How to become a shareholder in 15 minutes and live on dividends

Content

• Shareholder: who is he?
• Classification
• Rights vested in a shareholder
• How can shareholder rights be violated?
• How rights are protected
• Mechanism for shareholder participation in company management
• Issues to be discussed
• Procedure for holding a meeting
• What is the minutes of a shareholders meeting?
• Shareholder income
• What do investors and shareholders have in common?
• Some useful tips for those who want to become a shareholder
• Conclusion

There are a large number of different terms and concepts in the economic sphere. These include the concept of “shareholder”. Who he can be, what his rights and functions are, we will discuss now.

Shareholder: who is he?

In simple terms, a shareholder is an individual or legal entity who owns shares and receives dividends from the activities of an organization or joint stock company.

Classification

Shareholders are most often classified by the size of the shareholding they own.

So, shareholders are of the following types:

• The only ones . All shares are held by one person;
• Majoritarian . A large block of shares allows a person to be a participant in the activities of the company;
• Minority . The person owns a stake of about 1%;
• Retail . The block of shares owned by a person allows him to have a minimum set of rights: he can be a participant in the meeting of shareholders and a recipient of profits.

Each shareholder has not only rights, but also a number of responsibilities. All of them are fixed in the documentation. If a shareholder's rights are violated in any way, he has the right to protect them.

If the owner has 1% of the company's shares, he is already a shareholder.

Other grounds for classification

Shareholders, by virtue of their status, are endowed with a considerable number of opportunities, which are classified according to a large number of characteristics.

At the same time, in addition to those listed, several more characteristic legal possibilities of participants can be identified.

Based on regulatory documents on the use of securities, a member of an enterprise has the right to:

• attending meetings and participating in governance;
• receiving dividends from income;
• receipt of property volumes during liquidation, including by the issuer.

According to the law, the following positions exist in the legal field for participants:

• specification of existing fundamental rights and their application according to the type of shares, the legal form of the enterprise itself;
• the ability to obtain data regarding the company’s activity.

Depending on the situation, the Charter affects the rights of members that are not necessarily prescribed by the legislator.

Taking into account the type of regulatory document

The difference depends on which regulatory document enshrines the rights of shareholders, and has the following classification:

• enshrined in the Federal Law “On the Securities Market” dated April 22, 1996 No. 39-FZ;
• enshrined in the federal laws “On Joint Stock Companies” dated December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ and “On the Privatization of State and Municipal Property” dated December 21, 2001 No. 178-FZ;
• existing on the basis of the Charter of the company.

According to the degree of protection of shareholders' rights by law

According to regulatory documents governing the legal nature of joint stock companies, the capabilities of shareholders can be integral and inalienable, depending on the degree of protection by law.

Taking this into account, their definition is as follows:

1. Inalienable are those that are given to the shareholder on the basis of law. At the same time, it is impossible to take them away from him either by decision of the general meeting or by clauses of the Charter. These are his legal rights, which no one has the right to destroy, but such legal support can be expanded on the basis of the Charter.
2. Detachable – the owner of the shares may or may not have them at the discretion of the company.

By the nature of their occurrence

According to the interpretation of modern legal scholars, shareholders have rights based on the nature of their occurrence.

Unconditional conditions arising from the fact of ownership of securities include:

• participation in meetings of joint stock companies;
• obtaining all information;
• profit distribution;
• compensation for damage when providing a shareholder with unreliable information, as a result of which he suffered losses;
• receipt of part of the property in the event of liquidation of the company (after settlement of accounts with creditors).

Conditional ones are divided depending on the situation:

1. Taking into account the category, shares are divided into types, and their holders have different options depending on the security.
2. The type of company itself matters - closed and open, in which the shareholders have different rights.
3. The participant has the right to accumulate certain blocks of shares and make important decisions depending on the circumstances.

By nature of shares

In addition to the listed access rights, company participants have property rights arising from the type of shares (as various rights to property), as well as non-property rights, providing for shares as a tool for managing the company.

