What are shares, how can you buy them, and can anyone buy them?

Question

What are shares, how can you buy them, and can anyone buy them?

Answer 1

Shares are exactly what they say, a share in a company. When a company floats on the stock exchange it issues "shares in the company". Thus, it might issue 10,000,000 shares with a nominal value of £1 each. Each share is one ten millionth of the company, known as equity. However, the £1 nominal value is exactly that and the actual value is set by demand at the stock exchange for that company's shares. So, though nominally £1 each, they might trade on a given day at a mid price of £4.20 and multiplied by 10,000,000 would give you the value of the company as £42,000,000 - the price of a share multiplied by the number of shares. (This would be quite a small company by stock market standards!)

In the UK, anyone over 18 can buy or sell shares. Large investors will buy and sell shares in individual companies but many private investors choose to buy unit trusts or investment trusts. The former does not make you a share owner but gives you an investment linked to the values of many shares. An investment trust does issue shares that the investor owns directly. However, unlike a company like Tesco that owns supermarkets, an investment trust owns shares in other companies like Tesco and BP and Vodaphone, etc.

If you're under 18 a parent can buy shares for you and any adult can give you shares in trust for when you're 18.

Answer 2

You can buy shares if you're over 18. You can buy them yourself online or speak to a broker (over the phone).

The Share Centre produces some really good free guides:

http://www.share.com/webp/guides.htm

Answer 3

Equity Shares, also known as Stock, are like slices of pie in terms of ownership of a company. A person starts a company and owns the whole thing, then they go public with thier company on the stock market and in doing so sell off a portion of their company. They can sell as much or as little as they want. Then investers who think the company will do well buy up these slices of the company.

Companies do this because an influx of cash can provide them the means to grow, and increase the amount of money they earn, investers do this because the company growing makes their stock more valuable and the investors can earn more money then they originally invested.

Anyone at all can buy, sell, or trade stocks as they like.

Answer 4

Shares as the word suggests are a share in a company (you own part of the company and share in its profits, if any)

If the company is listed (or even if it is not) you buy shares on a stock exchange. You have to be through a broker or market participant. If small amounts try your bank  or online.

Answer 5

Shares of stock signify ownership in a corporation.  Anyone is allowed to buy or sell shares that are listed on the stock exchanges.  For some companies, you can buy shares directly through their dividend reinvestment programs.  However, for most companies, you will need to go through a broker.  To do this, you will need to open a brokerage account.  I currently use Firstrade ( http://www.firstrade.com) and I am very happy with them.

Answer 6

dinosaur

Answer 7

Shares of stock represent part-ownership of a company. In the U.S., one has to be at least 18 years of age to buy shares of stock in a noncustodial account.

Answer 8

Most large companies are run on `borrowed` money......thousands of people buy `shares` in the company, so they actually own a part of it.

If the company prospers, these `shareholders` get dividends sometimes, and as well as that the price of the shares can rise or fall.

So your share investments will either make a profit or a loss.

You can buy them online via a London stockbroker who charges a small fee for handling the transaction (around £12 a deal).

Type   `london stockbrokers` into google and you will find plenty.

Anyone can buy them, but I would think there is an age limit.

Tip: never gamble with money that you can not afford to lose!

Answer 9

Shares are shared ownership of a company, you can buy them from a bank.