Skip to main content



Tradable Instrument Display Mnemonics. A short, unique code used to identify UK-listed shares. Previously known as EPIC.

When you use a stock broker to buy shares, you can often find the share you want by its name. However, some companies have similar sounding names, and some issue more than one share. You can use the TIDM code to make sure you’ve got the right share.

A measure of the size of an investment company.  The total value of all assets held, less current liabilities, including income for the current year.

See market capitalisation.


Performance information that takes into account both income and capital returns.

Total return performance is useful, for example, when comparing investment companies which pay out different amounts of income as dividends. If you ignore dividends, a company which pays out a higher level of dividends could appear to have performed less well than a company that keeps back some of its income, even though the overall return you’ve received is better.

Shares in a company’s own share capital which the company itself owns and which can be sold to investors to raise new funds.

Treasury shares only come into existence when a company buys back shares.  Instead of cancelling the shares (i.e. they cease to exist) they are held ‘in treasury’ by the company and can be sold at a later date to raise new funds.