When buying an equity, the investor takes ownership of a small percentage of a company. A percentage of said company will be divided up and shared for this purpose. If said company increases in value, the value of the investor’s equity mirrors this.
Publicly traded companies list their shares on an exchange for anyone to purchase. The more people invest in their company through stocks and shares, the more capital the company has to fund their business operations. Investors can diversify their investment portfolio through buying from a diverse range of industries on the exchange.