Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[kthomp19]

Isn't it better to be an owner of a company instead of a glorified zero coupon bond holder of a company?

It depends on the financial health of the company. FnF's regulator/conservator saying they are essentially in bankruptcy right now shows that this really is a distressed investment regardless of how much profit the companies make.

This is a strange question anyway, considering:

1) By the time said ownership actually matters, the existing commons will be sharing it with Treasury, new investors, and possibly the existing juniors via conversion. Until then said ownership means nothing because FHFA makes all the decisions and Treasury has an enormous equity stake ahead of the existing commons and juniors.
2) FnF junior prefs are not zero coupon bonds.

You have either made two false equivalences here (if you're referring to FnF) or your post is entirely off topic (if you aren't).

I'm asking for a friend.

Why, does your friend work at FHFA or Treasury?