I guess in American lingo though, we probably would count that Assurance Vie holding as stock ownership--that is if it's like our ira's and 401k's. In these accounts you have a choice as to how much money to put in, (though there is a maximum), and you have choices as to how to invest the money. Choices may range from almost all choices (for example I own 10 stocks in individual companies and three mutual funds in an IRA), to some company plans where you could be limited to choosing between 5--10 mutual funds. So if Assurance Vie is like that, we would call that direct ownership.
