However, they cannot vote on most issues, and the dividend they are paid is a fixed amount. The major benefit from investing in stocks the potential gain from ultimately selling your shares for more than their purchase price. Investors also benefit by taking advantage of the growth of a company, profiting from overall economic growth of the economy, and sharing in a company's profits by receiving dividends. But remember that what does go up, can also come crashing down that is the inherent risk in stock investments. Corporations, governments or municipalities may issue bonds to raise money.
Corporate bonds have the full backing of the company that issues the bond.
Government bonds are backed by the government agency that issues them. Government bonds typically tend to pay lower interest rates than corporate bonds, because they're usually considered safer. The attractiveness of bonds is that they provide a regular source of income. The interest rates are usually higher than those of short-term investments. The income provided can help give an investment portfolio some stability, to balance the ups and downs of stock investments.