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Sometimes you have to explain this to young people or people unfamiliar with the stock market.

  • Why would a company want to be a stock company?
  • Why would a person want to trade stocks?
  • How does a stock market help society?
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Is this your homework? – littleadv Mar 2 at 18:54
No it is not my homework, but reading though the questions on this site, I think it is missing the basic hard questions. That people often ask me. – Isomorph Mar 2 at 19:03

2 Answers

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The stock market is just like any other market, but stocks are bought and sold here. Just like you buy and sell your electronics at the electronics market, this is a place where buyers and sellers come together to buy and sell shares or stocks or equity, no matter what you call it.

What are these shares? A share is nothing but a portion of ownership of a company. Suppose a company has 100 shares issued to it, and you were sold 10 out of those, it literally means you are a 10% owner of the company.

Why do companies sell shares? Companies sell shares to grow or expand. Suppose a business is manufacturing or producing and selling goods or services that are high in demand, the owners would want to take advantage of it and increase the production of his goods or services. And in order to increase production he would need money to buy land or equipment or labor, etc. Now either he could go get a loan by pledging something, or he could partner with someone who could give him money in exchange for some portion of the ownership of the company. This way, the owner gets the money to expand his business and make more profit, and the lender gets a portion of profit every time the company makes some. Now if the owner decides to sell shares rather than getting a loan, that's when the stock market comes into the picture.

Why would a person want to trade stocks? First of all, please remember that stocks were never meant to be traded. You always invest in stocks. What's the difference? Trading is short term and investing is long term, in very simple language. It's the greed of humans which led to this concept of trading stocks. A person should only buy stocks if he believes in the business the company is doing and sees the potential of growth.

Back to the question: a person would want to buy stocks of the company because:

  • He believes that the company's products are amazing
  • He believes the company has potential for growth
  • He wants to own a company like this one
  • With the growth of the company his personal investment will grow, therefore for financial returns.
  • For tax advantages
  • To beat inflation

How does a stock market help society? Look around you for the answer to this question. Let me give you a start and I wish everyone reading this post to add at least one point to the answer.

  • Employment: Companies raise money through stock markets to expand and grow. Expanding businesses need more manpower to support the business, hence create employment for you, your family and friends.
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what is your definition of short term and long term? Also, what is your definition of trading vs investing? – Victor Mar 5 at 0:11
Long term according to me is to invest and forget it for the next 10 or 20 years. Short term is what 99% stock traders do today. Buy today sell in a few days, buy - sell - buy - sell. Investing and Trading are two similar terms but with a huge difference in practice. Legends always said, "You invest in stocks and you always trade gold, crude or other commodities." Investing means to give your money a reasonable time to grow in significant size. (As are MF's and FD's, so should be with stocks). Trading means to get rid of your inventory as soon as possible even if making little profit. – Bhavin Mar 5 at 6:51
Then again buy new and again get rid of it making little profit. This is more of a practice of traders who own a trading company in metals, crude, gold, rice, wheat and many other commodities. Remember commodities by nature are meant to be traded but not stocks. – Bhavin Mar 5 at 7:00
"invest and forget it for the next 10 or 20 years". What about if you invested in Enron or other companies that went belly up during the GFC? You would have lost all your capital and have no time for your money to grow. Having such a definition for trading and investing is small minded, as there are many different time frames one can trade and/or invest in. The key is to find a time frame that suits you and your appetite for risk and to have a trading/investment plan (including risk management) to cater for it. The problem is most people buy shares but don't have a plan for them. – Victor Mar 6 at 1:09
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I rather like The Ascent of Money, by Niall Ferguson. This comes in several formats. There's a video version, a written version (ISBN-13: 978-1594201929), and an audio version.

This book covers the history of financial instruments. It covers the rise of money, the history of bonds and stocks, insurance and hedge funds, real-estate, and the spread of finance across the world. It is a great introduction to finance, though its focus is very definitely on the history. It does not cover more advanced topics, and will not leave you with any sort of financial plan, but it's a great way to get a broad overview and historical understanding of money and markets. I strongly recommend both the video and the written or audio version.

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