Property rights include rights related to:

• purchase of securities;
• their alienation;
• receiving dividends;
• receiving part of the property in the event of liquidation of the company;
• compensation for damages upon receipt of damage.

With regard to the pre-emptive right to purchase shares, the following procedure exists:

1. In closed companies, the shareholder has the right to receive, first of all, the shares of the participant who sells them due to withdrawal from the company. With other options for transferring documents, the preemptive right does not apply. The holder of securities has the right to sell them, resell them, pledge them and carry out other transactions that do not contradict the law.
2. In open joint stock companies there is also a right of preference, but only in relation to securities equivalent to shares. For example, convertible and additional shares and equity securities must be placed by open subscription. Moreover, according to the law, only preferred securities are subject to conversion; this does not apply to ordinary ones. It would also be useful to take into account that the holder of the documents has the right to dispose of them at his own discretion without the consent of other participants.

In addition, members of the company have a preemptive right to repurchase shares placed by the company for the purpose of:

• reduction of authorized capital;
• reorganization;
• making major transactions;
• changes to the Charter.

The distribution of property during the liquidation process is carried out in compliance with the sequence established by law:

1. First of all, shares are repurchased at the request of participants.
2. Next, accrued and unpaid dividends on preferred positions are paid, and their liquid value is assessed.
3. At the end, the requirements of other holders are satisfied.

Moreover, each subsequent case is considered after full settlement with the previous queue.

Non-property rights include the right to manage and control the activities of the company.

The right to manage includes:

1. Participation in the general meeting based on the list approved by the board of directors on a certain date. Such a list is compiled by the registrar and submitted for consideration to the board of directors or the initiator of convening the meeting.
2. Voting is an accessible way for owners of common shares to exercise their will, while preferred shares vote only in cases required by law.

The right to control activities provides for:

• access to the register of company participants and other business documentation already with 1% of shares, and with 10% of votes - the right to receive accounting documentation;
• unhindered access to information if it concerns the implementation of property and non-property rights of participants.

Rights vested in a shareholder

Shareholders of a company have several types of rights.

Their list is as follows:

• The right to receive profit through dividends;
• The right to participate in the management of the company;
• The right to receive some part of the company's property if it is liquidated;
• The right to receive up-to-date information about the activities of the company.

This is how it looks in general terms. In addition to those listed, there is the following series of rights: non-property and property.

Non-property type.

• To participate in management activities;
• To participate in the meeting;
• To vote;
• To control the activities of the company.

Property.

• Possibility to receive and alienate shares;
• Opportunity to receive income from shares;
• The right to compensation for damages suffered by the shareholder due to the fault of the company.

Labor rights.

We can talk about them when a shareholder works at the enterprise or company in which he is a shareholder. This is a characteristic feature of societies that were created during the privatization process in the 90s.

By the way, even today in Russia there are many enterprises whose employees are also shareholders.

In this case, some contradictions arise. A person has a full range of rights, like a shareholder; on the other hand, he is an employee who depends on the activities of the management of the enterprise.

It turns out that if there are violations of the terms of an employment contract with a person, we can talk about a violation of the rights of a shareholder.

Reviews as a sales driver

According to Bazaarvoice research, 45% of shoppers read customer reviews online before purchasing products, showing a 15% annual growth rate through 2018.

As a pioneer in using customer and seller reviews as a determining factor for a product's high ranking in search rankings, Amazon has a clear advantage over retailers with less developed equivalent e-commerce capabilities.

But a retailer can still use online reviews to their advantage. One e-commerce vendor suggested that 50 or more reviews on a product could lead to a 4.6% increase in online conversion rates, while reading a review made a customer 58% more likely to purchase.

It's easy to see why Amazon made ratings and reviews from its customers a top priority in its first foray into physical retail, with the 2020 debut of Amazon Books in its hometown of Seattle. Each title comes with a label, or shelf talker as booksellers call them, containing, along with a barcode, a review of the product from Amazon.com customers and its star rating.

The lack of price tags on shelves forces customers to scan a code through the Amazon app to access price and other information, or store employees equipped with handheld devices can scan it for you.

