Pyramid Scheme

An illegal investment scam based on a hierarchical setup. New recruits make up the base of the pyramid and provide the funding, or so-called returns, given to the earlier investors/recruits above them. A pyramid scheme is initiated by an individual or a company that starts recruiting investors with an offer of guaranteed high returns. As the scheme begins, the earliest investors do receive a high rate of return, but these gains are paid for by new recruits and are not a return on any real investment.

From the day the scam is initiated, a pyramid scheme’s liabilities exceed its assets. The only way it can generate wealth is by promising extraordinary returns to new recruits; the only way these returns can be paid is by getting additional investors. Invariably these schemes lose steam and the pyramid collapses.

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Related Terms

Promoter

-- 0-1 Definitions --401 k plan52 week high low10 q10 k wrap10 k529 plan8 k

-- A Definitions --abnormal returnabove the marketabsolute returnaccrual rateabsolute breadth index abiaccrueacross the boardaccumulation distributionaccumulative swing index asiactive index fundactive investingactive managementactual total lossactual returnadding to a loseradjusted closing priceadvance decline indexadvisoradvance decline line a dafter hours market closeafter hours trading ahtafter market performanceafter the bellaggressive growth fundair pocket stockaggressive investment strategyalan greenspanalgorithmic tradingall cap fundalpha generatorall or none aonalphaamerican stock exchange amexanalyst sponsorshipanalystangel investorannual percentage rate aprannual percentage yield apyannual reportannual returnanonymous tradingarbitragearoon indicatoraroon oscillatorascending channelascending topsascending triangleask sizeaskassessable stockat the close orderat the marketat the opening orderauction marketautomated forex tradingautomatic investment plan aipautomatic reinvestment planauthorized stockaverage annual yieldaverage cost basis methodaverage cost methodaverage directional index adxaverage downaverage priceaverage returnaverage selling price aspaverage upaway from the marketax

-- B Definitions --bag holderbar chartbarbarometer stockbarometerbear marketbear raidbasic materials sectorbear trapbearbearish belt holdbearish engulfing patternbearish haramibeating the gunbellwetherbelow the marketbenchmarkbest askbest bidbid ask spreadbid sizebid tickbidbid whackerbig boardblack fridayblack marketblock orderblock tradeblockblotterblow off topblowoffboiler roombollinger bandboonbottom fisherbottom linebox top orderbracketed buy orderbracketed sell orderbreadth indicatorbreadth of market theorybreakaway gapbreakoutbreakout traderbubblebull marketbullbullish belt holdbullish engulfing patternbullish haramibullish homing pigeonbuy a bouncebuy and holdbuy stops abovebuy the dipsbuy to coverbuy weaknessbuybuyback

-- C Definitions --canceled ordercancellationcash accountcandlestickcancel former order cfocash flow financingcash positioncash dividendcertificated stockcash tradingchaikin oscillatorchande momentum oscillatorchangechartistchasing the marketchikou spanchoppy marketcircular tradingclass a sharesclass b sharesclass of sharesclassified sharescloseclearingclose positionclosed market transactionclosing bellclosing priceclosing tickclosingcold callingcomexcommissioncommodity channel index ccicommon gapcommon shareholdercommon stockcompetitive advantagecomposite indexcompositecompsconditional orderconfirmation on a chartconfirmationconsolidationconversion pricecorrectioncountcover on a bouncecover on approachcovercoverage initiatedcovered callcovered warrantcramer bouncecrashcross holdingcrossed marketcrossover investorcrossovercrush spreadcult stockcumulative dividendcumulative preferred stockcumulative volume index cvicurrent incomecup and handlecurrent yieldcyber monday

