Legal Differences And Other Facts Of Equity And Debt Investment

By Akshay Sharma January 7, 2019 Finance

When you hear the terms ‘Debt Investment,’ you may tend to think how it makes any sense and how can one possibly ‘invest’ in ‘debt.’ Given the fact that debt is something every person tries to avoid as much as possible, you will surely try to find the wisdom in making such a move. Well, to clarify al your doubts, you will need to understand the basics of debt investment and beyond the basics as well.

When it comes to making an investment, there are two primary options available to you:

Investing in equities
Investing in debt instruments.

It is a given fact that both these types of investments can deliver you good and high returns but it is your choice as to which form you would like to invest on but for this you will need to know the difference between the two types of investments.

The difference

Both debt and equity investments come with diverse historical returns and dissimilar level of risks as well. These two types of investments also have significant characteristics that differs one from the other.

The features of equity investment are as under:

Equities are those things that you own such as real estate and stock.
These specific investments are ideally securities that usually come with a “claim” on its earnings as well as the assets of the business organization.
There are many forms of equity investment but common stock that you may found usually traded on the New York or any other stock exchangesis the most favored and popular form of equity investment.
Investing on equity instruments you can make a fortune or even lose everything but ideally these instruments carry a higher level of risks as compared to debt instruments. This is due to the volatile nature of any stock market that is associated with rapid and unexpected changes in the values of shares.
The changes in share values are not usually dependent on the solidity of the organization that backs them but is entirely dependent on the political, social or economic and governmental issues in the country in which the business or corporation is located.

Therefore, all equity investments made are ideally done with intent to earn a potentially higher reward in return even after knowing the fact that for this the investor has to take on a higher risk of risk of losing it all.

On the other hand, the features of debt instruments can be enumerated as follows:

Debt instruments such as mortgages and bonds are those that represent a loan given to others with intent to get a return of the principal amount lent along with a specific rate of interest.
Debt investments typically specify a fixed payment to the investor.
Debt instruments can be of other different kinds and types as well such as a bank certificate for any deposit or even a municipal bond.
In a few instances debt instruments may also produce a capital profit or loss.
These are less risky investments than equity promising a consistent return but usually the offer is always lower than equity instruments.
Being less volatile in comparison with the common stocks, these instruments come with fewer highs and lows than the traditional stock market.
Historically, the bond and mortgage market experiences rarer price changes than stocks which may be for better or worse.
If you are a bondholder, you will have the guarantee of the corporation to be paid first in situations where the business needs to be liquidated.
On the other hand, if you have made a mortgage investment you will get a specific interest rate just like other debt instruments but your investment will be supported by real estate collateral.

Looking at the differences of these two types of investments in a legal perspective, debt instruments in whatsoever forms made are actually borrowings of a corporate. However, these borrowings are made from a variety of investors instead of procuring it straightaway from a bank in the form of a traditional commercial loan. It is for this reason that all of these debt instrumentscome with a specified interest rate just like a bank loan would carry.

Coming with less risk and a guaranteed return debt investments have nothing to worry about and you do not need to read and contemplate on the debt consolidation reviews to get out of it.It is for the business organizations to decide how they will pay you even in case in needs to be liquidated.
On the other hand, all equity investments will offer you an ownership status in the specific company because owning stock will automatically make any investor the owner of the business organization. However, the percentage of your ownership will entirely depend on the volumes you invest and the number of shares you ownas compared to the total number of shares that are available in the market and issued by the corporation.

Goals and risks

There is no scope of ignoring two facts while making an investment in any forms. One of these is that all investments are made with a specific goal and the other is that every investment made carries some amount of risk which may be higher for some and lower for a few others.

Therefore, you should choose to make an investment primarily depending on your investment goals. You must know the above differences, pros and cons as these factors will strongly influence your investment decisions and preferences.

Most of the investors ideally rely on debt instruments however as these carry much less risk than equity investments and promises a consistent but low level income. But is you are an adventurous type of a person and do not mind taking on risks at higher levels, then investing targets for you should ideally be and favor equity instruments. It will ensure both growth and profit potential.

Therefore, tailor your investment activitiesso that it matches your risk tolerance and investment objectives. It is best to take help of expert debt advisors if you want to be sure to get returns as expected.

Author Bio

Marina Thomas is a marketing and communication expert. She also serves as a content developer with many years of experience. She helps clients in long-term wealth plans. She has previously covered an extensive range of topics in her posts, including business debt consolidation and start-ups.