Buying and holding a share in a company is known as equity investment. Equity in general terms is the degree to which you own an asset, after all the debts associated with that particular asset are paid off. So when you buy shares of a company, you are doing an equity investment in that company. Equity market, often called as stock market or share market, is a place where shares of companies or entities are traded. The market allows sellers and buyers to deal in equity or shares in the same platform. In the global context, equities are traded either over the counter or at stock exchanges. Investors become partial owners of companies through equity trading. After liquidating all assets and paying off all company debts, the owners of equities in a company would get back the value.