Global securities facilitate the safe custody and administration of shares. One disadvantage, however, is that shares held as in the form of a global security are less fungible than individual shares (see fungibility).

Global securities cannot be traded on the stock market because they are not deliverable. For this reason, they are used primarily by large shareholders who wish to hold their shares over the long term. In Germany, global shares otherwise serve only as a temporary document until the final share certificates are printed, e.g., following a capital increase or new issue, so that trading in these shares, as well as price quotations, can continue without interruption.

Synonyms: global share, global certificate, multishare certificate