1. Equity securities indicate ownership in the company whereas debt securities indicate a loan to the company.
2. Equity securities do not have a maturity date whereas debt securities typically have a maturity date.
3. Equity securities have variable returns in the form of dividends and capital gains whereas debt securities have a predefined return in the form of interest payments.
4. Both securities are issued at face value and trade at market value which maybe higher or lower than the face value.
5. Equity shareholders are entitled to voting rights whereas debt securities do not hold such rights.
(Content on this page is courtesy Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre, Arti Bhargava and Labdhi Mehta.)