-- D Definitions --darvas box theorydaily trading limitdaily chartday around orderdark cloud coverday orderday traderdays to coverdead cat bouncedeath crossdeclaration datedeclinedemarker indicatordefensive buydelistingdepthdescending topsdialing and smilingdescending trianglediamond top formationdirectional movement index dmidisplaced moving averagedisparity indexdivergencedividend frequencydividend payout ratiodividend per share dpsdividend policydividend ratedividend recapitalizationdividend reinvestment plan dripdividend rollover plandividend tax creditdividend yielddividenddo not increase dnidogs of the dowdojidollar rolldonchian channelsdouble bottomdouble topdouble updow divisordow jones 65 composite averagedow jones industrial average djia yielddow jones industrial average djiadow jones sustainability north america indexdow jones sustainability united states indexdow jones transportation average djtadow jones utility average djuadow theorydowngradedown volumedownswingdowntick volumedowntickdowntrenddrill bit stockdropdynamic momentum index

-- E Definitions --earning assetsearnings before tax ebtearnings estimateearnings momentumearnings multiplierearnings surpriseearnings yieldearnings per share epsearnings seasonease of movementeffective dateelder ray indexeconomic calendarelliott wave theoryenvelopeevening starex dateevent riskex rightsex dividendex warrantexcess returnsexchangeexcess spreadexecuting brokerexerciseexhaustion gapexit strategyexponential moving average emaexpected returnextended tradingextra dividend

-- F Definitions --fast marketfalling knifefibonacci channelfibonacci clustersfailed breakfibonacci arcfair funds for investorsfibonacci extensionsfibonacci fanfibonacci retracementfibonacci time zonesfibonacci numbers linesfighting the tapefill or kill fokfillfilter rulefilterfinancial blogfire salefirm orderfirm quotefiscal year endfiscal year fyflipperforecastingfloatformula investingfortune 500forward price to earnings forward p efound moneyfree cash flow to equity fcfefriendly handsfull disclosurefully diluted shares

-- G Definitions --gazelle companygann anglesgather in the stopsgapgartley patterngoing publicgolden crossgreat depressiongreenmailgross earningsgross margin return on investment gmroigrowth companygrowth fundgrowth stock

-- H Definitions --handlehammeringhanging manharami crosshard stopharvard mba indicatorhaurlan indexhammerhead and shoulders patternheikin ashi techniqueheld orderhigh beta indexhigh closehigh flierhistogramholdhit the bidhook reversalhot ipohot moneyhouse call

-- I Definitions --imbalance of ordersichimoku kinko hyoimpact dayilliquidimmediate or cancel order iocimpulse wave patternin playincome stockin the pinkindexindicatorinitial offering dateinside dayinside marketinside quoteinsider informationinsider tradinginsiderintradayintraday intensity indexinverse head and shouldersinverse saucerissueisland reversalissued sharesissuer

-- J Definitions --january effectjanuary barometerjim cramer

-- K Definitions --key performance indicators kpikeltner channelklinger oscillatorkijun senkicker patternkorean composite stock price indexes kospi

-- L Definitions --let your profits runlarge cap big caplevel 2last sale reportinglevel 1limit on close orderlevel 3limit on open orderlimit orderline chartlinearly weighted moving averagelinear price scalelisted securityliquidating dividendliquid marketlisting requirementslittle boardlock in profitsloan sharklocked marketlogarithmic price scalelong or long position long putlong squeezelong term capital gain or losslotlow volume pullback

-- M Definitions --margin callmargin accountmarginmanipulationmacro hedgemarket arbitragemarket breadthmarket depthmarket capitalizationmarket if touched mitmarket indicatorsmarket is offmarket maker spreadmarket is upmarket jittersmarket mavenmarket on close mocmarket ordermarket performmarket pricemarket risk premiummarket sentimentmarket sharemarket technicians association mtamarket timingmarket versus quote mvqmarket with protection ordermarquee assetmcclellan oscillatormarubozomcclellan summation indexmean returnmechanical investingmega capmergers and acquisitions m amember short sales ratiomicro capmicro hedgemid capmid value stockminimum marginminus tickmixed lotmodified dietz methodmomentum investingmomentummomo playmonday effectmoney flow index mfimoney flowmoney launderingmorning starmosaic theorymost activemoving average chartmoving average convergence divergence macdmoving average mamoving average ribbon

