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One day my lawyer told me to pay a big attention to the legal form of the company I invest.

Generally, there are limited and unlimited liability companies. In limited one, in case of bankruptcy I can lose 100% of my investment. In unlimited one it can be much more than 100% as responsibility is not limited.

I suppose that the things mentioned above are related to the investing to private companies only. I'm wondering if somebody have ever seen unlimited liabilities at the stock exchange where investor can lose much more than the price paid for the actions?

The stock is listed on an EU country stock exchange, not a US exchange.

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    I'm not aware of any unlimited liability companies listed on American exchanges. In the US, the sole proprietorship and the true partnership are the business forms without limited liability. Neither is used for a publicly traded company. Other countries may have other rules.
    – zeta-band
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 21:11
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    From the limited amount I have read about this, I think that it applies to partners. Is that your intent or are you just investing in the company? If you lawyer informed you of this liability issue, why not ask him for clarification? Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 21:21
  • Is this in the United States? Do you qualify as a sophisticated investor? Commented Nov 21, 2018 at 1:03
  • No, it's not US, it's about EU. I cannot ask my layer because he knows the rules of my country but I asked myself this question when was about to buy some shares of the Irish company.
    – Vitalii
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 19:03
  • There are limited-partnership and master-limited-partnership companies on the stock market. The partners hold units but I don't know if the unit-holders can be liable for liabilities of the partnership. The unit-holders can be accounted a greater share of income than dividend received. The unit-holders receive K-1 tax forms.
    – S Spring
    Commented Apr 25, 2020 at 17:06

1 Answer 1

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I'm wondering if somebody have ever seen unlimited liabilities at the stock exchange where investor can lose much more than the price paid for the actions?

Most countries / exchanges don't allow trading / listing on unlimited companies. So if you are trading in shares on stock markets, using cash/delivery to buying / selling shares, there is nothing to worry.

  • Most Banks also allow private equity placement into companies. If you invest by this route; you may invest in unlimited liabilities company that if things go for worse, loose you money.
  • On stock exchanges as pointed out by Peter; if you get into derivatives and options; there is no limit to loosing in some kinds of trades.
  • These are not limited to stock markets, but can also be for commodities and Fx markets where the stakes are quite high and trading in on margin.

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