Glossary

Our comprehensive glossary explains many of the terms commonly used in the international markets.

Value date

The date on which the settlement of funds for a trade transaction will take place in your account.

Vanilla option

An ordinary Option with no special features.

Variable currency

In Forex, this is the currency that the investor pays with or receives when trading. For example, in EURUSD the variable currency is USD, that is, one unit of EUR is worth a variable amount of USD. When you buy EUR, you pay with USD, and when you sell EUR you receive USD. The other currency (EUR in the example above) is called the base currency.

Vega

A measure used to describe the change in value of the Option when the volatility of the underlying asset changes.

Volatility

There are two types of volatility: • Historical volatility is actual volatility based on volatility realised in past movements in the market.• Implied volatility is the volatility interpreted from the price of Options. So, the implied volatility is the expected spread of movement of an underlying asset's price, predicted over the term of the Option, and derived from the known prices of Options and the other parameters used in the calculation of those prices.

Volume

The number of trades in a security over a period of time. On a chart, volume is usually represented as a histogram (vertical bars) below the price chart.

Volume Weighted Average Price - VWAP

The Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) is calculated by adding up the value traded for every transaction (price times shares traded) and then dividing by the total shares traded for the period.

Voluntary liquidation

Non-compulsory winding up of a company