their products. However, it should be noted that these advisors may be paid a commission for selling certain products.

Index Tracker: A type of unit trust that aims to copy the performance of a given stock market index. For example, you may hear about FTSE 100 index tracking unit trusts.

Insider Dealing: Term used to describe the buying or selling of shares by individuals who may have priviledged information. This practice is illegal.

Intangible Asset: Unlike a fixed asset, these are assets that you cannot touch. Typical examples might be a brand name, trademark or particular rights that a company could hold.

Interest-Only Mortgage: Mortgage payments are made up purely of interest. You then pay off the capital of the mortgage at the end of the term.

Investment Trust: A company that makes investments in a number of other companies.

LIFFE: This is the futures market at the London Stock Exchange.

Listed Company: A company that is listed on the Stock Exchange.

Market Capitalisation: The total market value of all of a company's outstanding shares. Used as an indicator of the total value of a company.

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC): A committee of the Bank of England that meets on a monthly basis to decide whether to increase, decrease or maintain UK interest rates.

Mutual Society: An organisation that is both owned and run by its members. The most common example that you'll hear people referring to will be building societies.