> Sure, but how is that different than other investments such as stocks or bonds?

Since stocks are how one owns a corporation, it's literally exactly the same as stocks, which are not an “other investment”.

Of course, there is a manifest difference between controlling enough stock that one determines, among other things, if, when, and how much a corporation distributes back to shareholders and, well, not controlling that much. But the same issue, in principal, exists with shareholders collectively as with a single shareholder individually, though coordinated action becomes harder with larger numbers.