Log in Menu Home Advice, tools & guidance Investing basics How shares work How shares work What is a share? When you buy a share in a company, you’re effectively becoming a part owner of that company. As a shareholder, with an equity stake in that business, the investment return you earn depends on the success or failure of the company itself. Companies may pay dividends to shareholders or may prefer to reinvest profits for further growth. Benefits of investing in shares Part-ownership of a company Real-time dealing throughout the trading day with limit orders available when markets are closed Receive dividends either as income or re-invest to buy more shares Ability to vote on important company decisions Find a share What to consider when choosing stocks and shares It often takes careful research and consideration to confidently build your own share portfolio. Here are a few things to consider before investing in shares: Diversification - If you’re considering investing in shares, ensure you have a good mix of other investment choices and assets in place already. Do your research - Use the investment factsheets to examine balance sheet and income statements and get a view of the company financials. Keep up to date with company regulatory news service (RNS) feeds and statements. Check the facts - Any important information will be available as part of financial statements and factsheets online. Tax efficient allowances - Have you made the most of any tax-efficient allowances available to you, by opening a Stocks and Shares ISA first? If you’ve already used your ISA allowance, you can still invest in shares through our Investment Account. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. What happens when you buy a share? To answer this question, our Investment Director Tom Stevenson spoke with Alex Skrine, head of electronic trading at Winterflood Securities, one of London’s leading market makers. He explains how we use market makers like Winterflood to find the best price for your deal, and discusses the way in which you can consider the price yourself and decide whether to proceed, or leave it to Fidelity to get the best price for you. Risks of investing in shares Your investments may become too concentrated in one company, type of product or industry so be sure to stay diversified Not actively managed by an expert, so you will have to manage your portfolio yourself, and you may have to spend more time analysing your investment to understand the factors affecting it If the company under-performs or the market works against you, the value of your shares could go down, so you might get back less than you invested. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to an authorised financial adviser. Our how-to guides can help you get started The information and images used in the following guides are not advice or a personal recommendation for any particular investment. They are for illustrative purposes only. You must ensure that any share(s) you choose to invest in are suitable for your own personal circumstances. If you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Buying exchange-traded investments This guide walks you through how to buy shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds. Read the ‘How to buy’ guide Selling exchange-traded investments This guide walks you through how to sell shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds. Read the ‘How to sell’ guide Need more information? Read our share dealing FAQs Related articles Shares The shares that could survive supply shortages, inflation & covid Picking a winner is key to boosting your portfolio as the pandemic continues Emma-Lou Montgomery Fidelity International 01 December 2021 Shares Is now a good time to invest in banks? Britain’s banks stand to benefit from rising rates Toby Sims Fidelity International 30 November 2021 Global Market News Update - 29 November 2021 In this video Tom Stevenson looks to the week ahead as Omicron takes its toll… Tom Stevenson Fidelity International 29 November 2021 Read more articles Market & shares data View detailed market data including current share prices, gainers and losers, performance charts and factsheets for companies in the FTSE All-Share. Market & shares data Our award-winning service We are proud to have been awarded Best Execution-Only Stockbroker of the Year 2020 at the most recent Shares Awards. Discover Fidelity’s share dealing service Important policies Useful information Other Fidelity sites Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund. This website is issued by Financial Administration Service Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP. © FIL Limited 2021 Fidelity uses cookies to provide you with the best possible online experience. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on our site. However, you can customise the cookie settings and view our cookie policy at any time. ContinueCustomise