What Are Share Classes?

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Dec 18, 2025 at 1:05 AM EST

Key Points

Different share classes affect investment benefits, such as voting rights and dividend priorities.
Mutual funds share classes vary by when and how load fees are charged and can affect long-term costs.
Understanding share classes helps investors prepare for fees and prioritize investments during bankruptcies.

When choosing an investment, especially a mutual fund or stock, you have options, including which share classes you want. Some share classes are limited to certain types of investors, while others are available to anyone with a brokerage account.

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Hands playing a child's game with a folded paper labeled Stocks, Bonds, Commodities, and Mutual Funds. — Image source: Getty Images.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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