Instrument

Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Instrument'

1) A tradeable asset or negotiable item such as a security, commodity, derivative or index, or any item that underlies a derivative. An instrument is a means by which something of value is transferred, held or accomplished.

2) An economic variable that can be controlled or altered by government policymakers in to cause a desired effect in other economic indicators.

3) A legal document such as a contract, will or deed.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Instrument'

1) Basically, any asset purchased by an investor can be considered a financial instrument. Antique furniture, wheat and corporate bonds are all equally considered investing instruments; they can all be bought and sold as things that hold and produce value. Instruments can be debt or equity, representing a share of liability (a future repayment of debt) or ownership.

2) Commonly, policymakers and central banks adjust economic instruments such as interest rates to achieve and maintain desired levels of other economic indicators such as inflation or unemployment rates.

3) Some examples of legal instruments include insurance contracts, debt covenants, purchase agreements or mortgages. These documents lay out the parties involved, triggering events and terms of the contract, communicating the intended purpose and scope.

Related Definitions

Search results for

'Instrument'

  • What constitutes an "intention to call a debt instrument before ...

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answer/07/intentiontocall.asp
    ... Reprints Reprints. Feedback Feedback. What constitutes an "intention to call
    a debt instrument before maturity" for tax purposes? When a ...
  • Beginner's Guide To NinjaTrader: NinjaTrader Control Center ...

    http://www.investopedia.com/university/how-to-use-ninjatrader-trading-software/ninja-trader2.asp
    ... The Tools menu offers options including opening the Instrument Manager or a
    NinjaScript window. ... Figure 8: The Instrument Manager window. ...
  • What are the requirements that a trust needs to meet to be ...

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/03/122303.asp
    ... The beneficiaries of the trust concerning the trust's interest in the retirement
    owner's account must be identifiable from the trust instrument. ...
  • What is relative strength?

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/relativestrength.asp
    Relative strength is a measure of the price trend of a stock or other financial
    instrument compared to another stock, instrument or industry. It is. ...
  • Principal-Protected Notes: Hedge Funds For Everyday Investors

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/bonds/07/principal_protected.asp
    ... A principal-protected note is sold, or distributed, as a debt instrument with minimum
    return guaranteed to nominally equal the initial investment (the ...
  • The Forex Greeks And Strategies

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/11/forex-options-greeks.asp
    ... important because it provides an indication of how the option's value will change
    with respect to price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, assuming all ...
  • Simple Strategies For Capitalizing On Trends

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/trading/09/capitalizing-trends.asp
    ... In order for a price to move back to an old high and then beyond an instrument
    must be valued highly by the market. The fact that ...
  • What is a cross hedge?

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/cross-hedge.asp
    ... The success of cross-hedging depends completely on how strongly correlated the
    instrument being hedged is with the instrument underlying the derivatives ...
  • Top 4 Things Successful Forex Traders Do

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/09/5-important-forex-attributes.asp
    ... various time frames. Market (Instrument) You will find that certain instruments
    trade much more orderly than others. Erratic trading ...
  • Where does the stock come from when convertible bonds are ...

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/stockfromconvertiblebondorigin.asp
    First, let's define convertible bonds. A unique combination of debt and equity,
    they provide investors with the chance to convert a debt instrument. ...

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