Shares and Bonds

When we purchase a share of stock, we are in fact getting ownership in the company in which we are investing. As a result, we share in both the profits and losses of the company the whole time the years. We’d probably want to pay attention to news that affects both the market and the economy in general. A bond does not embody ownership in a corporation where as stock entitles you. The company may sell bonds as an alternative to issuing stock. Rather than owning a piece of the company, the bondholder becomes a creditor the company. The company will be paying back over the life of the bond. The difference is that the return you will earn on your money as a bondholder is generally a fixed percentage annually. If the bond is for 5 years, you will get interest each year for the next 5 years, and then our investment returned to you at termination date. In the short term, we lose money in the stock market than the bond market.