Stock is a certificate issued by a joint-stock company to prove the shares held by shareholders, and it is the form of company shares. Investors become the owners of the issuing company by buying shares, get operating income according to their shareholding shares and participate in major decision-making voting.
Bonds refer to securities issued in accordance with legal procedures and agreed to repay the principal and interest within a certain period of time. Its characteristics are fixed income and less risk.
Compared with stocks and bonds, securities investment funds have the following differences:
(1) Investors have different status. Shareholders are shareholders of the company and have the right to express their opinions on major decisions of the company; The bondholder is the creditor of the bond issuer and has the right to recover the due principal and interest; The fund unit holder is the beneficiary of the fund, which reflects the trust relationship.
(2) The degree of risk is different. Generally speaking, the risk of stocks is greater than that of funds. For small and medium-sized investors, due to the limitation of the total amount of disposable assets, they can only directly invest in a few stocks, which violates the investment taboo of "putting all the eggs in one basket". When the stock they invest in falls due to the stock market or the financial situation of the enterprise deteriorates, their capital may be wiped out; The basic principle of the fund is portfolio investment, risk diversification, and investment in securities with different maturities and types in different proportions to minimize risks. Under normal circumstances, the principal of the bond is guaranteed, the income is relatively fixed, and the risk is smaller than that of the fund.
(3) The income situation is different. The returns of funds and stocks are uncertain, while the returns of bonds are certain. In general, the fund's income is higher than that of bonds. Taking American investment funds as an example, the income growth rate of 25 kinds of funds, such as international investor funds, is 301976 ~1981.6% on average, among which the growth investor funds in the 20th century have the highest rate of 465% and the lowest rate of 243%. However, the interest rates of two kinds of five-year government bonds issued in China 1996 are only 13.06% and 8.8% respectively.
(4) Different investment methods. Unlike investors in stocks and bonds, securities investment funds are an indirect way of securities investment. Fund investors no longer directly participate in securities trading and bear investment risks, but experts are specifically responsible for the determination of investment direction and the choice of investment objects.
(5) Different price orientations. In the case of consistent macro-political and economic environment, the price of the fund is mainly determined by the net asset value; The main factor affecting bond prices is interest rate; The stock price is greatly influenced by the relationship between supply and demand.
(6) Different ways of investment recovery. Bond investment has a certain term, and the principal will be recovered after the maturity; Stock investment is uncertain. Unless the company goes bankrupt and liquidates, investors shall not recover their investment from the company. If they want to take it back, they can only realize it at the market price in the stock exchange market. Investment funds vary according to the form of funds held: closed-end funds have a certain term, after which investors can share the corresponding remaining assets according to their shares. It can also be realized in the closed-end trading market; Open-end funds generally have no term, but investors can ask the fund manager for redemption at any time.
Although several investment tools have the above differences. But there are also many connections between them:
Funds, stocks and bonds are all securities, and investments in them are all securities investments. The division of fund shares is similar to that of stocks: stocks are divided into "shares" and their total assets are calculated; Fund assets are divided into several "fund units", and investors share the value-added income of the fund according to the share of holding fund units. Contractual closed-end funds are similar to bonds, and the investment will be recovered once the contract expires. In addition, stocks and bonds are the investment targets of securities investment funds, and there are stock funds and bond funds specializing in stocks and bonds abroad.
Distinguish bonds from stocks, bonds from funds.
For our families or individuals, several common investment tools are bonds, stocks and funds. If you don't know their edges and corners, sometimes it is really difficult to distinguish who is superior and who is inferior, and it is also difficult to find the north when investing. After reading the comparison between bonds and stocks, bonds and funds, we can easily see that bonds are the most suitable investment tools, which are both safe and have considerable returns.
One: the difference between bonds and stocks
Companies, governments and financial institutions that issue bonds and stocks borrow additional funds; Raise funds as the company's own funds for business development; Investors have the right to receive interest and recover the principal at maturity, and have no right to participate in the operation and management of the company; Have the right to pay dividends according to shares, get back the principal only by transferring shares, and have the right to participate in the company's business decisions (except preferred shares); Issuers can be countries, financial institutions, local public organizations, enterprises, etc. The only way to recover the principal is that the joint-stock company claims the principal from the issuer when the repayment is due, or transfers it through circulation; Generally, shares cannot be withdrawn, but can only be transferred through market transactions; Risk and income enterprises bear unlimited liability for bonds, and income has nothing to do with the quality of enterprise operation. The risk is small, the income is relatively fixed, and few companies bear limited liability for stocks. Dividends are linked to the quality of enterprise management, which is risky and the expected return is relatively high. The degree of repayment is a kind of creditor's rights certificate, and the repayment is irrefutable. Even if the company goes bankrupt, it can't lose a penny, and the right to demand repayment is superior to that of stocks. It is a certificate of ownership. When the company goes bankrupt, stock investors only have the final right to demand repayment or residual liquidation. Tax burden is generally tax-free; Income tax should be levied;
Distinguish between bonds and funds
Two: the difference between bonds and funds
Bond fund issuers, whether national, local public institutions or enterprises, can issue bonds. The issuer of a fund can only be a fund manager company; The purpose of issuing bonds is to borrow additional funds for companies, governments and financial institutions; Funds issue stocks or beneficiary certificates in order to concentrate and disperse funds for portfolio investment in order to obtain the maximum income; The operation authority of the subject The bond issuer has the operation right to the raised funds; The fund manager company can only hand over the fund property to another trust and investment institution for holding, custody and operation, and the fund manager company only has the right to supervise the use of the fund property; The way to recover the principal is that the bond can be circulated and transferred, or the principal can be recovered from the issuer at maturity; Open-end investment funds can recover their principal at any time through circulation and transfer; Closed-end investment funds can only share the remaining property of the fund after the expiration of the fund operation period; The debt service of risk-return bonds is protected by law, with high security and less income than funds; Because the fund can achieve the best combination of income and risk in the operation process, the income is considerable, but the risk is also relatively large.