Rob Lowe would like to invest $100,000 in Franklin Inc., which is offering common stock, preferred stock, and bonds on the open market. The common stock has paid $1 per share in dividends for the past three years, and the company expects to be able to double the dividend in the current year. The current market price of the common stock is $10 per share. The preferred stock has an 8% dividend rate. The bonds are selling at par with a 5% stated rate. Required1. Explain Franklin’s obligation to pay dividends or interest on each instrument. 2. Recommend one type of investment over the others to Rob and justify your reason.

1. Franklin Inc. is not under any legal obligation to pay divided to common stock holders. A company can only pay dividend when it makes profit. A company may not pay dividend even when it makes profit because payment of dividend at the discretion of board of directors. Dividends on common stocks are not fixed.

Payment of dividend to preferred stock holders is fixed because preferred stocks are fixed income securities. Dividend in this case does not depend on the financial fortune of a company. In case of cummulative preferred stocks, arrears of dividend in a given year can be carried forward to another year.

Franklin Inc is under a legal obligation to pay interest to debenture holders because the company is under bond to pay principal and interest as and when due. Bonds are also fixed income securities in which interest is fixed regardless of whether the company makes profit or not.

2. Rob Lowe is advised to invest in bonds because he is guaranteed of his principal and interest as and when due since the interest on bond and principal do not depend on the financial fortune of the company.

Explanation:

In the first case, explanations were made on the obligation of the company to pay dividend or interest.

In the second case, explanations were provided on the appropriate investment to undertake.