Financial glossary
The stock-market vocabulary, jargon-free
Every term you'll meet reading an AMMC notice, a prospectus, or an annual report — explained simply.
81 term
A
Allocation (asset allocation)
How you split your capital across asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, cash) to manage overall portfolio risk.
Appel public à l'épargne (Public offering)
Operation in which a company solicits the public to buy its securities (e.g. an IPO or a rights issue).
General Meeting (Ordinary / Extraordinary)
Annual or exceptional meeting of shareholders. The Ordinary General Meeting (AGO) approves the accounts; the Extraordinary General Meeting (AGE) is convened for major decisions like capital increases or mergers.
Capital increase
The company issues new shares to raise additional funds. Existing shareholders receive Preferential Subscription Rights (PSRs).
Risk aversion
An investor's preference for safety over yield. Highly risk-averse profiles favour bonds and money-market funds over stocks.
Trade confirmation (avis d'opéré)
Document your custodian sends after every trade: confirms execution, price, quantity and fees.
B
Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM)
Morocco's central bank. Manages monetary policy, sets the policy rate, issues currency.
Casablanca Stock Exchange
Morocco's regulated exchange where stocks, bonds and other securities are traded. Overseen by the AMMC.
Budget
Plan of income and expenses, usually monthly or annual. Master your budget before you start investing.
C
Market capitalisation
Total market value of a company: `share price × shares outstanding`. Used to classify companies as large, mid or small cap.
Investment certificate
Share with no voting rights but with dividend rights. Issued in some capital increases.
Certificate of deposit
Short-term debt instrument issued by a bank, evidencing a fixed-term deposit at a known interest rate.
ISIN code
A unique 12-character identifier for a security at international level (e.g. `MA0000011843` for Attijariwafa Bank).
Order matching (compensation)
Mechanism that nets buy and sell orders on the same security to simplify settlement.
Securities account
Account at a brokerage or bank where your securities are held.
Coupon
Periodic interest paid to a bond holder. The bond equivalent of a stock dividend.
Reference price
Official close price of a security, used as the base for the next session.
D
Ex-date (detachment date)
The day a stock starts trading without the right attached to a corporate action (dividend, PSR, etc.). You must own the share BEFORE this date to benefit.
Insider trading
Use of non-public price-sensitive information to buy or sell securities. Heavily sanctioned by the AMMC.
False-information offence
Spreading false news to influence a stock price. Criminal and financial penalties.
Market manipulation
Coordinated buying or selling to artificially distort a stock's price. Prohibited.
Settlement
Final stage of a trade where the buyer receives the securities and the seller receives the cash. Standard delay in Morocco is T+3.
Central depositary (Maroclear)
Organisation that holds securities and clears trades. In Morocco that role is held by Maroclear.
Diversification
Spreading your capital across multiple securities, sectors and asset classes to reduce overall risk.
Dividend
Share of profits paid by a company to its shareholders. Subject to a 12.5% withholding tax in Morocco (2025 rate).
Order originator
Person who sends a buy or sell order to their broker (i.e. you, the investor).
Preferential Subscription Right (PSR / DPS)
Right granted to existing shareholders during a capital increase, letting them buy new shares — often at a discount. Tradeable on the exchange.
E
Issuer
Company or public entity that issues financial securities (stocks, bonds) on the market.
Savings
Money set aside that isn't immediately spent. The prerequisite to investing.
F
FCP (Fonds Commun de Placement)
Moroccan mutual-fund form where you're a unit-holder (no voting rights). Over 90% of Moroccan funds are FCPs. See our OPCVM guide.
Key facts (fiche signalétique)
One-page summary of an OPCVM with strategy, fees, risk and performance. Read before any subscription.
Management fee
Ongoing fee charged by the OPCVM management company, capped at 2% (excl. VAT) per year in Morocco.
Redemption fee
Optional fee charged when you exit an OPCVM. Often zero.
Subscription fee
Optional fee charged when you enter an OPCVM. Often negotiable or zero.
H
Investment horizon
How long you plan to keep money invested. The longer the horizon, the more risk you can tolerate.
