Bonds and equities

Bonds
Bonds are debt instruments. They are a contract between a borrower and a lender in which the borrower commits to make payments of principal and interest to the lender, on specific dates. In return, the lender provides a loan to the borrower. The borrower is the issuer of the bond, and the lender is the bondholder. The interest payments are also known as coupons.The main components of a bond are:- Maturity – this is the date when the bond must be repaid
- Principal or face value – this is the amount that will be repaid at maturity (for instance, $1,000)
- Coupon – this is the interest rate paid by the issuer of the bond, applied to the face value.
Equities
Ordinary shares, or common stock, represent a share of ownership in a corporation. Shareholders are regarded as the owners of the corporation and usually have the right to vote. They are entitled to the residual profits of the company after all other claims are satisfied. Shareholders are also entitled to receive dividends, although companies are usually under no obligation to pay dividends to ordinary shares.Preferred stock, or preference shares, confer to their holders the right to receive a claim on the firm’s earnings, before dividends on ordinary shares can be paid. Preferred stock is also a senior claim on the firm’s assets in the event of a liquidation of the company. They are therefore a less risky form of investment than common stock.What do you get if you hold a stock for a period of time? If the stock price goes up over the period you make a capital gain. If the stock price goes down you make a capital loss. And you receive a dividend payment if one is made. If we express these relative to the initial value of the stock, this is known as the total holding period return: \[HPR= \frac {Div+(P_1-P_0)}{P_0}\]where \(Div\) are the dividends paid on the stock, \(P_0\) is the value of the stock at the start of the period, and \(P_1\) is the value of the stock at the end of the period. The difference \((P_1-P_0)\) is the capital gain on the stock; if it is negative, it is the capital loss.Our purpose is to transform access to education.
We offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. These are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop, so you can fit learning around your life.
We believe learning should be an enjoyable, social experience, so our courses offer the opportunity to discuss what you’re learning with others as you go, helping you make fresh discoveries and form new ideas.
You can unlock new opportunities with unlimited access to hundreds of online short courses for a year by subscribing to our Unlimited package. Build your knowledge with top universities and organisations.
Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education