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What Are Control Stocks?

Investing in stocks of businesses is an art in itself. Though retail investors buy stocks that are regularly traded on stock exchanges, such stocks are rarely bought in bulk due to the significant capital required. Therefore, the stocks of a publicly traded company owned by the major shareholders are referred to as control stocks. Control stocks, also known as controlling shares, are a part of a company’s outstanding shares that give its owner the authority to influence key management decisions and direct day-to-day business operations. The weightage of control stocks differs across organizations and holding one control stock may give more power to the owner than holding multiple common stocks.

For companies that have more than one class of common shares, there is a specific category of shares with more voting power or controlling rights known as control stocks. For instance, Google has Class A and Class C shares with a major distinction. Owners of Class A shares have voting rights while owners of class C shares do not have such rights though both owners have rights to participate and share the profits of the firm. Though both these types of stocks are common stocks, it brings out a subtle difference between stocks that carry voting rights and those that do not have any voting rights.

In the above example, class C shares are inferior to class A shares of Google because they do not have voting rights and therefore cannot influence decisions made by the leadership team of Google. In this article, let us learn more about how control stocks work, benefits of holding control stocks, examples of control stocks, key considerations for investors, and the difference between control stocks and common stocks.

How Do Control Stocks Work?

There are special requirements to be an owner of control stocks. Investors usually need to buy a minimum number of prescribed units to be called as a control stockholder. The required investment could be significant and not all retail investors can afford to be owners of control stocks. Most companies retain around 51% of the equity and give away the remaining 49% for public subscription. There could be designated classes of control stocks that are different from common stocks in companies such that they carry more voting rights. For instance, one control stock may give the owner 20 votes whereas one common stock may offer only 1 vote.

There could be different situations that could play out in company ownership via control stock. Even if multiple public shareholders hold 49.9% of the company, the one shareholder holding 50.1% of the company will become the majority shareholder with the power to influence key management decisions and business operations. Companies having a promoter-driven culture may want significant controlling rights within the family of the promoter and may allot the control stocks to family members. Corporations that are mostly public may still want to retain control on certain areas and this is implemented through majority shareholders holding control stocks. 

Generally, the owners of control stocks can approve or reject the appointment of directors and other key managerial personnel, approve substantial transactions, approve major investment decisions such as R&D, and exercise veto power if the votes are tied. 

Benefits of Holding Control Stocks

Holding control stocks has several benefits some of which discussed below:

  1. Influencing decision-making

    Owners of control stocks can vote on important topics critical for day-to-day operations or for the long-term sustainability of the business. By virtue of their controlling interest, holders of those common stocks can overturn decisions made by the board of directors if the major shareholders believe those decisions will impact the business negatively. Therefore, owning control stocks provides the owners the power to influence strategic as well as tactical decisions for the business. 

  2. Earning dividend income

    For a company that usually has a high dividend ratio, i.e., it pays greater dividends from its profits, owning control stocks results in substantial dividend income for the investor. This is especially suitable for investors who have accumulated a lot of wealth over their investment years and are now looking forward to stable income over regular intervals. So, owning control stocks of companies that are market leaders and have strong financials usually result in high income from dividends.

  3. Increased incentive for higher returns

    Since control stocks provide the owners the power over decision-making, this also incentivizes them to make business decisions that increase profitability. This ultimately results in increased returns for all shareholders, but for control stock owners, this can result in a disproportionately higher returns than other investors. So, a holder of a control stock will necessarily push for improved profitability that eventually results in improved business performance.

Examples of Control Stocks

Example types

Features

Majority ownership

The ownership percentage for a company is more than 50%. These major owners have an incentive to take decisions for improved company performance and enjoy significant clout in decision-making

Significant voting power

Here, the control stock owner may not be a majority shareholder but because of being a substantial owner of company shares grants him substantial voting rights in major business decisions. 

Class A shares with higher voting power

Organizations may issue different categories of shares for investors with varying levels of voting powers. For instance, class A shares carry more votes per share, giving owners of such shares significant influence on decision-making

Parent company/Venture Capitalist/Private Equity firm

When a parent company holds a controlling stake in its subsidiary, it holds control stocks. Similarly, if a venture capital or a private equity firm holds controlling interest in a business, they hold control stocks as well. 

Key Considerations for Investors

Investors must consider several factors while deciding to invest in a business by owning control stocks as mentioned below - 

  1. Investment horizon and objective

    Investment horizon is a key criteria for investors who are considering being control stock owners. This is because ownership of control stocks is usually a long-term investment plan and if an investor has a short horizon, control stocks are not for them.

  2. Risk appetite

    Over the course of business operations, control stock owners may experience several volatility in the stock price, and they may have to bear significant risk. So, if an investor has a low risk appetite, he should avoid investing in control stocks. 

  3. Capital

    An investor must assess the amount of capital he has while considering control stocks because ownership of such stocks require significant capital to be invested. An investor who is a

  4. Knowledge of the business

    An investor must be aware of the industry, competition landscape, and business model while deciding to invest in a business through control stocks. Since control stock owners can influence major business decisions, it is important for them to be aware of business trends, challenges, and opportunities. If the owner of control stocks interferes in the day-to-day functioning and long-term decision-making of the company without possessing significant expertise and knowledge of the sector, it can result in poor performance and bad financials. 

Control Stocks vs. Common Stocks

To reiterate, ownership of control stocks gives higher power over business decisions than ownership of common stocks. Owners of common stocks are usually retail investors whereas owners of control stocks are generally veterans of the investment industry. In terms of voting rights, common stocks may have one vote per share whereas control stocks may have multiple votes per share which points to the significance of control stocks in the management of the business.

Also, this is the reason why control stocks are usually priced higher than common stocks so that only a serious investor having significant capital could be a control stock owner. While control stocks and common stocks can be differentiated on the basis of classes of shares, another way to differentiate them is the quantity or percentage of the shares held. Even if an investor holds more than 50% of the company common stocks, he has a controlling interest in the business affairs of the company.

Owning a small number of common stocks does not require much capital or business knowledge, however, owing control stocks requires substantial capital as well as business expertise. When an investor becomes a control stockholder, he is convinced of the business capability and growth opportunities. An investor may not understand all types of businesses he encounters and it is important to play to one’s strengths while deciding to be owners of control stocks. From an outsider’s perspective, owning control stocks is a great way to earn returns, consistently higher dividends, and also take part in building a company’s future.

Additionally Read - Difference Between Common Stock and Preferred Stock?

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