Equity Capital

Common Equity

Securities representing equity ownership in a corporation, providing voting rights, and entitling the holder to a share of the company's success through dividends and/or capital appreciation. In the event of liquidation, common stockholders have rights to a company's assets only after bondholders, other debt holders, and preferred stockholders have been satisfied. Typically, common stockholders receive one vote per share to elect the company’s board of directors (although the number of votes is not always directly proportional to the number of shares owned).

Preferred Equity

Capital stock which provides a specific dividend that is paid before any dividends are paid to common stock holders; and, which takes precedence over common stock in the event of a liquidation. Like common stock, preferred stocks represent partial ownership in a company, although preferred stock shareholders do not enjoy any of the voting rights of common stockholders. Also unlike common stock, a preferred stock pays a fixed dividend that does not fluctuate although the company does not have to pay this dividend if it lacks the financial ability to do so. The main benefit to owning preferred stock is that the investor has a greater claim on the company’s assets than common stockholders. Preferred shareholders always receive their dividends first and, in the event the company goes bankrupt, preferred shareholders are paid off before common stockholders.

Convertible Preferred Equity

Preferred stock that includes an option for the holder to convert the preferred shares into a fixed number of common shares, usually anytime after a predetermined date.

Redeemable Preferred Equity

Redeemable preferred stock, also known as exploding preferred, at the holder's option after (typically) five years, which in turn gives the holders (potentially converting to creditors) leverage to induce the company to arrange a liquidity event. The threat of creditor status can move the founders off the dime if a liquidity event is not occurring with sufficient rapidity.

Options and Warrants

A warrant, like an option, gives the holder the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying security at a certain price, quantity and future time. However, unlike an option, an instrument of the stock exchange, a warrant is issued by a company. The security represented in the warrant (usually share equity) is delivered by the issuing company instead of an investor holding the shares.

Companies will often include warrants as part of a new-issue offering to entice investors into buying the new security. A warrant can also increase a shareholder's confidence in a stock if the underlying value of the security actually does increase overtime.