Jake Tuff 
If you have ever wondered what shares are, you’re not alone. You’re probably among the millions of people who’ve wondered the same thing. Shares are financial assets that represent an equal share of the company’s capital. As a shareholder, you’re entitled to a portion of the profits and losses generated by the company, and you’ll also be entitled to vote at shareholder meetings. Shares come in two different types, common and preferred.
In a nutshell, shares are ownership certificates of a company. They’re traded on a market that brings together buyers and sellers. Most companies listed on an exchange have hundreds of shares, or stocks, for sale. Shares allow investors to buy and sell these listed stocks, and the process starts with creating your own securities. Shares are essentially contracts that are made between investors and companies, and are used in investment funds, pension funds, and other financial institutions.
Shares have two basic definitions. The issue price is the price at which the company issues shares to investors. Usually, this value is the same as the face value of the shares. A share with a higher issue price is called a share at a premium. You can find these terms on the website of a company. In general, the issue price is the price at which the shares were originally issued. You’ll be able to see the issue price when looking up your own shares.
A share is a unit of capital. The total number of shares in a company is called the “share capital”. The majority shareholder can control the direction of a company by appointing the company’s board of directors. A company’s board of directors is responsible for increasing the value of the corporation, and they hire professional managers and officers. The ordinary shareholders don’t have any say in the management of the company. It is the board of directors that manages the corporation.
Another term for shares is “stake.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that you own a company, but it is a general term for partial ownership. For example, two business partners could own a stake in a piece of investment property without a formal stock structure. Bondholders are also considered stakeholders of a company and stand to benefit from the company’s performance. So, while shares represent an ownership stake in a company, they don’t have a legal obligation to repay investors.
A share’s price depends on two factors: demand and supply. When demand is high, the price goes up; if there’s a shortage, the price will fall. In other words, the price depends on market liquidity. In order for a share to be valuable, investors must understand how shares are bought and sold in the market. When you’re just starting out, you should know that a share’s price varies. This means that it will rise in value if there’s a lot of money to be made from the company.
