Fair Funds for Investors   -    Provision introduced in 2002, under Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Fair Funds for Investors was put into place to benefit those investors who have lost money because of the illegal or unethical activities of individuals or companies that violate securities regulations. Essentially, this provision enabled the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to add civil money penalties to disgorgement funds for the relief of the victims of stock swindles.

Fair Trade Investing   -   Investing in companies or projects that promote fair trade with producers in developing nations. Basic fair trade philosophies call for equal pay for suppliers of raw goods and materials as well as respect for strong environmental practices and a focus on the trading relationships between advanced economies and developing nations.

Fallen Angel   -   1. A bond that was once investment grade but has since been reduced to junk bond status.
2. A stock that has fallen substantially from its all time highs.

Falling Knife   -   A slang phrase for a security or industry in which the current price or value has dropped significantly in a short period of time. A falling knife security can rebound, or it can lose all of its value, such as in the case of company bankruptcy where equity shares become worthless.
A falling knife situation can occur because of actual business results (such as a big drop in net earnings) or because of increasingly negative investor sentiment.

Fannie Mae   -   Federal National Mortgage Association. A Governement sponsored enterprise (GSE) that was created in 1938 to expand the flow of mortgage money by creating a secondary mortgage market.Fannie Mae along with Freddie Mac were taken under the control of the US Government in 2008 due to them falling into financial difficulties due to the impact of the credit crunch.

FASB 157   -   A Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement that requires all publicly-traded companies in the U.S. to classify their assets based on the certainty with which fair values can be calculated. This statement created three asset categories:  Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Level 1 assets are the easiest to value accurately based on standard market-based prices and Level 3 are the most difficult.

Fast Market   -   A financial market that has a combination of high volatility and heavy trading.

Fast Market Rule   -   In the United Kingdom, the exchange may determine that a market movement is so sharp that quotes cannot practically be kept current. Under the Fast Market Rule, market makers may be permitted to trade outside quoted ranges where updating quotes is deemed impractical.

Fast Tape   -   A type of futures market that occurs when a single traded price is unavailable because of the rapid and large number of transactions occurring in the pit or ring.

Fat Cat   -   A slang word used to describe executives who earn what many believe to be unreasonably high salaries and bonuses. These top executives also receive generous pensions and retirement packages, consisting of extra compensation not available to other company employees.

Featherbedding   -   Term used to describe the practice of a labor union requiring an employer to hire more workers than necessary for a particular task.

Fed Speak   -   A phrase used to describe former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's tendency to make wordy statements with little substance. Many analysts feel that Greenspan's ambiguous "Fed speak" was an intentional strategy used to prevent the markets from overreacting to his remarks.

Fighting the Tape   -   The action of placing a trade or trades that go against the ticker tape.

Financial Blog   -   An online journal (or web log) that provides news and information related to the finance industry. Financial blogs not only comment on news and information, but some also provide stock analysis based on both fundamental and technical principles. Most, if not all, financial blogs are provided free of charge to the general public. For the most part the style of these blogs is more casual than articles and often reflect the personal opinion of the respective writers.

Financial Porn   -   A slang term used to describe sensationalist reports of financial news and products causing irrational buying that can be detrimental to investors' financial health. Short-term focus by the media on a financial topic can create excitement that does little to help investors make smart, long-term financial decisions, and in many cases clouds investors' decision-making ability.

Financial Services   -   The trem used to cover banking, insurance, building societies and related services.

Finder's Fee   -   A commission paid to an intermediary or the facilitator of a transaction. The finder's fee is rewarded because the intermediary discovered the deal and brought it forth to interested parties. Depending on the circumstance, the finder's fee can be paid by either the transaction's buyer or seller.
Also known as "referral income" or "referral fee". 

Finmins   -   Nickname given to the finance ministers from various countries who meet at global trade summits. Finance ministers are appointed and, depending on the country, the position can be given to an elected representative or to a non-elected official. The role played by a finance minister and the power he or she holds will vary among countries, but "finmins" are generally responsible for shaping or advising on the budget of a country and helping with other economic policies.

Fire Sale   -   A situation in which the prices of securities in the financial markets are considered to be very low.

First In, First Out   -   An asset-management and valuation method in which the assets produced or acquired first are sold, used or disposed of first. FIFO may be used by a individual or a corporation.

First In, Still Here (FISH)   -   An accounting buzzword that describe when companies still have inventory on hand that is not being sold due to inattention or obsolescence. While not an official type of accounting treatment, the term is named after the LIFO and FIFO (see above) accounting methods.