Mechanism for shareholder participation in company management

This mechanism looks like this:

• He takes part in the general meeting and votes at it;
• Controls how the company conducts its activities.

Now let's talk in more detail about the shareholders' meeting.

The General Meeting is the supreme management body of the joint-stock company and its composition includes ordinary shareholders and holders of shares that are considered preferred. It is collected at least once every 12 months.

General meetings are divided into 2 types: annual and extraordinary.

Extraordinary issues are resolved that cannot be postponed - urgent ones.

At the next ones, they approve reports, distribute profits, and so on, that is, they sort out pressing issues.

Issues to be discussed

The meeting resolves serious issues that concern the activities of the entire society:

1. Makes changes or adjustments to the Charter;
2. Decides whether the company will be reorganized;
3. Appoints a liquidation commission and approves the interim and liquidation balance;
4. Determines how many people will be on the board of directors (in terms of quantity);
5. Approves or prohibits the conclusion of transactions of various types;
6. Approves various internal documentation;
7. Elects members of the counting and audit commission;
8. Elects and forms an audit commission;
9. Decides whether to increase or decrease the authorized capital.

Procedure for holding a meeting

The meeting of shareholders must be properly organized and conducted. This is a complex event, so it needs to be carefully prepared.

Preparation will help you avoid the following negative consequences:

• That shareholders will sue due to violation of procedure;
• Incorrect documentation;
• Enterprise acquisition procedures.

Holding a general meeting is the responsibility of the company. It is carried out within one and a half months from the moment the request for its implementation is submitted.

This requirement includes the issues that will be put on the agenda, and also determines in what form the meeting will be held.

Once the board of directors receives this request, a decision is made within five days to either convene a meeting or refuse to do so. This decision is sent within three days to the person who requested the convocation.

Refusal may occur in the following cases:

• The demand was made in violation of the procedure;
• The initiator owns less than 10% of the shares;
• Issues are not within the competence of the meeting;
• The questions violate the legislation of the Russian Federation.

What is the minutes of a shareholders meeting?

It is drawn up within three days after the meeting is held. It is compiled in two copies. The chairman of the meeting and his secretary put their signatures on it.

The protocol must indicate:

• Full name and address of the JSC;
• Type of meeting: annual or ad hoc;
• In what form is it carried out?
• The date on which the list of meeting participants was compiled;
• Date of the meeting;
• The place where the meeting is held;
• Agenda;
• The time the meeting was opened and closed;
• The time when vote counting began;
• How many votes were cast for each voting option;
• The decisions that were made on each issue;
• The main points of the speeches and the details of each speaker;
• Signatures of the chairman and secretary;
• The date when the protocol was drawn up.

As a result, we see that all points of the protocol are regulated by law in quite detail. But more attention is traditionally paid to the content of the protocol than to the rules for its execution.

The minutes of the voting results must be attached to the minutes of the meeting. Please note that the results of voting on any issues must always be recorded.

In addition, a meeting of shareholders, which is annual, cannot be held in absentia. It is carried out only in person.

Minutes of general meetings may not be numbered. If a second meeting is held within one year, then its minutes are numbered; the first one is not numbered.

When it comes to the date of the minutes, this is the date when the meeting was held, and not the date when the minutes were signed (these events can occur on different days). At the same time, monitor the correct wording of the issues on the agenda.

What Amazon was criticized for offline

However, following accusations of "killing" the traditional bookstore, some industry players were also quick to point out that Amazon's move into their territory exposed its lack of experience in physical retail spaces.

The store was criticized for shelving that was too close together, in an illogical configuration that did not take into account the need to arrange titles in alphabetical order. Competing booksellers also wondered how it was possible to stock such a limited selection of 5,000 to 6,000 titles, displayed on the shelves in the most wasteful manner of space - to attract customers to the covers rather than the spines of the books.

Additionally, the first store was not an Amazon location, and Amazon Books also did not offer discounted prices to Prime customers until it opened its third store in late 2020.

Some described the debut location as allowing customers to wander the store's endless online aisles and place orders for delivery.

