Jargon Buster | Glossary of Investment Terms

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Data Protection Act 1998 (United Kingdom)
An Act of Parliament that sets out the law which an organisation must follow when they store or use personal information about people. This Act also gives a person certain rights to see information about them.

Data Protection Act 2002 (Isle of Man)
The Act is based upon the UK's Data Protection Act 1998. More information can be obtained at http://www.gov.im/odps/overview.xml

Death benefit
The amount payable by a life assurance company to the beneficiaries on the death of the life assured(s).

Deed of assignment
A legally binding document which confirms the change of ownership of a policy/bond from one party to another.

Discretionary Beneficiaries
Persons named or listed in a trust to whom distributions may be made; however, it is at the trustees discretion. Discretionary Beneficiaries have no right to income or capital from the trust fund and may also be excluded from benefit at a future date by the Settlor. The death of a Discretionary Beneficiary does not have any Inheritance Tax implications for trusts.

Discretionary Investment Manager (DIM) or Discretionary Fund Manger (DFM)
A professional management service (usually for high net worth clients). This service can include financial analysis, asset and stock selection with the aim to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investor(s).

Discretionary Trust
Also known as Flexible Trust. A trust where the beneficiaries can be amended once named and trustees have discretion over which beneficiaries they choose to distribute trust fund monies to. The creation of this type of trust is treated as a Chargeable Lifetime Transfer (CLT) under the UK tax law. This type of trust can be useful for those who require flexibility over the choice of their beneficiaries.

Distribution
The payment of a dividend by a company out of its profits.

Dividend
A portion of a company's profits paid to its shareholders.

Domicile
The country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has a substantial connection with.

Double taxation relief or agreements (DTA)
If you have income from a source in one country and are resident in another, you may be liable to pay tax in both countries under their tax laws. Double taxation agreements are tax treaties between two or more countries and are designed to reduce the risk of you paying double tax on the same income.

Due diligence
A company's legal obligation to obtain documentation to establish certain information before a contract is signed or transaction completed. It often relates to the process that companies carry out when they are about to acquire another company to determine all of the financial information and liabilities before an acquisition is completed.