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401(k)
An employer-sponsored defined-contribution plan funded largely by employee salary deferrals.
403(b)
A retirement plan for public-school and certain tax-exempt employees, similar to a 401(k).
457(b)
A deferred-compensation plan for state, local government, and some nonprofit employees.
A
Accredited investor
An investor who meets income or net-worth thresholds allowing access to certain private offerings.
Algorithmic stablecoin
A stablecoin that tries to hold its peg through supply-and-demand mechanisms rather than hard reserves; historically the most failure-prone design.
Alternative asset
An investment outside traditional public markets, such as real estate, private equity, private credit, metals, or digital assets.
Asset allocation
How a portfolio is divided among asset classes to balance risk and return.
Assets under administration (AUA)
Assets a firm administers but does not necessarily manage — distinct from assets under management.
Assets under management (AUM)
Assets a firm manages on an investor’s behalf.
B
Basis
After-tax money in an account; tracked so it isn’t taxed again on withdrawal.
Basis point
One hundredth of one percent (0.01%); 100 basis points equal 1%.
Beneficiary
The person or entity designated to receive an account after the owner’s death.
Beneficiary designation
The form that names who inherits an account, which generally overrides a will.
Blockchain
A distributed, tamper-resistant digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers.
Broken object-level authorization (BOLA)
A common flaw where a system checks who is calling but not whether they may access the specific record; the gap per-record authorization closes.
C
Capital call
A request from a private fund for investors to contribute committed capital.
Capital commitment
The total amount an investor agrees to contribute to a fund, drawn over time via capital calls.
Carried interest
The general partner’s share of fund profits, typically paid after a preferred return.
Catch-up contribution
An additional contribution allowed for participants at or above a set age.
Checkbook control
An arrangement where an IRA owns an entity the owner manages — which adds responsibilities and risks, not a shortcut around the rules.
Cost basis
The amount used to measure gain or loss on an investment, generally what you paid plus adjustments.
Custodial agreement
The contract governing how an account is held and administered by the custodian.
Custodian
An entity that holds assets and processes transactions; it does not, by holding an asset, recommend or approve it.
Custody
The safekeeping and administration of assets on an owner’s behalf.
D
De-peg
When a stablecoin trades away from the value it targets (for example, a dollar-pegged token moving off $1), usually a sign of reserve or confidence problems.
Defined benefit plan
A plan that promises a specified retirement benefit, with the employer bearing investment risk.
Defined contribution plan
A plan where contributions are defined and the ending benefit depends on investment results.
Designated Roth account
The Roth sub-account within an employer plan, funded with after-tax salary deferrals.
Digital asset
A cryptographic asset such as a cryptocurrency or token; availability and custody depend on the platform and rules.
Digital dollar
An informal term for a dollar-pegged stablecoin — a token that holds and moves the value of a U.S. dollar on a blockchain.
Disqualified person
A person or entity whose dealings with a retirement account can create a prohibited transaction — including the owner and certain family and controlled entities.
Distribution
A withdrawal from an account; tax treatment depends on the account type and circumstances.
Distribution waterfall
The order in which fund cash flows are paid to investors and the general partner.
Diversification
Spreading investments across assets to reduce the impact of any single one on the whole portfolio.
E
Elective deferral
The portion of salary an employee chooses to contribute to a retirement plan.
Eligible designated beneficiary
A beneficiary category (such as a spouse or certain others) with distribution options that differ from the general 10-year rule.
Employer match
Employer contributions made in proportion to an employee’s deferrals.
Excess contribution
A contribution above the allowed limit, which can incur an excise tax until corrected.
Excise tax
A penalty tax, such as the tax on a missed RMD or an excess contribution.
Expense ratio
The annual cost of a fund, expressed as a percentage of assets.
F
Fair market valuation
A periodic estimate of an asset’s current value, required for reporting on hard-to-value holdings.
FDIC insurance
Federal deposit insurance that covers qualifying bank deposits up to set limits; investments, and stablecoins, are not FDIC-insured.
Fiat-backed stablecoin
A stablecoin fully backed by reserves of cash and cash-equivalents — such as short-term U.S. Treasuries — held by the issuer; the mainstream, regulated model.
Fiduciary
A party that has accepted a duty to act in another’s interest; status depends on function and authority, not title alone.
Five-year rule
A Roth timing rule; separate five-year periods determine tax-free earnings and penalty-free access to converted amounts.
G
General partner (GP)
The managing partner of a fund or partnership, responsible for operations and decisions.
GENIUS Act
2025 U.S. federal law establishing a framework for payment stablecoins, requiring full reserve backing, regular disclosures, redemption rights, and issuer oversight.
I
Illiquidity
The difficulty of converting an asset to cash quickly without loss of value.
Immutable audit log
A tamper-evident record of who accessed what and when, used for compliance and reporting.
In-kind transfer
Moving an asset between accounts without selling it, so the investment itself changes custodians.
L
Limited partner (LP)
A passive investor in a partnership whose liability is generally limited to the amount invested.
Liquidity
How easily an asset can be converted to cash without moving its price.
M
Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)
Adjusted gross income with certain items added back; used to determine eligibility for many tax benefits and phase-outs.
Money market fund
A fund that invests in short-term, high-quality debt and aims to preserve a stable value while earning yield.
N
Never Trust architecture
An approach that authorizes each request against the specific record it touches and refuses by default.
Non-recourse loan
A loan secured only by the pledged asset, with no personal guarantee; generally required for leverage inside an IRA.
Nondeductible contribution
A traditional IRA contribution for which no deduction is taken, creating basis tracked on Form 8606.
