有關金融的5個必備小知識
Investment Bank投資銀行
We all know the stereotype of the investment banker, but what actually happens behind the doors of these fabled institutions? Investment banks help companies raise money through issuing securities. In 2012, Facebook (FB) employed Morgan Stanley (MS) to handle its initial public offering (IPO). In this capacity, Morgan Stanley researched the company to determine a fair price for the shares and handled other logistical matters that would transform Facebook from a private company to a public company trading on the NASDAQ.
我們都只是投資銀行的就規矩，但是實際上在銀行那道門的後面究竟是什麼樣的傳說中的制度呢？投資銀行透過發行證券來幫公司掙錢。在2012年，臉面（FB）僱傭摩根利坦利公司去處理首次公開募股（IPO）。在這個裡面，摩根利坦利公司調查這個公司決定這個股票一個公平的價格，處理其他邏輯上的事物把臉面從一家股權不公開的公司轉變成一家在納斯達克上交易的上市公司。
Investment banks are also often employed to assist with mergers and acquisitions. Competition between investment banks to be a lead underwriter on an IPO or merger is fierce so you can imagine why the 100 hour work weeks are often necessary. And let’s be honest, after logging major hours, wouldn’t you also feel entitled to a nice annual bonus?
投資銀行也經常被僱傭去幫助合併和收購公司。投資銀行之間的競爭成了在首次公開募股上的領頭擔保人或公司合併都是很激烈的，因此你能夠想象為什麼每週工作100個小時都是很有必要的。我們誠實的來看待，在投入大量時間進去後，難道你不想有資格得到相當不錯的年終報酬？
Initial Public Offering (IPO)首次公開募股
You are probably familiar with what an IPO is—when a company sells its shares on a stock exchange for the first time—but what you may not know is why a company would do this. One way to think about it is this: it costs money to make money. As a private company has success, it will eventually need more funding to expand by buying new equipment, developing new products, and hiring more employees. After a certain point, it becomes difficult to secure private investors, so a company will decide to trade some ownership of the company to shareholders in exchange for cash.
你可能對什麼是首次公開募股熟悉—當一家公司在股票交易上第一次兜售股份—但是你可能不知道的是為什麼公司要這麼做。思考這個問題的一種答案是：它花錢去賺錢。作為一家股權不公開的公司有了成功，它最終會需要更多的資金去購買新裝置來擴大公司規模，發展新產品和僱傭更多的員工。在這幾點上，它變得很困難去確保私人投資者，因此公司要決定去賣股份持有者的股份去換取更多的資金。
By “going public,” a company can tap into a wider funding base, enjoy some added prestige and exposure by being public, and have access to capital for expansions. These benefits are not without costs. Going public is an expensive endeavor. Owners give up control of the company they built and are accountable to shareholders in how they run the business and share information. With the problems of the Facebook (FB) IPO fresh in our mind, you can understand why despite rumors, Twitter may be hesitant to go public. pay attention to Twitter’s road to going public to get a greater sense of the mechanics of an IPO.
“上市”，一家公司能夠得到大面積的資金基地，享受額外的聲譽和曝光度，因擴張進入獲得資本的領地。這些利益並沒有花費。上市是很昂貴的努力。所有人放棄對公司的控制權，在如何運營業務和諮詢共享上對股份持有者負責。臉面（FB）首次公開募股上的問題一直縈繞在我的心中，你能夠理解為什麼儘管有那麼多的謠言，Twitter可能依舊會猶豫去上市。多加關注Twitter公司的上市之路，會對首次公開募股有更加技巧性的認識。
Venture Capital風險資本
Before a company can go public, it has to be formed. While several companies are able to start and succeed with a few dollars and charisma, most need a little outside help. Unfortunately, because new companies by definition lack operating history, banks are not often willing to lend to them and if they do, the terms may not be favorable. Enter venture capital, or funds provided by individuals or firms to help companies get up and running. For their investment, venture capitalists not only get a share of the returns, they are also able to direct the company’s path. This can be an asset when the firm’s founders are big on ideas but short on strategy.
在一家公司上市之前，風險資本就形成了。然而一些公司能夠在一點美元和神授的力量下開創併成功，大多需要一點外在的幫助。不幸的是，因為新公司定義上缺乏開創歷史，銀行經常不回願意去幫助他們，如果幫助了，條款也不會支援。風險資本或者資金支援由個人或者公司去公主那些公司開創和執行。對於他們的投資而言，風險資本家不僅有一定的回覆分享，他們也能直接決定公司的`路線。這是當公司的成立這有大的想法但是缺乏策略的資產。
Commodity (market)商品（市場）
In economic terms, commodities are goods that lack differentiation across a market. For example, aside from the finest tuned palate, coffee is generally indistinguishable whether it is grown in Kenya or Brazil. Other examples of soft commodities include: cocoa, sugar, soy, and wheat, whereas hard commodities are: iron, silver, gold, and oil. Commodity trades are derivative trades. In the simplest sense, think of the farmer who wants to lock in the sale price of his wheat and the mill that wants to lock in the purchase price of wheat. The two parties agree on a price and delivery date. The commodities market becomes more difficult when you add investors and speculators to the mix. These parties may buy and sell these goods to take advantage of price swings despite having no interest in actually possessing them. At face value, one may think that speculation unfairly influences prices—and there are times when that has been true—but it can also be said that by bringing more people to the market, true prices are maintained.
在經濟條款中，商品是貨物，在市場上供應不同的需求。例如，除去最好的鑑賞力，不管是生長在肯亞還是在巴西的咖啡，通常是很難分辨的。其他的例子，軟性商品包括：可可粉，糖，大豆和小麥。硬性商品包括：鐵器，銀，金和油。商品貿易是衍生貿易。最簡單的理解就是，農民想把他的小麥固定在一個價格，想把磨坊固定在購買小麥的價格上。兩邊的夥伴同意價格和發貨日期。當你增加投資人和投機倒把的商人混入時，商品市場就變得困難了。這些夥伴可能買和賣這些貨物，利用價格優勢的搖擺，儘管實際擁有它們沒有利益—總有時候變得真實—但是這也能把更多的人帶進市場，保持最真實的價格。
Hedge Fund對沖基金
Like mutual funds and ETFs, hedge funds are collective investment vehicles in which groups of people pool their resources together to invest in a variety of financial instruments. However, unlike mutual funds and ETFs, hedge funds are limited to accredited investors, or investors who have sufficient assets to weather the risks of a more aggressive investing strategy. Hedge funds are set up as partnerships which implies that investors have a much greater obligation to the fund. Invested money cannot easily be withdrawn from a fund as there are often lock up periods and/or significant penalties for early withdrawal. Because of this structure and the stipulation that investors be accredited, hedge funds are not heavily regulated by the financial industry. This allows hedge funds to adopt investing strategies, such as the use of leverage (think the use of derivatives) to try to achieve higher than average returns.
像共同基金和交易所交易基金，對沖基金是集體投資工具，在其中的人們彙集他們的資源去投資各種金融手段。然而，不同於共同基金和交易所買賣基金，對沖基金是有限的經認可的投資者，或那些有足夠的資產能對更積極的投資策略有風險評估的人。對沖基金是建立合作伙伴關係，意味著投資者有更大的責任基金。投入的資金無法輕易的從一個基金撤回，通常有固定的早期和/或對早期撤回有重大的懲罰。由於這種結構和規定，投資者被認可，金融行業不監管對沖基金。這允許對沖基金採取投資策略，如槓桿的使用（認為衍生品的使用）來實現高於平均水平的回報。