An Ownership Stake When investing in a bond, there is a certain amount of faith that can be placed in the capital markets system in general and the bond certificate buried deep in our grandparents safe deposit box at the local bank. The large black and white words on the certificate describe all the good things that will come to the bondholder and when they can expect their just rewards. The so-called “Murphy’s Law” comes to mind when thumbing through the underlying prospectus where it describes everything that can go wrong in preventing the bondholder from realizing the expected cash flows. Investing in stocks is similar in nature to investing in the bonds of a nation, state, city, or corporation. Capital is pledged to help the entity survive and thrive for a period of time with an expectation that there will be a fair return for the risk taken by the stockholder. That is where the comparison takes a fork in the road, however, because a stock certificate represents an ownership stake