Saturday 17 December 2016

Uses of Common Stocks: as storehouse of value, to accumulate capital and as a source of income

Basically, common stocks can be used as:

1.  a "storehouse" of value,
2.  a way to accumulate capital, and,
3.  a source of income.


Storage of value

Storage of value is important to all investors, as nobody like to lose money.

However, some investors are more concerned about losses than are others.

They rank safety of principal as their most important stock selection criterion.

These investors are more quality-conscious and tend to gravitate toward blue chips and other non-speculative shares.


Accumulation of capital

Accumulation of capital, in contrast, is generally an important goal to those with long-term investment horizons.

These investors use the capital gains and/or dividends that stocks provide to build up their wealth.

Some use growth stocks for this purpose, while others do it with income shares, and still others us a little of both.


Source of income

Finally, some investors use stocks as a source of income.

To them, a dependable flow of dividends is essential.

High-yielding, good-quality income shares are usually their preferred investment vehicle.




Individual investors can use various investment strategies to reach their investment goals.

These include:

  1. buy and hold,
  2. current income,
  3. quality long term growth,
  4. aggressive stock management, and 
  5. speculation and short term trading.



The first 3 strategies appeal to investors who consider storage of value important.

Depending on the temperament of the investor and the time he or she has to devote to an investment program, any of these strategies might be used to accumulate capital.

In contrast, the current income strategy is the logical choice for those using stocks as a source of income.

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