In the stock market, people invest money in various companies in the hope that they will increase in value. Stocks are a type of security that represents ownership of a company. If stocks rise in value, people who buy stocks at a lower price may make a profit, or perhaps even make a good return on their investment. The risk of investing in stocks is that they may collapse. If an investor buys a stock for $10 and it drops to $5, he or she may have lost all of their money.Holdings give investors information about the total value of their holdings and what percentage of the value is due to the company's performance and what percentage is due to other factors such as changes in the stock market and inflation. Holdings may also be published by mutual funds or pension funds.