A shareholder is someone who owns shares in a company.
A shareholder is a person who owns one or more shares in a company . Shareholders are also often called investors , since buying a share represents an investment (a capital outlay) in the company.
In this sense, it is important that we also clarify what a share is. Thus, we can establish that it is each of the proportional parts into which the capital of a public limited company is divided, whether it is of a commercial or industrial type.
For this reason, a shareholder is a capitalist partner who is involved in the management of the company. His responsibility and decision-making power depend on the percentage of capital he contributes to the company (the more shares, the more votes).
Types of shareholders
It is also important to establish that there are two clearly differentiated types of shareholders. Thus, firstly, we find the so-called reference shareholders , who are those who are characterized by having a significant number of shares, which is what determines and makes it clear that they intervene and influence the management of the company itself.
Secondly, there are the so-called minority shareholders . As their name suggests, these shareholders own few shares and therefore do not have the capacity to influence the direction and management of the company in question. However, it may happen that an "association" of several of these types of shareholders is created and thus they acquire a weight that allows them to act in said management.
It is worth noting that a shareholder can be either a natural person or a legal entity . This means that a group of individuals can come together to buy a stake in a company .
Buying shares is an investment.
Classes of shares
In addition to all the above, we cannot forget that there are various types of shares. Thus, among the most frequent are the deliberate shares, which are also known as bonus shares ; the privileged or preferred shares ; the non-voting shares; the golden shares ; the new shares ; and the redeemable shares .
Shares are those that are acquired by investors based on their needs or objectives and that, as a consequence of the reason for their existence, will allow them to obtain certain rights or others.
Shareholder management power
In the case of corporations, not all shareholders have management power. A corporation may have thousands of shareholders, whose interest is limited to obtaining financial compensation in exchange for their investments. These shareholders, for example, may buy shares at a dollar per share and expect the company to pay them a dividend on the amount.
Therefore, by purchasing shares in a company, a shareholder may acquire economic rights or political rights . Among the economic rights, there is the right to receive a dividend according to the participation, to receive a percentage of the value of the company in case it is liquidated and to sell the shares freely in the market .
Political or management rights are linked to votes and access to the information necessary to understand business management.