Funds owning mortgage-backed securities fared slightly better, down 3.5 percent.

"When everybody already owns securities and there is no business, the market tends to sag."

"How can you own securities when you get something like this that they don't tell you about?"

Also, in times of higher interest rates, it is better to own shorter-duration securities than longer-duration ones.

It is not illegal for a portfolio manager to own securities that are also held in a fund he manages.

Derivatives can also be used by investors as a substitute for owning securities.

Are you wondering if a deceased relative owned securities?

"We haven't taken prices down to the point where retail accounts are saying they want to own securities," one government bond trader said.

Back then, not that many Americans owned securities - or a suit with an Armani label.

That's because it owned no bonds, just convertible securities and stocks.