MOODY INVESTOR SERVICE Moody's Investors Service is a leading provider of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis.

Moody's commitment and expertise contributes to transparent and integrated financial markets. The firm's ratings and analysis track debt covering more than 110 countries, 12,000 corporate issuers, 25,000 public finance issuers, and 106,000 structured finance obligations.

GRADE SURVEILLANCE

The division of a securities exchange charged with ensuring that individuals associated with the exchange operate in an ethical manner and according to established regulation

ASSEST MANAGEMENT COMPANY A company that invests its clients' pooled fund into securities that match its declared financial objectives. Asset management companies provide investors with more diversification and investing options than they would have by themselves. Mutual funds, hedge funds and pension plans are all run by asset management companies. These companies earn income by charging service fees to their clients. AMCs offer their clients more diversification because they have a larger pool of resources than the individual investor. Pooling assets together and paying out proportional returns allows investors to avoid minimum investment requirements often required when purchasing securities on their own, as well as the ability to invest in a larger set of securities with a smaller investment.

Institutional Regulation Regulation of all functions as they are associated with a particular financial institution such as a bank or an insurance company. Compare to Functional Regulation.

PRUDENTIAL REGULATIOS Prudential regulation is An appropriate legal framework for financial operations is a significant contributor to preventing or minimising financial sector problems. Evidence shows that the absence of prudential regulations in some key areas can lead to bank failures and systemic instability, while establishing sound, clear and easily monitored rules for financial activities both encourages managers to run their institutions better and facilitates the work of supervisors. A major weakness of some financial systems is the fact that various financial institutions, especially cooperatives and intermediaries in rural areas, operate completely outside prudential regulations.

Asset/Liability Management What Does Asset/Liability Management Mean? A technique companies employ in coordinating the management of assets and liabilities so that an adequate return may be earned. Also known as "surplus management."

Investopedia explains Asset/Liability Management By managing a company's assets and liabilities, executives are able to influence net earnings, which may translate into increased stock prices