Glossary


Sales agent	Partner of a fund provider who sells the provider’s products to clients and redeems the products from clients.
Savings plan	Speciality of the UBS Investment Fund Account: This form of investment involves the regular payment of a specified amount to accumulate fund assets. See also cost averaging.
Sector average	The sector average is the unweighted average performance of all funds in the same investment category. Generally all funds of the same investment category which are authorized for sale in one country are considered together. Allocation to an investment category based on S&P Fund Services, revised using the criteria "same investment universe", "fund volume larger than CHF 20m" and "investment level higher than 85%".
Sector fund	An investment fund which invests its assets solely in securities of companies in a specific sector of the economy.
Securities fund	An investment fund that invests in securities and loan-stock rights that are traded on a stock exchange or on another regulated market open to the public. See also real estate funds and other funds.
Securities lending	The lending of securities against remuneration and on provision of collateral. Since 1992, securities lending has also been permitted for investment funds.
Securities number	Identification number of securities used in Switzerland to facilitate their trading and transfer. International equivalent ISIN number.
Securities purchase fee	There are certain funds which, owing to their special structure, may charge so-called securities purchase fees in addition to the issuing commission. This commission accrues to the fund and is used to cover the costs arising in the acquisition of securities. The fee is charged for UBS's capital preservation funds.
Securities turnover tax	See stamp duty.
Security risk	Risk of fluctuations in the price of a security.
Segment	See subfunds.
Semi-annual report	See annual report.
SFA	See Swiss Funds Association
Sharpe ratio	The Sharpe ratio expresses how much higher (or lower) a return an investor can expect compared to the risk-free rate of interest (e.g. interest rates on savings accounts) per unit of risk (volatility). The risk-free rate of interest varies from currency to currency.
Short sale	The forward selling of financial instruments which the seller does not yet possess, whereby the investment objective is to be able to cover the missing securities at cheaper prices before the delivery date. The risk involved in short selling is that the price of the underlying may rise.
Short-term fund	A fund which invests in bonds with a (term to) maturity of 1 to 3 years.
SICAF	Société d’investissement à capital fixe. An investment fund in the form of a joint-stock company with fixed capital. See corporation form.
Sicav	Société d’investissement à capital variable. An investment fund in the form of a joint-stock company with variable capital. The fund’s units are issued in the form of equities. See corporation form.
Small caps	Shares of companies with a market capitalisation of generally less than CHF 500 million. Also called secondary stocks.
Small/mid cap funds	Funds which invest in shares of companies with relatively small market capitalisation. See also small caps and mid caps.
Socially responsible investments	Socially responsible investments (SRI) include those investments which take into account social and environmental criteria in addition to traditional financial factors.
Speciality fund	A fund which differs from conventional investment funds in that it adopts a special investment approach or focuses specifically on certain countries, industries or investment instruments.
Stamp duty	Subscriptions to investment funds domiciled abroad are subject to stamp duty in Switzerland. Redemptions are exempt from stamp duty. The issue and redemption of units of Swiss-based investment funds are not subject to stamp duty.
Stem cells	Stem cells are relatively undifferentiated cells which are not yet established as certain cell types and thus have no specific function. Stem cells retain the ability to develop into different cell types.
Stock exchange price	The price of units of investment funds which are listed on the stock exchange or traded over the counter (real estate funds). The price is governed by supply and demand in the market, whereas the issue and redemption prices of the units are determined by the management company on the basis of the net asset value.
Straight bonds	Bonds with a fixed coupon and fixed redemption date.
Strategy funds	See asset allocation funds.
Subfund	Part of an umbrella fund. For investment funds with different subfunds, investors are only entitled to the assets and income of the subfund in which they hold units. Subfunds are also called compartments or segments.
Subscription	In the fund business, subscription means the acquisition of fund units. As opposed to redemption.
Supervisory authority	The state body which supervises the activities of management companies. In Switzerland the Federal Banking Commission (FBC) acts as the supervisory authority for the investment fund business. In Luxembourg it is the “Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF)”, in Germany the Federal Banking Supervisory Office (BAKred), in Austria the Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium für Finanzen) and in Liechtenstein the Office for Financial Services (Amt für Finanzdienstleistungen).
Sustainable development	Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Report of the Brundtland Commission 1987).
Swinging single pricing (SSP)	Swinging single pricing (SSP) is an innovative method used to calculate the net asset values of investment funds. SSP allows an investment fund to settle the daily transaction costs arising from subscriptions made by incoming investors and redemptions made by outgoing investors. Existing investors will no longer have to indirectly bear these transaction costs because with SSP the charge of the transaction costs is directly integrated into the calculation of the net asset value, with these costs borne by incoming and outgoing investors. Under SSP, the net asset value (NAV) is adjusted daily to take account of net transaction costs; the direction of the swing is determined by the daily net capital flows. Where there are net capital inflows, the swing factor is added to the NAV to take account of subscriptions of fund units; where there are net outflows, the swing factor is deducted from the net asset value to take account of unit redemptions. In both cases, the same NAV applies to all incoming and outgoing investors on a particular date. The swing factors by which the NAV is adjusted are based on external brokerage fees, taxes and duties as well as estimated bid/offer spreads of the transactions which a fund carries out in accordance with the subscriptions or redemptions made on a particular day. Performance figures and portfolio statistics are calculated based on the adjusted NAV.
Swiss Fund Association	Association which represents the interests of the investment fund industry in Switzerland. It was established in Basel in 1992 under the auspices of the Swiss Bankers Association.

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