Dictionary: J

J-curve

The shape of a private fund's reported returns over its life: negative early as fees and costs are drawn before value is created, then rising as investments mature and are realised.

Jade lizard

A short put plus a short call spread, sized so the total credit exceeds the call spread's width — which removes upside risk entirely.

January effect

The historical tendency for smaller companies to outperform in January, traditionally attributed to tax-loss selling reversing.

Japanese yen futures (6J)

The CME contract on 12,500,000 Japanese yen, quoted in US dollars per yen, which makes its chart the mirror image of the USD/JPY spot chart.

Jelly roll

A long synthetic in one expiration against a short synthetic in another; a pure play on interest rates and dividends, not direction.

Jensen's alpha

Return in excess of what an asset's beta exposure alone would have delivered, which is what is left after paying for market risk.

JOBS Act

The 2012 US law easing capital raising: confidential IPO filings and scaled disclosure for emerging growth companies, general solicitation in some private offerings, and regulation crowdfunding.

JOLTS (job openings and labour turnover)

A monthly survey of job openings, hires, quits and layoffs, released with a one-month lag; the vacancies-to-unemployed ratio and the quits rate are its most useful series.

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