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All marketable debt securities are held at cost on a company's balance sheet as a current asset, until a gain or loss is realized upon the sale of the debt instrument. Marketable debt securities are held as short-term investments and are expected to be sold within one year. If a debt security is expected to be held for longer than one year, it should be classified as a long-term investment on the company's balance sheet.
Marketable securities are financial instruments that are very liquid and can be quickly converted into cash at a reasonable price. The liquidity of marketable securities comes from the fact that the maturities tend to be less than one year, and that the rates at which they can be bought or sold have little effect on prices.