Home >  Education >     Stocks       The Right to Vote Owning stock gives you the right to vote on important company issues and policies. Buying Stock Buying stocks isn't hard, but the process has its own rules, its own language and a special cast of characters. Selling New Stock The first time a company issues stock, it's called going public. Stock Buyers All investors buy stock for the same reason: to make money. But they do their buying differently. Risk vs. Reward Risk is the chance you take of making or losing money on your investment. The greater the risk, the more you stand to gain or lose. The World of Stocks Understanding the wide variety of stocks you can purchase is one key to successful investing. Taking Stock of Your Investments To invest intelligently, and to track how well you're doing, you have to understand the language of stocks.         For more information     Visit our Stock Center Make informed decisions about stocks with our stock tools and research   IPO Center Get the latest information on our IPOs and other offerings   Begin your journey to financial success. Get started           Branch Locator | Site Map | Privacy | Terms of Use | Disclosures | Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated Financial Statement     The Global Wealth Management Group of Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and the Smith Barney division of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. have combined into Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a new investment adviser and broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   In general, references to Morgan Stanley in this section of the site should be read as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; however, some services will continue to be provided by Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated. Click here to read the Statement of Responsibilities, which explains the respective roles and functions of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.   The information and services provided on the website are intended for persons in the U.S. only. Non-U.S. persons are directed to our Global Offices page.   © 2009 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, member SIPC. All rights reserved.