Comparative assessments and other editorial opinions are those of U.S. News Carefully calculate the difference between the price of the Class A and Class B shares of a fund you are considering. They can address issues such as voting authority, dividends and rights to the company’s assets and capital. Companies typically issue these to ensure that the directors and owners retain control of the company even after putting its stock on the public market. Owned by founders and important insiders, Class B shareholders get 10 votes per share. EPS can be a determining factor when choosing stocks. Class C, Executive Stock – Each share confers 100 votes. Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Andrii Yalanskyi, ©iStock.com/designer491, ©iStock.com/Bluberries, Bank of America® Travel Rewards Visa® Credit Card Review, Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card Review, 7 Mistakes Everyone Makes When Hiring a Financial Advisor, 20 Questions to Tell If You're Ready to Retire, The Worst Way to Withdraw From Your Retirement Accounts. Research should be the first step before buying a stock. These fees include a higher 12-b-1 fee as well as higher annual management fees. These returns cover a period from 1986-2011 and were examined and attested by Baker Tilly, an independent accounting firm. Some mutual funds offer class C shares with an up-front fee, whereas others offer no-load Class C shares. and have not been previously reviewed, approved or endorsed by any other Learn to Be a Better Investor. NASDAQ data is at least 15 minutes delayed. Some shares, which are also called stocks or equities, give owners greater benefits or voting rights than owners of other classes of stock. So long as the definitions do not violate a shareholder’s legal rights, the company can set these terms as it pleases. Class C stock, in our example, may never have hit the market. To understand this further, it helps to understand the nature of stocks. And Snap (SNAP) famously skewed public debut saw the company take the unprecedented step in 2017 of going public by issuing millions of shares with no voting rights at all. On the other hand, investors looking for capital appreciation should carefully consider common or ordinary stock. The short answer is a stock split, but a longer answer is an attempt by the co-founders of Google, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page, along with company … It can give Class B shares three votes each, or it can say that Class A stock receives half the dividend access of Class B. If the company can take advantage of public markets without actually giving up any meaningful control of the company, why wouldn’t existing shareholders want to take advantage of that? Investors who purchase large numbers of shares, or who already have shares in other funds offered by the same mutual fund company, may be able to receive discounts on the load.