Others called it a "marketing cost" how, like Apple emphasizing the role of its stores in showcasing its hardware, Amazon Books also sells its Kindle readers, Echo smart speakers and other Amazon devices there. But compared to the rather expansive, glass-clad Apple Town Square stores, commentators have emphasized the relatively utilitarian appearance of the first Amazon Books store.

To support the notion that Amazon Books has more value as a marketing storefront for Amazon than the bookstore itself, when it first burst into physical sales in late 2020, it found that its relatively small retail space was almost non-existent. brings in income.

In a broader marketing context, it's easy to see that Amazon Books' goal wasn't so much to make money as it was to test how it could take the best of its online experience offline and start putting physical spokes into its flywheel.

Shareholder income

This concept includes two others:

• Dividends . This is income from the activities that the company conducts;
• Capital gains rate . Its main expression is the change in share price.

To a large extent, income generation occurs due to the first concept, dividends. It follows that the more shares you have, the more income you will receive.

Dividends can be expressed in a specific amount or as a percentage. Moreover, this indicator is regulated by the statutory documents and the decision of the board of directors.

Dividends are classified according to several characteristics:

• If you hold preferred shares, then you will receive your dividends first, and if the company is suddenly liquidated, then your rights will be a priority;
• By payment period: paid once every 12 months, once every 6 months and once every three months;
• By method: in the form of cash and in the form of property;
• By volume: full and partially paid.

You will only receive capital gains if the shares are sold at a higher price. If this does not happen, then the income is unrealized. Capital gains can even be negative when shares are sold at a price lower than they were purchased for.

In general, your income as a shareholder is directly dependent on how efficiently the company operates. And you will receive income when the company is operating in profit, that is, it has no losses.

Simply put, your profit is not guaranteed, so purchasing any securities always has certain risks.

Shareholders' activities

Advice from lawyers:

I own a 50% stake in the company along with the second shareholder. Going to

1 answer

Please, can the annual general meeting of shareholders of a joint stock company be held in February?

1 answer

Mom is a shareholder of a closed joint stock company in the field of sanatorium and resort activities.

1 answer

The closed joint-stock company is being transformed into an LLC, the second stage (the Federal Tax Service entered into the Unified Legal Entities) in the minutes of the shareholders' meeting, changes were made to the name of the LLC.

1 answer

LLC Baltika filed a claim with the arbitration court against CJSC Auditor for recognition

2 answers

Please tell me. My elderly father was included in the shareholders of OJSC in 2006.

2 answers

A man who died more than 15 years ago had registered shares in the company where he worked,

1 answer

The legal entity ceased operations due to bankruptcy. How to remove it from the register of shareholders of a closed joint-stock company?

1 answer

I am a co-founder of a closed joint stock company with a 25% share. How can I get rid of these shares?

1 answer

CJSC was created. For three years, some shareholders have not taken part in the activities of the CJSC, do not attend meetings, and do not answer calls.

2 answers

Last year we reorganized from a closed joint stock company to an LLC. In the extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities there is an entry “Information about the holder of the register” indicating our old closed joint stock company,

1 answer

I am a shareholder and co-founder of the company. But I haven’t received it for years now

1 answer

I am a shareholder and co-founder of the company. But I haven’t received it for years now

1 answer

Tell me, if one of the shareholders wants to leave the membership and engage in another type of activity, can he lay claim to part of the property owned by the joint-stock company.

1 answer

I am a holder of shares that make up 31% of the management company of the joint-stock company. I want to hold an extraordinary meeting of shareholders.

2 answers

OJSC. Reporting was not submitted, activities were not carried out. The sole shareholder has died. What fines must the heir pay and for how long?

3 answers

Do resigned shareholders in a closed joint-stock company have the right to influence the current activities of the enterprise?

1 answer

Is there any judicial practice of liquidating a JSC at the request of a shareholder due to its inability to engage in the main statutory activities?

1 answer

Is it possible to forcibly buy out shares from a shareholder of a non-public JSC who owns 60% of the shares, but refused to participate in the activities of the company?