-- N Definitions --naked positionnaked putnaked shortingnano capnarrow based weighted averagenasdaq 100 after hours indicatornasdaq composite indexnasdaq national market securities nasdaq nmnasdaq 100 indexnarrow moatnasdaqnational best bid and offer nbbonational stock exchange of india limited nsenational association of securities dealers nasdnegative directional indicator dinegative volume index nvinet changenet debt per capitanet interest margin securities nimsnet investmentnet longnet marginnet netnet shortnet revenue pledgenet volumenew york stock exchange nysenikkeinoise tradernon assessable stocknon marginable securitiesnon operating assetnon qualified stock option nsonormal market sizenot held ordernyse composite index

-- O Definitions --ohlc chartoctober effectobamanomicsoffering priceoffshoreon balance volume obvone night stand investmentone cancel all orderon streamone way marketonline tradingoption classopenoptionopening priceoracle of omahaorder book officialorder splittingostrichoutperformoutside reversaloutstanding sharesover the counter bulletin board otcbbover the counter exchange of india otceiover the counter marketover the counter otcoverboughtovernight delivery riskoverreactionoversoldovertradingovervalued

-- P Definitions --p valuepanic sellingpainting the tapepairs tradepanic buyingparabolic indicatorpaper millionairepaper profit paper loss pari passuparity pricepattern day traderpatternpayment datepenny stockpercentage price oscillator ppopersonal financepeter lynchphantom gainpiercing patternpigpink sheetspivot pointpoop and scooppivotportfolio managementportfolio managerposition traderpositionportfoliopositive volume index pvipost trade processingpre ipo placementpre marketpreferred stockprevious closeprice actionprice by volume chart pbvprice channelprice continuityprice creepprice earnings ratio p e ratioprice rate of change rocprice transparencyprimary marketprintprivate investment fundprofit and loss statement p lprofit loss ratioprofit marginprofit takingprofitprogram tradingpromoterpublic book of orders public companypublic offering price poppublic offeringpullbackpump and dumppush on a stringput bondput call parityput call ratioput optionput ratio backspreadput warrantputputtable common stockpygpyramid schemepyramidingpyrrhic victory

-- Q Definitions --quarterly earnings reportqstick indicatorquadrixqualified dividendqualified distributionquotationquote

-- R Definitions --rate of changerangerate of returnrallyrandom walk theoryratings servicereal time trade reportingreal rate of returnreal timerealized gainrealized yieldrealized lossreallowancerecognized gainrecognized lossrecord daterecord lowrecord highrectanglered candlestickred chipregistered investment advisor riaregular way trade rwregistered securityreinvestmentrelative returnrelative strength index rsirelative strengthrelative vigor index rvirenko chartresistance resistance level restricted stockretracementreturn on capital gainsreturn on investment roireturnreversalreverse stock splitrising bottomrisk adjusted returnrisk arbitragerisk capitalriskrogue traderroth 401 k roth ira conversionroth iraround trip tradingrounding bottomrounding toprule 10b 18rule 10b 5rule 144rule 144arule 147rule 72 t rule of 18rule of 72runaway gaprule of 78russell 1000 indexrussell 2000 indexrussell 2500 indexrussell 3000 indexrussell 3000 value indexrussell microcap indexrussell midcap indexrussell small cap completeness indexrussell top 200 indexrussell top 50 index

-- S Definitions --sanku three gaps patterns 8 filingsaucers 3 filingscalpersschedule 13dscalpingschedule aschedule dschedule 13gsecond mortgagesecondary liquiditysecondary marketsecondary mortgage marketsecondary offeringsecondary stocksector analysissector breakdownsectorsecurities and exchange commission secsecurities exchange act of 1934securities fraudsecurity analystsecuritysell offsellsellersentiment indicatorsettlement dateselling into strengthshadowshare repurchaseshare turnovershareholdersharessharpe ratioshooting starshort and distortshort coveringshort interest ratioshort interestshort market valueshort or short position short sale ruleshort saleshort sellingshort squeezeshort term gainsideways marketsideways trendsignal linesimple moving average smasmall capsoft marketspeculative stockspeed resistance linesspikespreadsplit adjustedstandard poor s 500 index s p 500standard poor s s pstarstartupstochastic modelingstochrsistochastic oscillatorstock basherstock certificatestock dividendstock market crash of 1929stock market crash of 1987stock marketstock pickstock quotestock splitstock screenerstock symbolstock watcherstockstockbrokerstop limit orderstop loss orderstop orderstop paymentstopped orderstopped outstrong buystrong sellstructural changestuckholdersubscribedsucker rallysupermontagesupport support level sushi rollsuspended tradingswing tradingsymmetrical triangle

