• A stock or any other security representing an ownership interest.
• On a company's balance sheet, the amount of the funds contributed by the owners (the stockholders) plus the retained earning (or losses). Also referred to as "shareholders equity"
• In the context of margin of trading, the value of securities in a margin account minus what has been borrowed from the brokerage.
• In term of investment strategies, equity (stock) is one of the principal asset classes. The other two are fixed-income (bonds) and cash/cash-equivalents. These are used in asset allocation planning to structure a desired risk and return profile for an investor's portfolio.

For those who want to diversify their portfolios beyond shares, bonds and real estate, commodity market is one of the best options. Commodities actually offer immense potential to become a separate asset class for market-savvy investors, arbitrageurs and speculators. Commodities are easy to understand and are based on the fundamentals of demand and supply. Retail investors should understand the risks and advantages of trading in commodities futures before taking a leap.

At Manubhai Mangaldas Securities, we are focused on taking commodities trading to new dimensions of reliability and profitability. Here we enable trade in all goods and products of agricultural and mineral origin that include lucrative commodities like gold and silver and popular items like oil, pulses and cotton through a well-systematized trading platform with the leading Commodity Exchanges of the country.

Manubhai Mangaldas Securities extension into commodities trading reconciles its strategic intent to emerge as a one-stop solutions financial intermediary. Its experience in securities broking has empowered it with requisite skills and technologies. Commodities business provides a contra-cyclical alternative to equities broking of Manubhai Mangaldas Securities.

It is a security whose price is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets. The derivative itself is merely a contract between two or more parties. Its value is determined by fluctuations in the underlying asset. The most common underlying assets include stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates and market indexes. Most derivatives are characterized by high leverage.

Futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swaps are the most common types of derivatives. Derivatives are contracts and can be used as an underlying asset. There are even derivatives based on weather data, such as the amount of rain or the number of sunny days in a particular region. Derivatives are generally used as an instrument to hedge risk, but can also be used for speculative purposes. The underlying can be of any type, it can be a stock, commodity, index, portfolio etc.

In finance, a futures contract is a standardized contract between two parties to buy or sell a specified asset of standardized quantity and quality at a specified future date at a price agreed today (the futures price). The contracts are traded on a futures exchange. Futures contracts are not "direct" securities like stocks, bonds, rights or warrants. They are still securities, however, though they are a type of derivative contract. The party agreeing to buy the underlying asset in the future assumes a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the asset in the future assumes a short position.

In finance, a forward contract or simply a forward is a non-standardized contract between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed today.[1] This is in contrast to a spot contract, which is an agreement to buy or sell an asset today. It costs nothing to enter a forward contract. The party agreeing to buy the underlying asset in the future assumes a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the asset in the future assumes a short position. The price agreed upon is called the delivery price, which is equal to the forward price at the time the contract is entered into.

The first sale of stock by a private company to the public is called IPO. IPOs are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking the capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately owned companies looking to become publicly traded. In an IPO, the issuer obtains the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue (common or preferred), the best offering price and the time to bring it to market. It also referred to as a "public offering".