Marketable securities are assets that can be quickly turned into cash. Marketable securities are very easy to buy and sell, can easily be transferred on the stock exchange, and offer a lower return rate than other securities. In general, they fall into two groups: marketable debt securities, and marketable equity securities. Debt securities are short-term bonds that are issued by a public company and held by another company, usually in place of cash. Marketable debt securities are short term investments that are expected to sell within a year. Equity securities include common and preferred stock. They are shares of a public company held by another corporation – listed as a holding company in corporate finances. If the stock is going to be sold or traded in the next year, the holding company will list it as a current asset. If the company thinks it will keep the stock for more than a year, it will list it as a non-current asset.