In a nutshell, not all shares are stocks, but all stocks are shares. Similarly by analogy, not all fruits are apples, but all apples are fruits. To explain further, stocks represent a numerical share of ownership in a company whereas shares represent investment proportion in a wider range of financial instruments such as mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and stocks. For example, X owns 500 shares of XYX Fund, and 100 shares of EFG corporation in the form of stock. Stocks and shares are both ownership of financial instruments and the two terms are sometimes interchanged for each other, however shares have a wider range of ownership possibilities whereas stocks are definitively more limited to specific financial instruments.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL MEANINGS OF STOCKS AND SHARES:

Historically shares and stocks can also be thought to hold similar meaning as present albeit imbibed with historical economic connotations. In other words, outside any specific historically unique connotations, stocks such as those representing share ownership in Joint-stock companies held similar meaning. (www.historyworld.net)

Culturally, shares and stocks are interchangeable. For example, the United Kingdom refers to stocks as shares (www.proz.com) i.e. in the United States British shares are the equivalent of American stocks. Stock may also refer to inventory as in product stock such as grain, cattle etc. This latter meaning of stock is not connected to the financial instrument of ownership via monetary means, but rather physical ownership.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STOCKS vs SHARES

To distinguish further stocks and shares can be classified separately in terms of what they refer to, how they are used, and where they are traded. The following illustrates features of stocks and shares as separate financial instruments and serves to draw the subtle difference in meaning.

*Common stock, and preferred stock: Corporate ownership/equity with different 'rights'. For example common stock hold voting privileges whereas preferred stock have first rights of redemption in the event of company liquidation.

*Stocks are traded on stock exchanges and owned by stock funds.

*Share ownership does not necessarily imply rights of ownership other than monetary value and in the case of commodities, underlying products.

*Shares and stocks are both measured in currency and units such as dollars and numerical quantity not necessarily limited to whole numbers ex. 15.7 shares of

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