Which term describes ownership in a company that may provide dividends and voting rights?

• A. Stock
• B. Bond
• C. Mutual Fund
• D. ETF

Answer: (A)

Owning stock means you hold equity in a company, which can provide dividends and often includes voting rights on corporate matters like electing directors. This combination—ownership, potential cash returns, and the ability to influence company decisions—is what makes stock the correct term. Bonds are debt instruments, so they pay interest but don’t confer ownership or voting rights. Mutual funds and ETFs are pools of assets; when you buy them you own shares of the fund, not direct shares of the individual companies inside the fund, so you don’t get the same direct voting rights in those underlying companies.