Stock Market Basics For New Investors
Articles - Retirement
You own a part of a company when you buy a stock. The stock is the smallest share of the company. Companies to raise capital sell a segment of their company by issuing a stock. The share holder holds the stock with the right to say his opinion about how a company runs and shares the profits. The sock holder does not face responsibility if the company faces a court case. The investor has to face only that their stock will have no worth and they will lose their investments. There is boundary to issue the number of shares. The stocks are allocated a par value when they are issued by the company.
by LauraMacavoy


You own a part of a company when you buy a stock. The stock is the smallest share of the company. Companies to raise capital sell a segment of their company by issuing a stock. The share holder holds the stock with the right to say his opinion about how a company runs and shares the profits. The sock holder does not face responsibility if the company faces a court case. The investor has to face only that their stock will have no worth and they will lose their investments. There is boundary to issue the number of shares. The stocks are allocated a par value when they are issued by the company.

The company sells stock because they want to get capital, to expand the business or some other reason. An example would be when company needs to purchase new property or have extra cash. Its projected value depends on the growth and success of the company.

If a company is successful, it's stock price will rise. Companies that have been thriving for a while will have high valued stock. These investments will be safer but may yield small returns. A newer company, because they do not have long proven success, will have cheaper stock. If the company succeeds, their stock may sky rocket in value. On the other hand, the company may fail completely and you will loose your investment.

NASDAQ (the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System) and NYSE (the New York Stock Exchange) are where companies sell their shares to the open market. You may buy stocks that are not listed through the exchange but this is a topic for another article.

Stocks are sold and bought in the stock exchange so an investor should have a stock broker to make all the transactions. Brokers take the instructions from the client to buy or sell certain stocks. The investor can grant the broker to trade the stock when it hits a particular price or whatever the stock market can get. The broker tries to find a suitable buyer, or seller to fulfill the investors instruction. The brokers have links with the other brokers who correspond to a different buyer or seller. Every broker will fulfill the instruction of their investor to get commission for the sale.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.