Editing Shareholder (section)

== Types ==
A [[beneficial ownership|beneficial shareholder]] is the person or legal entity that has the economic benefit of ownership of the shares, while a [[nominee]] shareholder is the person or entity that is on the corporation's register of members as the owner while being in reality that person acts for the benefit or at the direction of the beneficial owner, whether disclosed or not.

Primarily, there are two types of shareholders.

=== Ordinary shareholders ===
An individual or legal entity that owns [[ordinary share]]s of a company (in the United States commonly referred as common stock) is usually referred to as an ordinary shareholder. This type of shareholding is the most common. Ordinary shareholders have the right to influence decisions concerning the company by participating at general meetings of the company and in the election of directors and can file class action lawsuits, when warranted.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/finance/shareholder/|title=Shareholder – Definition, Roles, and Types of Shareholders|website=Corporate Finance Institute|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref>

=== Preference shareholders ===
Preference shareholders are owners of [[preference share]]s (in the United States commonly referred as preferred stock). They are paid a fixed rate of dividend, which is paid in [[Subordination (finance)|priority]] to the dividend to be paid to the ordinary shareholders. Preference shareholders usually do not have voting rights in the company.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Tiffany C. |title=Common Vs. Preferred Stock for Financing a Private Company |url=https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/common-vs-preferred-stock-financing-private-company-12885.html |website=azcentral.com |access-date=23 June 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212110/https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/common-vs-preferred-stock-financing-private-company-12885.html |archive-date= Jun 24, 2021 }}</ref>