Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач

There are other ways of buying stock. One way is directly from the company itself. If at least one share is owned, most companies will allow the purchase of shares directly from the company through their investor’s relations departments. Another way to buy stock is through Direct Public Offerings which are sold by the company itself.

Selling

Selling stock is procedurally similar to buying stock. Generally, the investor wants to buy low and sell high (short selling), if not in that order although a number of reasons may induce an investor to sell at a loss. As with buying a stock, there is a transaction fee for the broker’s efforts in arranging the transfer of stock from a seller to a buyer. Importantly, on selling the stock, in jurisdictions that have them, capital gains taxes will have to be paid on the additional proceeds.

Types of Shares

There are several types of shares, including common stock, preferred stock, treasury stock, and dual class shares. Preferred stock have priority over common stock in the distribution of dividends and assets, and sometime have enhanced voting rights such as the ability to veto M&As or the right of first refusal when new shares are issued. A dual class equity structure has several classes of shares (for example Class A, Class B, and Class C) each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Treasury stock are shares that have been bought back from the public.

Hybrid securities combine characteristics of both debt and equity securities:

– preference shares

form an intermediate class of security between equities and debt. If the issuer is liquidated, they carry the right to receive interest and/or a return of capital in priority to ordinary shareholders.

– convertibles are bonds which can be converted, at the election of the bondholder, into another sort of security such as equities.

– equity warrants are contractual entitlements to purchase shares on pre-determined terms. They are often issued together with bonds or existing equities, but are detachable from them and separately tradeable.

Securities Markets

The securities markets can be divided into the primary markets and the secondary markets. Primary markets comprise new securities sold to their first holders. The issue of new securities is commonly known as an IPO (see lesson 31).

Secondary markets often consist of stock exchanges (see lesson 28). The International Securities Market Association (ISMA) is the trade association for the banks and other investment institutions that are active in the secondary markets.

In the primary markets, securities may be offered to the public in a public offer. Alternatively, they may be offered privately to a limited number of persons in a private placement. Often a combination of the two is used. The distinction between the two is important to securities regulation and company law.

Legal Nature of Securities: Bearer and Registered Securities

Bearer securities. Bearer securities are issued in the form of a paper instrument. On the face of the instrument is written the promise of the issuer to pay the bearer of the instrument. In the absence of computerisation, bearer securities constitute tangible assets. They are transferred by delivering the instrument from person to person. In some cases, transfer is by endorsement, or signing the back of the instrument, and delivery. Regulatory and fiscal authorities sometimes regard bearer securities negatively, as they may be used to facilitate the evasion of regulatory restrictions and tax.

Registered securities. In the case of registered securities, certificates bearing the name of the holder are issued, but these merely represent the securities. A person does not automatically acquire legal ownership by having possession of the certificate. The issuer maintains a register (usually maintained by an appointed registrar) in which details of the holder of the securities are entered and updated as appropriate. In recent years, registers have generally become computerised. Unlike bearer securities, registered securities comprise a bundle of intangible rights including the right of the shareholder to share in all the assets of a company, subject to all the liabilities of the company. A transfer of registered securities is effected by amending the register.

Fungible and non-fungible securities. The terms «fungible» and «non-fungible» relate to the way in which securities are held. If an asset is fungible, when such an asset is placed with a custodian, the custodian at the end of the custody arrangement may return assets equivalent to the original asset, rather than the identical asset.