Barron’s Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms: Second Edition

The 1970s and 80s have seen more fundamental changes in finance and investment than any similar period since the Great Depression, which ushered in massive reforms in the economy and securities markets. Deregulation, major tax law revisions, globalization of markets, giant corporate mergers, and, above all, the widespread use of computer and advanced communications technology these developments have altered the world of finance and investment in ways that affect everybody. And with these changes has come a whole new lexicon of finance and investment terms and, to no small degree, a redefinition of the traditional vocabulary.

The "May Day" lifting of fixed commission rates on stock exchanges on May 1, 1975, and the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 began a new era of deregulation and diversification in the brokerage and banking industries, resulting in the availability of a vast range of new financial and investment services reaching to all levels of the American economy.

Four landmark tax acts-the Tax Reform Act of 1976, the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, and the Tax Reform Act of 1984 have substantially affected the way individuals and firms manage their financial affairs. This has led to novel tax shelters and new ways of investing for capital gains, income and retirement, and providing for heirs.