O
On-chain settlement
Completing a transaction directly on a blockchain — often near-instant and available around the clock, including weekends.
P
Peg
The fixed value a stablecoin is designed to hold, most often one U.S. dollar per token.
Per-record authorization
Checking each request against the specific record it tries to access, and refusing it by default.
Plan administrator
The party responsible for specified administrative functions of a retirement plan.
Plan sponsor
The employer or entity that establishes and maintains a retirement plan.
Post-quantum cryptography
Cryptographic methods designed to remain secure against future quantum computers.
Precious metals
Certain gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products meeting purity and custody rules can be held in an IRA.
Preferred return
A minimum return paid to investors before the general partner shares in profits.
Private credit
Lending to companies outside public bond markets, often through funds.
Private equity
Ownership in companies that are not publicly traded, typically illiquid and long-horizon.
Private key
The secret cryptographic key that controls a digital-asset holding; whoever holds it controls the asset.
Pro-rata rule
A rule that prorates the taxable portion of an IRA distribution or conversion across all your traditional IRA balances, pre-tax and after-tax.
Profit-sharing contribution
A discretionary employer contribution not tied to employee deferrals.
Prohibited transaction
Improper dealing between a retirement account and a disqualified person, which can disqualify the account.
Promissory note
A written promise to repay a loan on set terms; can be held as an investment.
Q
Qualified charitable distribution (QCD)
A direct IRA-to-charity transfer that can satisfy an RMD without adding to taxable income, available from age 70 and a half.
Qualified custody
Holding digital assets with a regulated custodian, in the account’s name, rather than in a personal wallet.
Qualified distribution
A withdrawal that meets the conditions for favorable tax treatment (for example, a qualified Roth distribution).
Qualified purchaser
An investor meeting high asset thresholds, eligible for certain private offerings beyond accredited status.
R
Real estate IRA
A self-directed IRA that holds real property; all income and expenses must flow through the IRA.
Recharacterization
Treating a contribution to one type of IRA as if made to the other; note that conversions can no longer be recharacterized.
Recordkeeper
A party that maintains participant accounts, balances, and transaction data for a plan.
Redemption
Exchanging a stablecoin back to fiat currency with its issuer, at the pegged value.
Regulation D
SEC rules permitting private securities offerings without full public registration.
Required beginning date
The deadline for taking your first required minimum distribution.
Required minimum distribution (RMD)
The minimum amount that must be withdrawn from certain retirement accounts beginning at the applicable age.
Reserves (stablecoin)
The cash and cash-equivalent assets an issuer holds to back every stablecoin in circulation and honor redemptions.
Rollover
Moving retirement funds from one account to another; a direct rollover avoids withholding, while an indirect rollover has stricter rules.
Rollover IRA
A traditional IRA that holds funds rolled over from an employer plan.
Roth conversion
Moving pre-tax funds into a Roth account, creating taxable income in the year of conversion.
Roth IRA
An individual retirement account funded with after-tax dollars; qualified withdrawals, including earnings, can be tax-free.
S
Schedule K-1
A tax form reporting a partner’s share of a partnership’s income, deductions, and credits.
SECURE 2.0 Act
2022 legislation that changed RMD ages, catch-up rules, and many retirement-plan provisions, phased in over several years.
Self-dealing
Using a retirement account for the owner’s present-day benefit, a category of prohibited transaction.
Self-directed IRA
A custody and investment model that lets an IRA hold a broader range of assets; it is not a separate tax type.
SEP IRA
A simplified employer-funded retirement plan for businesses and the self-employed.
Settlement
The completion of a transaction, when cash and ownership actually change hands.
SIMPLE IRA
A small-employer plan allowing employee salary deferrals plus employer contributions.
Smart contract
Self-executing code on a blockchain that runs automatically when its conditions are met — used for conditional payouts, escrow, and automated workflows.
Solo 401(k)
A one-participant 401(k) for an owner-only business, allowing both employee and employer contributions.
Spousal IRA
An IRA funded for a lower- or non-earning spouse based on the couple’s joint earned income.
Stablecoin
A blockchain token designed to hold a steady value by tracking a reference asset — most often the U.S. dollar, one token to one dollar.
Subscription agreement
The contract by which an investor commits to purchase an interest in a fund or offering.
Successor custodian
A custodian that takes over administration if the prior custodian resigns or is replaced.
T
Third-party administrator (TPA)
A provider of plan services such as design, compliance testing, and filings, distinct from a recordkeeper.
Titling
How an account or asset is legally named, which affects ownership and control.
Tokenization
Replacing sensitive data with a non-sensitive placeholder, revealed only on an authorized grant.
Traditional IRA
A tax-deferred individual retirement account; contributions may be deductible and withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income.
Transfer
Moving assets between like accounts without a taxable distribution.
Trustee
A party that holds legal title and administers assets under a trust or plan; distinct from a custodian unless it performs both roles.
U
UBIT
Unrelated business income tax — tax a retirement account may owe on certain business income.
UDFI
Unrelated debt-financed income — income from debt-financed property that can create tax inside a retirement account.
V
Vesting
The process by which a participant earns a non-forfeitable right to employer contributions.
Volatility
The degree to which an asset’s price fluctuates over time; higher volatility means larger swings.
W
Wallet
Software or hardware that stores the cryptographic keys used to access digital assets.
Y
Yield
The income an investment produces, expressed as a percentage of its price or value.
Z
Zero trust
A security model that never assumes trust and verifies every request; identity-centric access control.
Educational only. This page is general information, not individualized investment, legal, or tax advice. Rules depend on your account type, transaction, tax year, and circumstances — consult a qualified professional.