Investing for Beginners , investing

A shareholder (stockholder) is a individual or company that owns some shares of stock in a corporation. Technically, every investor who is investing in shares is a shareholder for as long as he holds those shares. In corporate finance common practice is to call shareholders those persons, who are holding shares at least for several years and are active in company’s management. 

The rights of an every shareholder:

• To get a dividends or other capital payouts if they are paid out.
• To vote (in respect of the number of shares held) in shareholders meetings.
• Transfer owned shares or acquire more.
• Priority to new share issues.
• Right to surplus assets after company’s liquidation.

The obligations of a shareholder:

• Pay all the assigned taxes.
• Announce about acquired stakes over the boundaries to the authorities (according to the local laws).

Those are the main rights and obligations of the shareholders, but all the company’s specifics may be indicated in corporate charter (statute) of the each company.