Common Stock

What this video covers

• Why common stockholders are called residual owners, and how that creates unlimited upside with downside capped at the total investment
• The exact meaning of limited liability: shareholders can lose their entire investment, but creditors cannot seize personal assets
• How statutory voting works (one vote per share per director) and why it benefits majority shareholders
• How cumulative voting works (pool all votes for one candidate) and why it benefits minority shareholders
• The four dividend dates in chronological order: declaration, ex-dividend, record, and payable
• Why the ex-dividend date and record date fall on the same day under T+1 settlement, not one business day apart
• Who sets the ex-dividend date for exchange-listed stocks (the listing exchange) versus over-the-counter stocks (FINRA)