1 answer

By decision of the sole shareholder (participant), a liquidation commission consisting of three persons is created,

1 answer

I have a closed joint stock company. The company has 2 shareholders and has been submitting zero reports for 8 years.

1 answer

There is a CJSC company that does not operate, all shares of this company are individually owned (100%)

1 answer

The LLC did not declare itself bankrupt. But the director is also the chief accountant and one of the two shareholders.

1 answer

Under what article of the law can I file a claim against the director of an LLC as an individual for failure to comply with a court decision?

1 answer

A couple of years ago, at the request of a relative, she agreed to become the sole founder and gene.

1 answer

A couple of years ago, at the request of a relative, she agreed to become the sole founder and gene.

2 answers

I am a non-working pensioner. I have shares in the company where I worked before retiring.

1 answer

What document is attached to Form R 14 on the day of submission to the Federal Tax Service 46 when entering a new OKVED code. Meeting of shareholders? Board of directors? Director's order?

1 answer

The OJSC decided to expand its scope of activity by adding baking to the permitted type

1 answer

The General Director of the CJSC wrote a statement of his own free will addressed to the shareholders (two shareholders)

1 answer

How can I influence the activities of a closed joint stock company with 40% of shares? Second shareholder (60%)

4 answers

Is it possible to sell shares in an OJSC below par value (the company did not operate after registration)?

1 answer

Please tell me, when the shareholder of a company is a legal entity, which body of this legal entity makes decisions related to the activities of the company?

1 answer

Can I contact the Russian Investigative Committee with a statement regarding the inaction of the authorities of the PMR (Transnistria)

1 answer

An individual resident of the Russian Federation is a shareholder of a Cyprus company. Cyprus

1 answer

We are making changes to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities in connection with the opening of an additional OKVED. Is a decision of the board of directors or a meeting of shareholders required?

1 answer

Our closed joint-stock company has just begun its activities; we have not yet sold the entire stake, but our elected general director.

1 answer

Liquidation of CJSC. The company was registered in February 2004; when trying to obtain the necessary license, nothing came of it due to bureaucratic delays.

1 answer

LLC has three shareholders with a distribution of shares of 50%-25%-25%. Over time, the shareholder with 50%

2 answers

According to the court decision on the division of the joint property of the spouses, I received a share in the authorized capital of the LLC in the amount of 50%.

2 answers

The joint stock company has three shareholders: 50%, 25% and 25%. The company entered into a lease agreement for premises with a shareholder owning 25% of the shares.

1 answer

Please help us, we have an LLC in which we want to accept an investor and include him as a shareholder, how can he provide the amount to conduct business?

1 answer

According to the LLC Charter, the competence of the General Director of the Company includes all issues of management of the current activities of the Company,

1 answer

I am a shareholder of the company, but I do not receive dividends. I can't figure out their intricate accounting.

1 answer

My ex-husband has a 100% stake in the enterprise, but he also has debts from this enterprise.

3 answers

In 2007, at a meeting of shareholders, he was elected general director of the company.

1 answer

The general director died, was appointed by the decision of the sole shareholder, in the shareholder enterprise he is one of the founders,

1 answer

Should information about the activities, reorganization, and liquidation of a closed joint stock company be published in the media? Production team - 10 shareholders).

1 answer

Are all shareholders responsible for the activities of the LLC. if one of them is elected director.

1 answer

They asked me to submit the LLC's reports for 2008. There was no activity, a license was issued.

1 answer

Can the court make decisions to collect the debts of an enterprise from the General.

1 answer

In 2004, the closed joint stock company was organized by two founders 50/50 and since that time I have been the general director (not a shareholder).

1 answer

Our agricultural enterprise has ceased all production activities.

1 answer

Is it possible to ask for early termination of employment relations with the director of the company?

1 answer

Question: can a physical a person to accept shares of a closed joint-stock company for trust management from shareholders and whether he needs a license for this type of activity. Thank you in advance.

1 answer

Issuing bills of exchange can be classified as transactions made in the normal course of business?

1 answer

On what grounds can a court bring a founder (shareholder) as a defendant?

