Glossary - U
UCITS
See Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities
Umbrella fund
Sometimes referred to as a fund of funds, this is an investment fund that offers several sub-funds and allows investors to switch between them, generally free of commission.
Unconditional or wholly unconditional
When a bidding company making an offer has received acceptances of 90% or more of the shares, and all other criteria have been satisfied.
Underlying / underlying asset
The asset on which the covered warrant, futures contract or option is based and derives its value. The underlying may be a security, a market index (e.g. FTSE 100), a commodity or a currency. Some warrants are based on a basket of underlying assets, which gives an investor exposure to the performance of more than one security.
Undersubscribed
Where people have applied for fewer shares than are available in a new issue.
Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS)
A type of collective investment or fund that allows financial institutions to operate freely throughout the European Union on the basis of a single authorisation from one member state.
Underwrite
Accepting the risk of buying a new issue prior to its subsequent sale to the investing public.
Unit
Investors purchase units in unit trusts in a similar way to buying shares in companies. The price of a unit is linked directly to the value of the fund's underlying holdings, known as the net asset value (NAV).
Unit trusts
Open ended investment funds where your money is invested with thousands of other investors’ funds, so that you can invest in a greater variety of stock. Each investor owns a unit (or a number of them), the value of which depends on the value of the assets owned by the trust.
Unquoted shares
Shares in some companies, most often smaller ones, which are not listed. This may be because they do not want to be listed, they prefer to run their business privately, or because they are too small to be listed.
