Equity Securities

Characteristics

Benjamin F. Edwards offers a wide range of equity securities, commonly called “stocks”, which give stockholders a share of ownership in a company. Before deciding to buy or sell an equity security, it is important for you to evaluate the risks associated with the company. As part of this evaluation, you will want to carefully review the company’s relevant disclosure documents, such as its initial registration statement and prospectus in the case of an initial public offering, or its most recent audited financial statement in the case of a secondary market transaction. Stocks in public companies are registered with the SEC and in most cases, these companies are required to file reports with the SEC quarterly and annually. You may access these disclosure documents on the SEC’s EDGAR website.

Fees and Costs

Buying and selling stocks entails a cost. You will pay a commission every time you buy or sell an equity security. You will pay this commission in addition to the price you pay for the equity security you choose to buy or sell. This commission varies based on the size of each trade but is charged on a per trade basis. Your rate of commission payment will decrease as the overall amount invested increases.

• For example, if you purchase 100 shares in a public company with a share price of $40 per share (an investment of $4,000), you will typically pay a $120 commission. If you purchase 200 shares of a $40 per share stock or 100 shares of an $80 per share stock (an investment of $8,000), you will typically pay a $208 commission.

More Information

Information about the commission fees you will pay BFE for equity securities transactions is available on our Equity and Option Commission Schedule.

More information about equity securities is also available on FINRA’s Stocks Resource Page for investors.