Bearer securities. Bearer securities are issued in the form of a paper instrument. On the face of the instrument is written the promise of the issuer to pay the bearer of the instrument. In the absence of computerisation, bearer securities constitute tangible assets. They are transferred by delivering the instrument from person to person. In some cases, transfer is by endorsement, or signing the back of the instrument, and delivery. Regulatory and fiscal authorities sometimes regard bearer securities negatively, as they may be used to facilitate the evasion of regulatory restrictions and tax.

Registered securities. In the case of registered securities, certificates bearing the name of the holder are issued, but these merely represent the securities. A person does not automatically acquire legal ownership by having possession of the certificate. The issuer maintains a register (usually maintained by an appointed registrar) in which details of the holder of the securities are entered and updated as appropriate. In recent years, registers have generally become computerised. Unlike bearer securities, registered securities comprise a bundle of intangible rights including the right of the shareholder to share in all the assets of a company, subject to all the liabilities of the company. A transfer of registered securities is effected by amending the register.

Fungible and non-fungible securities. The terms «fungible» and «non-fungible» relate to the way in which securities are held. If an asset is fungible, when such an asset is placed with a custodian, the custodian at the end of the custody arrangement may return assets equivalent to the original asset, rather than the identical asset.

Stock split refers to a corporate action that increases the shares in a public company. The price of the shares are adjusted so that the before and after market capitalization of the company remains the same and dilution does not occur. 2-for-1, 3-for-1, and 3-for-2 splits are the most common but any ratio is possible. Sometimes investors will receive cash payments in lieu of fractional shares.

It is often claimed that stock splits in themselves lead to higher stock prices, however, research does not bear this out. What is true is that stock splits are usually initiated after a large run up in share price. Momentum investing would suggest that such a trend would continue regardless of the stock split.