1 answer

Is it possible for a military personnel to participate in any kind of commercial enterprise (not counting scientific, creative and teaching activities).

1 answer

The CJSC carried out additional emissions. The release decision is registered, but the Release Results Report is not.

1 answer

Clause 4 art. 33 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation states that arbitration courts consider disputes between a shareholder and a joint-stock company,

1 answer

Can an LLC buy shares from an OJSC? Should the purchase of shares be provided for in the charter of an LLC as a type of activity? How are shares purchased from shareholders?

1 answer

We want to supplement the charter of the closed joint-stock company with new types of activities. The CJSC has 6 legal shareholders.

1 answer

The general director (who was the founder of this LLC) resigned from the Limited Liability Company at his own request.

1 answer

Can shareholders go to court and demand restrictions on the activities of a JSC in order to secure a claim?

1 answer

Please tell me, when the shareholder of the Company is a legal entity, which body of this legal entity makes decisions related to the activities of the Company?

1 answer

Does a private person have the right to buy shares of an enterprise of which he is a shareholder, without permits for this activity or documents.

1 answer

We want to create an organization for repair and construction activities: we have not yet decided on a closed joint stock company or an LLC (whose implementation is easier).

1 answer

What do investors and shareholders have in common?

First of all, we note that there is no difference between these two concepts. Let's look at this using the example of Gazprom. The holders of shares of this company and those people who decided to invest their money in its development are, in fact, the same citizens, but only if we are talking about small capital.

Since there are different types of investments, they include the purchase of shares, so the similarities between the investor and the shareholder are simply colossal.

Meetings of shareholders for those who own shares and for investors are held periodically, but whether to participate in them or not is a personal matter for everyone.

As for dividend payments, most shareholders and investors who invest small amounts do not expect this. They prefer to catch the moment when shares rise in price and sell them, and make money on the difference in rates.

But this is only relevant if large sums of money have not been invested; large participants have more ambitious plans.

Rights of shareholders

As mentioned above, shareholders have a fairly wide range of rights.

These also include labor ones, which appear in the presence of an employment contract with a company in which the shareholder owns shares. These include all guaranteed rights and freedoms of workers.

Typically, such legal relations arise at privatized enterprises.

Vote at the meeting

Depending on the percentage of securities, the participant has the following rights to participate in the life of the enterprise:

• 1% (familiarity with the lists of participants);
• 2% (nomination of candidates to the Board of Directors and Audit Commission);
• over 10% (convening an extraordinary meeting and checking the economic and financial activities of the company);
• 25% + 1 voting papers (blocking certain decisions of the meeting, as well as providing access to accounting and other documents);
• 75% (making a decision on an additional closed issue);
• 75% + 1 (gaining access to full control over the company, its reorganization, liquidation or amendment of the Charter).

Appeal decisions of the OCA

You can appeal the decision of the meeting if it was made in violation of the law and the Charter of the company, as a result of which the rights of the shareholder were violated and the interests of the shareholder were infringed.

Receive information about the activities of the company

The possibility of obtaining information by persons who participate in the general meeting or are preparing for the general meeting of shareholders is implemented in accordance with clause 3 of Art. 52 of the Federal Law “On Joint Stock Companies” dated December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ.

Freely dispose of the package

According to the law, documents are freely negotiable property.

This indicates the possibility of their transfer, resale and other actions not prohibited by law.

Purchase additional papers

According to Art. 40 of the Federal Law “On Joint Stock Companies” dated December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ, a member of an enterprise has an advantage in purchasing additional securities placed in the public domain.

He also has the right to purchase shares sold for a fee by other participants (Article 7 of the same law).

If a transaction is made free of charge, but has signs of a sham, then the interested party receives a preferential right to receive them.

Demand the repurchase of shares upon liquidation of the enterprise

The participant has the official right to receive shares of the company upon its liquidation, which is guaranteed to him by law.

View the list of shareholders

Since the list of members is in the public domain, an interested person has the right to verbally request its provision.

He must receive a response to his request within the period specified in the regulations. In this case, a person has the right to act both independently and through his representative.

