Lessons with Kofi
What is a stock?
What do you actually own?
Companies that want outside owners divide themselves into shares. If a company has one million shares and you hold one hundred, you own a small slice of the company, not its buildings, brand or bank account.
Shareholders are last in line. Staff, suppliers, lenders and the tax office are paid from the business first. What is left, if anything, belongs to the owners. That is why a share can become worth a lot, and why it can become worth little.
How is a share on the Ghana Stock Exchange different from cash?
Cash in a bank account is a balance you can usually spend. A share is a stake in a business. Its price is whatever the next buyer and the next seller agree on in the market. That price moves. On some days, there is no trade at all in a particular share.
On the Ghana Stock Exchange, listed companies include banks, telecoms operators, oil marketers and consumer businesses. A purchase in the secondary market does not send your money to the company. The company received money when it issued the shares. After that, buyers and sellers trade with each other through a broker, known as a licensed dealing member.
The steps for opening a securities account and placing an order are in How to buy shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Do shares pay you?
Some companies pay a dividend, a slice of profit sent to shareholders. A dividend is decided by the company. It can be small, it can be skipped, and it is not interest on a savings account. A company can also keep the profit and use it in the business. What is a dividend? stays on that word.
You can also gain or lose if the share price changes between the day you buy and the day you sell. Selling is not always instant, and the price you hope for may not be the price someone offers.
What do listed Ghana companies look like?
MTN Ghana sells mobile service. GCB is a bank. Fan Milk sells cold treats. These are examples, not suggestions.
Know the business you invest in lists the questions to ask before a ticker means anything. The company pages show figures from each company's filings.
What can go wrong?
You can lose some or all of the money you use to buy shares. The company can earn less than people expected. The price can fall even when the business is fine, because other people want to sell. A share is neither a treasury bill nor a deposit.
Where do these facts come from?
- Ghana Stock Exchange for what a listed market is and who the dealing members are.
- Yanci's guide to buying shares on the exchange.
- Company pages on this site, read from filings.
Examples on the Ghana Stock Exchange: MTN Ghana (MTNGH) and GCB Bank (GCB). Today on the GSE lists more prices.
Figures and rules linked from the Ghana Stock Exchange or the SEC were the pages used when this lesson was last updated on 20 October 2026. Open those pages for the current wording.
Frequently asked questions
What is a stock?
A stock, also called a share, is a piece of a company. If you own a share, you own a fraction of that business. You do not own a promise that the price will rise.
Does owning a share guarantee the price will rise?
No. The price is whatever the next buyer and the next seller agree. You can lose some or all of the money you use to buy shares.
Not financial advice. Kofi is a teacher, not an adviser. He explains how investing works. He does not recommend what to buy, sell or hold.
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