CFA® glossary: Q

8 terms beginning with Q.

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Qualified opinion

An audit opinion that the statements are fairly presented except for a specific, identified matter. It is a narrow exception rather than a general warning, and the item it names is where to look.

Quantile

A cut-off below which a stated share of the observations fall. Quartiles, deciles and percentiles divide sorted data into four, ten and a hundred groups of equal count.

Quantity demanded

The amount buyers want at one particular price: a single point on the demand curve. A change in the good's own price changes it by moving along the curve, not by shifting it.

Quartile

The cut-offs dividing sorted data into four groups of equal count; the first is the 25th percentile. In manager rankings, though, a first-quartile fund sits in the best quarter of its peers.

Quick ratio

Liquidity counting only what could become cash quickly — inventory excluded. Two firms with the same current ratio can differ sharply here. Where it appears →

Quota

A cap on the quantity of a good that may be imported. It raises the domestic price much as a tariff does, but the gain goes to whoever holds the import licences rather than to the government.

Quote-driven market

A market where dealers post bid and ask prices and trade from their own inventory, earning the spread for supplying immediacy. How most bonds and currencies trade.

Quoted margin

The fixed spread added to the reference rate on a floating-rate note, set at issue and unchanged for its whole life. Where it appears →