Financial Exposure

When someone dies of exposure, it means they stayed outside too long. The old prospector who won't leave his gold claim, despite the onset of winter. He's eventually found frozen stiff by the rescue party that comes to find him. The Bedouin trader who sets off across the desert, only to find that his normal oasis has run dry. Twenty years later, a subsequent traveler finds a set of bleached bones sticking out from the sand.

Imagine that, only with finances.

Financial exposure represents the amount you can lose on an investment. If you buy $10,000 worth of a stock, your financial exposure is $10,000. If the company declares bankruptcy the next day and the share price drops to zero, you would lose the $10,000.