Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

• MARKDOWN
  
  A markdown is the difference between the market price of a security and the price you receive if you sell that security to a broker/dealer in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. A markdown is comparable to the commission you would pay for selling the security through your broker, though the cost of the markdown, unlike a broker's commission, is not stated separately on a confirmation statement. A markdown is determined, in part, by the demand for securities of a certain type in the marketplace, since a broker/dealer may charge a smaller markdown if the security can be resold at a favorable markup. The term markdown also refers more generally to a price reduction on retail products and certain securities that a seller wants to unload and will sell at less than the original offering price.
  
  Back