First Mover   -   A form of competitive advantage that a company earns by being the first to enter a specific market or industry. Being the first allows a company to acquire superior brand recognition and customer loyalty. The company also has more time to perfect its product or service.

Flash Price   -   Ticker tape display designation used when volume on an exchange is so heavy that the tape runs more than five minutes behind. The "flash price" interrupts the delayed prices to show the current price of a heavily traded stock.

Flat on a Failure   -   A strategy of closing out of a position and taking profits if the security in question moves up to a target level but fails to break through it. This can be seen as a method of extracting what profit a trade has been able to produce so far because the trader believes that further movement past the target level is unlikely.

Flight to Quality   -   The action of investors moving their capital away from riskier investments to the safest possible investment vehicles. This flight is usually caused by uncertainty in the financial or international markets.  However, at other times, this move may be an instance of investors cutting back on the more volatile investments for the conservative ones (i.e. diversifying) without much consideration of the international markets.

Foam the Runway   -   A term indicating the last-minute infusion of cash into a company about to go bankrupt. Airports foam runways prior to an imminent crash landing to help reduce friction and sparks. Just as foaming the runway is a last stand against a horrible crash landing, a company obtaining a loan to stay in business is a last stand against going under.
"Foam the runway" is also a general statement in business, meaning to get prepared for a potential disaster.

Fool in the Shower   -   A phrase used to describe the idea that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once. It describes a scenario where a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve acts to stimulate or slow down an economy. When the first stimulus is made, the effect may not be immediate, which can cause decision makers to increase the magnitude of the change, eventually causing too much stimulus.

Fool's Gold   -   A gold-colored mineral that is often mistaken for real gold. Also known as Iron Pyrite.

Footsie   -   A slang term for the FTSE 100 index. The FTSE 100 is the main index in the London Stock Market.

Forensic Accounting   -   Forensic Accounting utilizes accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to conduct an examination into a company's financial statements. Thus, providing an accounting analysis that is suitable for court.

Fortune 500   -   An annual list of the 500 largest companies in the United States. The list is compiled using the most recent figures for revenue.

Foul Weather Fund   -   A mutual fund that tends to perform well or better than the overall market during weak market conditions. Foul weather funds are created with downward market moves in mind where the goal of the fund is to limit or benefit from the effects of downward moves in the market.

Found Money   -   Money or funds that an investor possesses but just discovers.

Fox-Trot Economy   -   A term coined by investment strategist Jeffery Saut that describes a period in which "fast-fast" growth economic figures are expected to be followed by periods of "slow-slow" figures.

Freddie Mac   -   Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). A stockholder-owned, government sponsored entity (GSE) chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing for middle incoem Americans.

Free and Clear   -   A slang phrase describing the situation of someone when he or she gains outright ownership of an asset, such as when it is completely paid off and no creditor has a claim on the property.

Freed Up   -   1. A slang phrase used in the underwriting process to refer to the time when the underwriters are no longer obligated to sell securities at the agreed upon price, as decided by the syndicate. When an underwriter is freed up, it is allowed to trade any remaining securities at the market price.
2. The amount of capital that becomes available to an investor when a position is closed. The "freed up" capital can then be used to invest in other assets.

Friendly Hands   -   A nickname for investors in an IPO who will likely hold onto the security for a long time.

Friends and Family Shares   -   When a company gives pre-IPO shares to friends and family members.

Front Running   -   The unethical practice of a broker trading an equity based on information from the analyst department before his or her clients have been given the information.

Froth   -   Market conditions preceding an actual market bubble where asset prices become detached from their underlying intrinsic values as demand for those assets drives their prices to unsustainable levels. Market froth marks the beginning of unsustainable rates of asset price inflation.

Funge / Fungible Assets   -   Goods, securities or instruments that are equivalent and, therefore, interchangeable. In other words, they are goods that consist of many identical parts which can be easily replaced by other, identical goods. If the goods are sold by weight or number, this is a good sign that they are fungible.

Fungibility   -   A good or asset's interchangeability with other individual goods/assets of the same type. Assets possessing this property simplify the exchange/trade process, as interchangeability assumes that everyone values all goods of that class as the same.

Futures Contract   -   An agreement to buy or sell a fixed quantity of a commodity or currency for delivery on a fixed date in the fuure at a price agreed now. This lets the buyer protect themselves against sudden changes in price. Airlines will often hedge their exposure to oil prices by entering into oil futures contracts.

Fuzzy Logic   -   A mathematical logic that attempts to solve problems by assigning values to an imprecise spectrum of data so that the best possible conclusion can be made. Fuzzy logic is designed to solve problems in the same way that humans do: by considering all available information and making the best possible decision given the input.