-- T Definitions --tech bubbletape shreddingtechnical analysistech streettechnical correctiontechnically strong markettechnical rallytechnical indicatortechnically weak markettechnology sectortenbaggerthin marketthird market makerterotechnologythetathird marketthree black crowsthree white soldierstick test rulestickticker symbolticker tapetime of day ordertick indextime weighted rate of returntoday s hightoday s lowtop down investingtop linetorpedo stocktoronto stock exchange tsxtotal debt service ratio tdstotal debt to total assetstotal return indextotal returntouchlinetotal stock fundtracker fundtrade financetracking stocktrade deficittrade or fade ruletrade price responsetrade reporting and compliance engine tracetrade resumptiontrade sanctiontrade surplustrade volume index tvitrade throughtradetradertrading accounttrading arcadetrading aheadtrading authorizationtrading below cashtrading booktrading channeltrading desktrading curbtrading dollarstrading effecttrading floortrading halttrading rangetrading sessiontraditional iratrailing epstrailing price to earnings trailing p etrailing stoptransactiontransaction coststrend analysistrend tradingtrendtrendlinetreynor black modeltreynor ratiotriangletrigger linetriple bottomtriple toptriple witchingtrue strength index tsitsx venture exchangeturnover ratioturtle channeltwo dollar brokertwo sided markettwo way quote

-- U Definitions --u s dollar index usdxultimate oscillatorulcer index uiu s treasuryu s savings bondsultra etfunchangedultra short bond fundunderpricingundervaluedunissued stockunlisted securityunpaid dividendunlisted trading privilegesunquoted public companyunrealized gainunrealized lossunseasoned securityunsubscribedunsuitable unsuitability unsystematic riskunweighted indexup and in optionup and out optionup market capture ratioup volumeupside downside ratioupsideuptick ruleupstairs tradeuptick volumeuptickuptrendutilities sector

-- V Definitions --value at risk varvalue averagingvaluation analysisvaluationvalue based pricingvalue chainvalue fundvalue datevalue investingvalue line indexvalue propositionvalue stockvalue trapvegavelocity of moneyventure capital fundsventure capitalventure capitalistvertical equityvertical analysisvertical marketvertical spreadvix cboe volatility indexvestingvix optionvolatility quote tradingvolatilityvolume of tradevolume weighted average price vwapvolume price trend indicator vptvolumevolumetric production payment vppvoluntary accumulation planvulture fundvulture capitalist

-- W Definitions --wallflowerwall streetwallpaperwalrasian marketwall of worrywar bondwar chestwarehouse receiptwarehouse lendingwar babieswarehousingwarrant coveragewarrantwarrant premiumwarren buffettwarsaw stock exchange wsewash out roundwash sale rulewash tradingwash salewashwatch listwater etfwatered stockwaveweak dollarweak handsweak shortsweak longsweak form efficiencyweak sisterwealth added index waiwealthwealth managementwedgeweekend effectweekly chartweightedweighted alphawhipsawwhite candlestickwhite elephantwide openwidow and orphan stockwin loss ratiowilliams rwitching hourwolfe waveworkout assumptionwork in progress wipworkout marketworld federation of stock exchangesworld fundworld trade organization wtoworthless securitieswrite outwrite offwrite upwriter

-- X Definitions --xwxdisxdxrtxetra

-- Y Definitions --year end bonusy shareyardyyankee marketyear over year yoyyear to date ytdyellow sheetsyellow knightyen etfyield basisyield tilt index fundyo yo

-- Z Definitions --zacks lifecycle indexesz scorezar south african rand z sharezero capital gains ratezero plus tickzmk zambian kwacha zig zag indicatorzombie debt zombieszone of possible agreementzoningzzzz bestzero minus tick