Alpha: Its Meaning in Investing, With Examples
• Alpha is the portion of an investment’s return that cannot be explained by general market movements. In plain terms, it measures how much…
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts: What It Is and How to Estimate It
• The allowance for doubtful accounts (also called allowance for bad debts) is a management estimate of the portion of accounts receivable (AR) that…
Allowance For Credit Losses
• Allowance for credit losses is a contra-asset estimate recorded by a seller to reflect the portion of its accounts receivable (amounts customers owe)…
Allowance for Bad Debt: Definition and Recording Methods
An allowance for bad debt (also called an allowance for doubtful accounts) is a contra-asset valuation account set up to reflect the portion of…
Allotment Definition, Reasons for Raising Shares, IPOs
An allotment is the planned assignment or distribution of shares or other resources by a company to investors, underwriters, employees, or existing shareholders. In…
Understanding Allocational Efficiency and Its Requirements
• Allocational efficiency describes a situation in which resources in an economy are used to produce the mix of goods and services that people…
Allocated Loss Adjustment Expenses (ALAE) Definition, Examples
• Definition: Allocated loss adjustment expenses (ALAE) are claim-related costs that can be directly attributed to a single insurance claim. Examples include payments to…
All Risk Insurance Explained—What It Covers and What It Doesn’t
• “All risks” insurance—also called open-perils or comprehensive coverage—is a property policy that insures against any cause of loss or damage except those causes…
Aleatory Contract: Definition and Use in Insurance Policies
An aleatory contract is an agreement whose performance depends on an uncertain future event. In practice, one party makes regular payments (premiums or contributions)…
Alan Greenspan: Brief Bio, Policies, Legacy
Who he is (short) Alan Greenspan is an American economist who led the U.S. central bank—the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System—and…