assignment

as·sign·ment   (ə-sīn'mənt)    n.   The act of assigning. Something, such as a task, that is assigned. See Synonyms at task. A position or post of duty to which one is assigned. Law The transfer of a claim, right, interest, or property from one to another. The instrument by which this transfer is effected.

Assignment

1. The transfer of an individual's rights or property to another person or business.

2. A notice received by an option writer stating that the option sold has been exercised by the purchaser of the option.

Investopedia Commentary

1. Essentially, an assignment is the transfer of ownership. An example of an assignment, is when a person sells their car (thereby transferring the title) to another.

2. When assigned, the option writer has an obligation to complete the requirements of the option contract. If the option was a call (put) option then the writer would have to sell (buy) the underlying security at the stated strike price.

Related Links

Options Basics Tutorial
Understanding Your Mortgage

See also: Call, Exercise, Income, Option, Put, Strike Price, Writer

assignment

The transfer of a registered security from one owner to another.

Main Entry: as·sign·ment
Function: noun
1 : the act of assigning
2 a : a position, post, or office to which one is assigned b : a task assigned
3 : a present transfer of property or rights

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absolute assignment
: an assignment in which the transfer is complete and leaves the assignor with no interest in the property or right transferred

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assignment for the benefit of creditors
: assignment of property by a debtor to an assignee to be held in trust and used to pay off the debtor's debts

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assignment of income
: an assignment by one taxpayer to another of income for the purpose of avoiding taxes

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assignment of lease
: an assignment by a tenant of all of his or her remaining rights in a property under a lease —compare SUBLEASE

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effective assignment
: an assignment by which the assignor's interest in the property or right being assigned is terminated and transferred to the assignee

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equitable assignment
: an assignment (as of property in which one has a future interest) that is not valid at law but that would be upheld in a court of equity

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general assignment
: an assignment for the benefit of creditors of all of a debtor's property to be distributed fairly to the creditors —compare PREFERENCE

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wage assignment
: an assignment by an employee by which an amount of his or her wages are transferred to another party (as a creditor) before the wages are paid to the employee —compare GARNISHMENT

assignment programming
Storing the value of an expression in a variable. This is commonly written in the form "v = e". In Algol the assignment operator was ":=" (pronounced "becomes") to avoid mathematicians qualms about writing statements like x = x+1.
Assignment is not allowed in functional languages, where an identifier always has the same value.
See also referential transparency, single assignment, zero assignment.
(1996-08-19)