Stock (Share)
A share of ownership in a company that entitles the holder to a portion of its profits and assets.
When you buy a stock (also called a share or equity), you own a small piece of a publicly traded company. Stocks can generate returns two ways: price appreciation, when the share becomes more valuable, and dividends, a share of profits paid to owners. Over the long term they are among the highest-returning asset classes, but in the short term also among the most volatile. Most investors gain exposure to stocks through diversified ETFs or index funds rather than picking individual companies. Assetli tracks your individual stocks and ETFs with live prices, so you always see your portfolio's real value.
Example
You buy 10 shares of a company at $150 each ($1,500 total). A year later the price is $180 and you received $30 in dividends, so your holding is worth $1,800 plus $30 of income.
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Related terms
ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund)
A fund that holds a basket of assets (stocks, bonds, or commodities) and trades on a stock exchange like an individual stock.
Dividend Yield
The annual dividend payment of a stock or fund expressed as a percentage of its current price.
Diversification
The practice of spreading investments across different assets, sectors, and geographies to reduce the impact of any single investment's poor performance.
Volatility
The degree to which an asset's price fluctuates over time; higher volatility means larger, less predictable swings.
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Bond
A loan you make to a government or company that pays regular interest and returns the principal at maturity.
Bull & Bear Market
A bull market is a sustained period of rising prices; a bear market is a prolonged decline, usually 20% or more from recent highs.
Capital Gains (and Tax)
The profit from selling an asset for more than you paid; it is often subject to capital gains tax.
P/E Ratio
Price-to-earnings ratio, a stock's price divided by its earnings per share, used to gauge how expensive it is.
Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)
An investment strategy of regularly investing a fixed amount regardless of market price, reducing the impact of volatility over time.
Compound Interest
Interest earned on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods, creating exponential growth over time.