I
Quarterly indicator
Document released quarterly by listed companies covering the period's main financials.
Privileged information
Non-public information likely to move a stock's price. Trading on it is insider dealing.
Financial intermediary
AMMC-licensed firm that executes orders for investors (brokerage, bank…).
IPO (Initial Public Offering)
A company's first listing on the stock exchange. See our complete guide.
L
Liquidity
A security's ability to be bought or sold quickly without significantly moving its price. Good liquidity = high daily traded volume.
Liquidation
Sale of all securities in a portfolio to convert to cash, or closing of an open position.
M
MASI 20
Sub-index of the 20 largest market caps on the Moroccan exchange.
MASI ESG
Index selecting Moroccan listed companies with the best environmental, social and governance scores.
Bond market
Market for medium- and long-term debt securities (T-bills, corporate bonds, BSF).
Primary market
Market where new securities are issued for the first time. See our market guide.
Secondary market
Market where already-issued securities trade between investors. What you use every day to buy and sell on the exchange.
Valuation multiple (P/E, EV/EBITDA…)
Ratio used to compare a company's value to a financial aggregate. P/E = share price ÷ EPS, for example.
O
Bond
Debt security issued by a company or state. Pays a periodic coupon (interest) and the principal at maturity.
Tender offer (OPA)
Public offer to buy out shareholders of a listed company in cash. See our corporate actions guide.
Exchange offer (OPE)
Public offer to buy out shareholders by exchanging their shares for shares of the buyer.
Mandatory tender offer (OPR)
Procedure by which a majority shareholder buys out minorities to delist the security.
OPCVM (Moroccan mutual fund)
Collective investment fund. Two legal forms: SICAV or FCP. See our complete guide.
Limit order
Order where you set the maximum buy price (or minimum sell price). Fills only if the market reaches that price.
Market order
Order executed immediately at the best available price.
Stop order
Conditional order that becomes a market order once a trigger price is reached. Often used as a protective stop-loss.
Corporate action (OST)
Any event in a security's life after issuance: dividend, split, bonus, capital increase. See our corporate actions guide.
P
P/E (Price-to-Earnings ratio)
Valuation multiple = share price ÷ earnings per share. Tells you how many years of earnings would pay back the buy price.
Capital gain
Positive difference between sale and purchase price of a security. Subject to 15% tax on listed shares in Morocco (2025 rate).
Portfolio
The set of securities and cash held by an investor.
Risk profile
The level of risk an investor is willing to accept. Three broad buckets: prudent, balanced, dynamic.
Prospectus
Reference document approved by the AMMC, published for an IPO or bond issue. See our AMMC documents guide.
R
Buyback
Programme by which a company buys its own shares on the market — usually to cancel them or assign to employees.
Annual report
Document published yearly by a listed company covering accounts, strategy, governance.
Yield / return
Total expected gain on an investment, expressed as a percentage. Combines capital gains and income (dividends, coupons).
Risk
Probability of losing some or all of your capital. Higher potential return generally implies higher risk.
S
SICAV (Société d'Investissement à Capital Variable)
Moroccan mutual-fund form where you're a shareholder with voting rights. Less common than FCP in Morocco.
Brokerage (société de bourse)
AMMC-licensed firm that executes stock-market orders for its clients.
Spread
Gap between the best bid and the best ask on the order book. A tight spread signals good liquidity.
Stock split
Corporate action where a company divides each share's par value and multiplies the share count, without changing total value.
Subscription
Buying securities at issuance (IPO, capital increase, mutual fund).
T
Interest rate
Cost of borrowed money, expressed in percent. In Morocco, partly anchored by Bank Al-Maghrib's policy rate.
TCN (Negotiable Debt Securities)
Short-term financing instruments issued by companies (T-bills, certificates of deposit, BSF).
Custodian (teneur de compte)
Firm that holds your securities and records every operation on your securities account.
Security (title)
Document representing equity ownership (share) or debt (bond).
V
Volatility
Measure of price variation of a security over time. High volatility means large up and down swings.
Volume
Quantity of a security traded over a given period. Indicator of activity and liquidity.