R-Squared   -    A statistical measure that represents the percentage of a fund or security's movements that can be explained by movements in a benchmark index. For fixed-income securities, the benchmark is the T-bill. For equities, the benchmark is the S&P 500.

Rabbi Trust   -   A trust created for the purpose of supporting the non-qualified benefit obligations of employers to their employees.
These trusts are sometimes referred to as "grantor trusts".

Raider   -   An individual or organization that tries to take over a company by initiating a hostile takeover bid.

Rain Check   -   A promise or commitment by a seller to a buyer that an item currently out of stock can be purchased at a later date for today's sale price.

Rainbow Option   -   A single option linked to two or more underlying assets. In order for the option to pay off, all the underlying assets must move in the intended direction.

Rainmaker   -   An employee of a brokerage firm who brings a large amount of wealthy individuals or corporations to the brokerage firm's client base.

Rally   -   A period of sustained increases in the prices of stocks, bonds or indexes. This type of price movement can happen during either a bull or a bear market, when it is known as either a bull market rally or a bear market rally, respectively. However, a rally will generally follow a period of flat or declining prices.

Ramp Up   -   To increase a company's operations in anticipation of increased demand.

Random Walk Theory   -    The theory that stock price changes have the same distribution and are independent of each other, so the past movement or trend of a stock price or market cannot be used to predict its future movement. One of the best selling finance books is called " A Random Walk Down Wall Street" written by Burton Malkiel on this subject.

Range   -   A stock's low price and high price for a particular trading period, such as the close of a day's trading, the opening of a day's trading, a day, a month, or a year.

Real Option   -    An alternative or choice that becomes available with a business investment opportunity.

Reflation   -   An economic policy whereby a government uses fiscal or monetary stimulus in order to expand a country's output.

REIT   -   Real Estate Investment Trust. A security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages. REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate.
Equity REITs: Equity REITs invest in and own properties (thus responsible for the equity or value of their real estate assets). Their revenues come principally from their properties' rents.
Mortgage REITs: Mortgage REITs deal in investment and ownership of property mortgages. These REITs loan money for mortgages to owners of real estate, or purchase existing mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. Their revenues are generated primarily by the interest that they earn on the mortgage loans.

Risk Averse   -   A description of an investor who, when faced with two investments with a similar expected return (but different risks), will prefer the one with the lower risk.

Risk Capital   -   The money that a person allocates to investing in high-risk securities.

Risk Management   -   The process of identification, analysis and either acceptance or mitigation of uncertainty in investment decision-making. Essentially, risk management occurs anytime an investor or fund manager analyzes and attempts to quantify the potential for losses in an investment and then takes the appropriate action (or inaction) given their investment objectives and risk tolerance.

Risk Free Return   -   The theoretical rate of return attributed to an investment with zero risk. The risk-free rate represents the interest on an investor's money that he or she would expect from an absolutely risk-free investment over a specified period of time. An investment in a US Government Bond would be viewed as providing a Risk Free Return.

Rollercoaster SWAP   -   A seasonal swap providing flexibility of payments at predetermined periods to best meet the counterparty's cyclical financing needs or other requirements.