If you look at a typical investment portfolio, more than likely there will be stocks (also referred to as equities) included. Stocks remain the staple for investors for one simple reason: they historically have worked. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stocks have performed better in the long run than most other types of investments—including bonds.1
Stock basics
A stock is a type of security that represents a share (piece) of ownership in a company. Stocks are also known as equities. A company generally issues stock in order to raise capital (money) for running and building up the business or paying off debt.
A company can offer a stock privately or publicly.
- Private stock - A private stock offering is when a company sells its stock to private investors. Private investors may be employees and other private investors.
- Public stock – A public stock offering is when a company decides to sell its stock on a publicly traded platform or exchange, like the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). When a company decides to offer its stock to the public for the first time, it’s called an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO of a stock takes place after a full valuation by underwriters of the company’s current and potential worth, which allows an initial price to be assigned to the shares.
What are the most common types of stocks?
The two types of stocks you’ll most likely hear about are common and preferred.
- Common stock – Common stock is the most basic ownership in a company through a security (the monetary vehicle of a stock). A common stock allows the shareholder (stock owner) to vote for board of directors as well as company policies.
- Preferred stock – Preferred stock is the ownership in a company through a security that has a set dividend (a portion of the company profit) that is paid out before dividends to common shareholders.
Preferred stocks usually don’t have voting rights and are less likely to experience capital appreciation. Common stock values will go up or down based on performance and other factors related to the company. If a company goes bankrupt, preferred stock shareholders are paid back after the creditors, but before common stock owners. This means that common stock holders are less likely to receive payout of any assets in a bankruptcy situation.
Some companies pay dividends to common stock shareholders as a way to share the profit. The dividends from these stocks are often paid on a regular schedule, giving shareholders a source of income. However, a company can discontinue dividends at any time.
What are ways to classify stocks?
There are a couple of ways you can classify stocks. Stocks are often classified as either growth stocks or value stocks.
- Growth stocks – Growth stocks are for companies whose revenues and earnings are expected to increase at a faster rate than the average company within the same industry. This means investors buy shares with the hope that the company’s share price increases over time. Since the broader stock market has historically trended upwards over the long haul (with some downturns along the way), price appreciation-based stocks are a popular way to approach investing. Of course, the past performance of a stock is no guarantee of its future performance.
- Value stocks – Value stocks are stocks of a company with solid fundamentals that are considered undervalued or discounted compared to industry peers, usually due to events such as a downturn in quarterly earnings or an industry-wide dip in sales. Value stocks tend to be more mature companies and grow in value more slowly than growth stocks. Value stocks are also more likely to pay dividends to shareholders.
As a whole, stocks may be strong investments, but this isn’t to say all stocks perform well. When you purchase a stock, you’re buying shares of a company. As a shareholder, you own part of the company and have the right to a portion of the company’s profit. But not all companies make a profit or even stay in business. On the other hand, some companies go on to great success.
Investing in individual stocks vs. stock mutual funds
As an investor just starting out, if you opt to purchase and manage stocks on your own, you could be facing several challenges. Individual shares of stock can be expensive and purchasing a group of stocks to achieve good diversification often requires a large financial investment. Without the benefits of diversification (which can help reduce market risk but doesn't eliminate it), your portfolio of a few stocks may be more volatile than you are comfortable with. However, individual stocks do offer a great degree of flexibility when it comes to which companies and industries you want to invest in.
With stock (or equity) mutual funds, depending on the fund’s objective, you’re given access to the stocks of a wide variety of different companies—foreign and domestic, large and small, from multiple industries. With a stock mutual fund, your investment is diversified and managed by skilled professionals to help you be better prepared for the inevitable periods of market uncertainty.
Stock fund types
Stocks are a key component of many mutual funds, but there are also funds that specialize exclusively in stocks. Here are the most common types of stock-based mutual funds. The market capitalizations listed are classifications of general industry terms and may change based on market movement.
- Large-cap funds: Large-cap funds hold stock from companies that typically have a market value of $15 billion and up.
- Mid-cap funds: Mid-cap funds hold stock from companies that typically have a market value of between $5 and $15 billion.
- Small-cap funds: Small-cap funds hold stock with companies that typically have a market value of between $1 and $5 billion.
- Growth funds: Growth funds are made up of stocks with a high potential for price appreciation, but may not pay regular dividends.
- Value funds:Value funds are made up of stocks that are generally understood to be undervalued compared to industry peers and they may be more likely to pay dividends.
- Income funds: Income funds (also known as dividend-paying funds) contain stocks that pay regular dividends but are not expected to have large share price appreciation. These funds may also contain bonds.
- Sector funds: Sector funds are concentrated on companies in a specific segment of the stock market, such as technology, natural resources, utilities, etc.
- International (foreign) funds: International funds invest in assets outside of the country you live in.
- Emerging market funds: Emerging market funds generally invest in financial markets in developing countries, either singular or grouped.
How you choose to invest ultimately comes down to your financial goals and the level of risk you’re willing to take on in exchange for potential return.
What Thrivent Mutual Funds offers
Stock (or equity) mutual funds with Thrivent Mutual Funds are designed to give you access to a wide variety of carefully selected companies in a simple, yet flexible way, you can feel confident in the choices you’re making. When you choose to invest with Thrivent Mutual Funds, you’ll benefit from the expertise of our investment professionals and the convenience and choices we provide to make investing easier.
See all of the mutual funds offered by Thrivent Mutual Funds.