On this site we usually talk about publicly traded companies and their results, but when it comes to investing, you are buying a specific share, so you need to know the trading code for that asset.

The trading code for a certain asset is made up of an initial sequence of four capital letters, which indicates the company to which that asset refers, and a number, which indicates the specific type of that asset. The complete list of the meaning of the number at the end of the trading code is as follows:

• 1 – right to common shares.
• 2 – right to preferred shares.
• 3 – common share (ON).
• 4 – preferred share (PN).
• 5 – class A preferred share (PNA).
• 6 – class B preferred share (PNB).
• 7 – class C preferred share (PNC).
• 8 – class D preferred share (PND).
• 9 – receipt of subscription for common shares.
• 10 – receipt of subscription for preferred shares.
• 11 next – the criterion is specific to each company and not generic as in the rest of the cases mentioned here, but it is relatively common for the number 11 to be used for what are usually called “units” which are assets that “join” two or more different assets.

The most common types of assets traded on the stock exchange are common and preferred shares (codes 3, and 4 to 8, respectively).

For example: among some of the most traded assets on the stock exchange, we find PETR3 and PETR4, which are, respectively, Petrobras' common (ON) and preferred (PN) shares, and VALE3 and VALE5, which are Vale's common and preferred shares.

Common shares (ON or with a 3 ending in the trading code) are those that give shareholders the right to vote at company meetings, which, at least in theory, would always be the correct forum for discussing and voting on the most important strategic issues in the company's life. There is a global trend toward improving corporate governance and therefore new share issues are being made primarily in common shares. For example, shares listed on the B3 Novo Mercado, which is the highest level of corporate governance on the Brazilian stock exchange, may be listed on companies that only have common shares in their composition.

Preferred shares (PN or ending between 4 and 8 in the trading code) are those that do not grant shareholders the right to vote at company meetings. On the other hand, preferred shares offer some type of additional right to their holders, usually priority in the distribution of dividends (fixed or minimum) and capital restitution in the event of the company's liquidation. We would like to emphasize once again, however, that international best practices of good corporate governance are pointing to a future in which minority shareholders will increasingly hold common shares rather than preferred shares.