The employee who is charged with issuing documents has the right to verify the status of the person who applied by requesting the relevant documents from him. Copies of documents are issued for a fee according to the company’s price list.

Sue on behalf of shareholders

To protect the interests of society participants, restrictions were introduced:

1. There is a ban on advertising and offers to an unlimited number of the issuer.
2. Advertising that involves placing offers in information sources and making them available to a wide range of people is prohibited. Valid for securities whose issue has not yet been registered.
3. Transactions with securities are not permitted until the process of full payment and registration of the report has been completed.
4. Securities can be placed for closed voting only if there is a vote at the general meeting and approval of up to 2/3 of the votes.
5. Persons who signed the prospectus are jointly and severally liable if damage is caused to the shareholder due to unreliable information.

Some useful tips for those who want to become a shareholder

Many people think about this type of income, but are hesitant to take the first step.

We will tell you how to become a shareholder and not lose money:

1. Technically there is no difficulty in this. Contact a broker who will open your account and purchase shares. To open an account, you must provide only a passport, but also pay the broker his commission: 0.5% of the amount of shares purchased.
2. If you do not play on the stock exchange professionally, then count on a long investment period, at least five years. During this period, the price will fall and rise again several times. But experts note that over a long period of time, stock returns exceed inflation by 2 times.
3. Which stocks to buy? If you are not a professional, then you become a shareholder of those companies whose services you yourself use. For example: Sberbank, McDonald's, Coca-Cola. The latter, by the way, are steadily growing in price, despite the economic situation.
4. Bonds are less popular, but you can give them a small place in your investor's portfolio. Everything is simple here: you give the company funds, it gives you a bond, which indicates the maturity date and par value.
5. Shares, and securities in general, are a risky instrument. There is no guarantee that they will bring you income in the near future. No one has insurance against falling stocks in the market. Therefore, it is worth investing in stocks only the money that you definitely will not need for a long time. But even in this case, do not invest everything; it is better to invest about 30% of your funds.

Shopping via mobile phone

Around the world, however, the current and subsequent waves of consumers are discovering e-commerce through the mobile phone, where there are no physical boundaries to shop online. When you add social media, mobile payments and various apps into the equation, retailers are having to evolve—some say transform—their digital presence to compete with the internet.

They, of course, were initially confident that they would make money on the Internet by launching their own e-commerce channels. Some have even started combining them with O2O services such as click & collect. But precisely why mobile apps and other areas of mobile-enabled digital automation are central to the store of the future, they can bring the speed, convenience, transparency and relevance associated with online shopping to customers directly into the store.

However, when it comes to mobile, Amazon has the edge: Nearly half of all millennials have the Amazon app available on their home screen, according to a 2017 survey by US Media Analytics.

Further research among consumers in the US, UK, France and Germany in 2020 found:

72% use Amazon to research products before purchasing them;

26% check prices and information on Amazon if they are going to buy something in a store.

Amazon's online dominance in the markets it operates will continue to heavily influence the online research phase of any shopping trip, regardless of where the customer's search occurs, as well as potentially stealing that sale from a brick-and-mortar competitor.

However, when you think about the two-thirds of shoppers who like to shop exclusively in a store or in combination with an online purchase, you realize that the popularity of ROBO - research online, buy offline - or webrooming, as it is sometimes called , favors the physical retailer more.

Nearly half—45%—of consumers who purchased a product offline in 2018 said they first researched it online. The same survey conducted by Bazaarvoice showed that the product categories most impacted by ROBO are:

household appliances - 59%;

health, beauty and fitness - 58%;

toys and games - 53%;

electronics - 41%;

children's products - 36%.

So, it can be said that a retailer can lose as much sales to Amazon online during the search phase as it can gain in a physical store, given the ROBO trend.

Webrooming and ROBO

Webrooming is a situation in which shoppers research items online to check and compare multiple options, but then head to a physical store to complete the purchase.
This trend has also led to a practice called “research online, buy offline” (ROBO). Consumers often use this method when they want to see exactly what a product looks like in real life before making a final purchase.