Are stocks the same as equities?
Equities are the same as stocks. That means as an investor, when you buy equities you are buying shares in a company — or shares in a fund, such as an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The term equity is synonymous with stock because they are both used to describe the money (also known as capital) raised by a company when it sells shares to investors. For that reason, an investor buys equity when they purchase stocks. An investor may also get “equity” when they join a company — meaning they get stock in the company and become part-owners of the business, allowing the employee to earn or lose based on the overall company performance.