What are shares exactly? We asked people on the street.
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What is...? A share?
«Shares have got something to do with the stock exchange.» «They can be bought and sold.» «Buying shares makes you co-owner of a company.» People in Switzerland appear to have a good grounding in the basics of shares. Find out here exactly what a share is:
Companies issue shares to raise equity. Anyone who holds shares in a company actually co-owns it. The investor also has certain rights, such as being able to vote at the General Meeting (GM) and receiving a share in the annual profit (dividend). Shares are securities and are traded on the stock exchange. Their price performance depends on lots of factors, including the economic climate, developments in the sector and the company’s (anticipated) success. Shares are classified as either bearer shares or registered shares.
You can find out more about shares in the article «What is a share?».