Contact Us

If you still have questions or prefer to get help directly from an agent, please submit a request.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please fill out the contact form below and we will reply as soon as possible.

  • Courses
  • Home
  • Law, Transactions, & Risk Management
  • Business Transactions, Antitrust, & Securities Law

What is a Security?

Statutory Definition and Common Law Interpretation

Written by Jason Gordon

Updated at November 30th, 2020

Contact Us

If you still have questions or prefer to get help directly from an agent, please submit a request.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please fill out the contact form below and we will reply as soon as possible.

  • Accounting, Taxation, and Reporting
    Managerial & Financial Accounting & Reporting Business Taxation
  • Law, Transactions, & Risk Management
    Government, Legal System, Administrative Law, & Constitutional Law Legal Disputes - Civil & Criminal Law Agency Law HR, Employment, Labor, & Discrimination Business Entities, Corporate Governance & Ownership Business Transactions, Antitrust, & Securities Law Real Estate, Personal, & Intellectual Property Commercial Law: Contract, Payments, Security Interests, & Bankruptcy Consumer Protection Insurance & Risk Management Immigration Law Environmental Protection Law Inheritance, Estates, and Trusts
  • Marketing, Advertising, Sales & PR
    Principles of Marketing Sales Advertising Public Relations SEO, Social Media, Direct Marketing
  • Business Management & Operations
    Operations, Project, & Supply Chain Management Strategy, Entrepreneurship, & Innovation Business Ethics & Social Responsibility Global Business, International Law & Relations Business Communications & Negotiation Management, Leadership, & Organizational Behavior
  • Economics, Finance, & Analytics
    Economic Analysis & Monetary Policy Research, Quantitative Analysis, & Decision Science Investments, Trading, and Financial Markets Banking, Lending, and Credit Industry Business Finance, Personal Finance, and Valuation Principles
  • Professionalism & Career Development
  • Courses
+ More

What is a security?

Most people think of a security as simply stock or other ownership units of a business entity; however, the statutory definition of a security is far more extensive. The term security means any, note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement or in any oil, gas, or other mineral royalty or lease, any collateral trust certificate, pre-organizational certificate or subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting trust certificate, certificate of deposit for a security, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security, certificate or deposit, or group or index securities (including any interest therein or based on the value thereof) or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency, or in general, any interest commonly known as a security.

The definition of a security is broad, but it leaves open the inclusion of any interest not identified within the definition, but that the court deems to constitute a security. There is a great deal of common law surrounding the judicial interpretation of what constitutes a security. Most notably, the term Investment Contract from the definition of a security is construed very broadly and is somewhat of catch-all for business interests that may constitute a security.

Next Article: Investment Contract - Securities Law Back to: SECURITIES LAW

Discussion: Why do you think Congress applied such a broad definition of what constitutes a security? Does the fact that common law goes much further to define a security affect your opinion about the suitability of the statutory definition?

Was this article helpful?

Yes
No

Related Articles

  • Board and Stockholder Approval
  • Deal Flow (Finance) - Definition
  • Requirement to Register Securities Under 1934 Act

©2011-2021. The Business Professor, LLC.
  • Privacy

  • Questions

Definition by Author

0
0
Expand