By TROY SEGAL

Reviewed by CIERRA MURRY

Fact checked by JIWON MA

编写人：TROY SEGAL

审核人：CIERRA MURRY

事实核查人：JIWON MA

What Are Short-Term Investments?

什么是短期投资？

Short-term investments, also known as marketable securities or temporary investments, are financial investments that can easily be converted to cash, typically within five years. Many short-term investments are sold or converted to cash after a period of only three-12 months. Some common examples of short-term investments include CDs, money market accounts, high-yield savings accounts, government bonds, and Treasury bills. Usually, these investments are high-quality and highly liquid assets or investment vehicles.

短期投资，也称为有价证券或临时投资，是通常在五年内能够轻易转换为现金的金融投资。许多短期投资仅在3至12个月后出售或转换为现金。常见的短期投资包括存款证、货币市场账户、高收益储蓄账户、政府债券、美国短期国库券。通常来讲，这些投资属于高质量、高流动性资产或投资工具。

Short-term investments may also refer specifically to financial assets—of a similar kind, but with a few additional requirements—that are owned by a company. Recorded in a separate account, and listed in the current assets section of the corporate balance sheet, short-term investments in this context are investments that a company has made that are expected to be converted into cash within one year.

短期投资也可以特指公司拥有的具有类似性质但附带额外要求的金融资产。在单独账户中记录并在公司资产负债表流动资产部分列示的短期投资是指公司预计在一年内转换为现金的投资。

Short-term investments can be contrasted with long-term investments.

短期投资与长期投资正好相反。

KEY TAKEAWAYS

关键要点

·Short-term investments, also known as marketable securities or temporary investments, are financial investments that can easily be converted to cash, typically within 5 years.

短期投资，也称为有价证券或临时投资，是通常在五年内能够轻易转换为现金的金融投资。

·Short-term investments can also refer to the holdings a company owns but intends to sell within a year.

短期投资也可指公司有意在一年内出售的股份。

·Common examples of short-term investments include CDs, money market accounts, high-yield savings accounts, government bonds, and Treasury bills.

常见的短期投资包括存款证、货币市场账户、高收益储蓄账户、政府债券、美国短期国库券。

·Although short-term investments typically offer lower rates of return, they are highly liquid and give investors the flexibility to withdraw money quickly, if needed.

短期投资的回报率一般比较低，但是短期投资具有高流动性，投资者能够在需要的情况下快速提款。

·Any increases or decreases in the value of a company's short-term investments are directly reflected on a company's income statement for the quarter.

公司短期投资的升值或减值会直接在公司本季度损益表中反映。

How Short-Term Investments Work

了解短期投资

The goal of a short-term investment—for both companies and individual or institutional investors—is to protect capital while also generating a return similar to a Treasury bill index fund or another similar benchmark.

对于公司和个人或机构投资者来说，短期投资首先要保护好本金，同时能够产生类似短期国库券指数基金的收益或其他类似基准收益。

Companies in a strong cash position will have a short-term investments account on their balance sheet. As a result, the company can afford to invest excess cash in stocks, bonds, or cash equivalents to earn higher interest than what would be earned from a normal savings account.

公司拥有充足现金的，其资产负债表会设立短期投资账户。因此，公司有能力将多余现金投资于股票、债券或现金等价物，以获得比普通储蓄账户更高的利息。

There are two basic requirements for a company to classify an investment as short-term. First, it must be liquid, like a stock listed on a major exchange that trades frequently or U.S. Treasury bonds. Second, the management must intend to sell the security within a relatively short period, such as 12 months. Marketable debt securities, aka "short-term paper," that mature within a year or less, such as U.S. Treasury bills and commercial paper, also count as short-term investments.

归类为短期投资需要遵守两个基本要求。第一，投资必须具有流动性，比如，在大型证券交易所上市并频繁交易的股票，或者美国国库债券。第二，公司管理层必须打算在相对较短的期限（比如，12个月）内出售证券。在一年或更短时间内到期的债务性有价证券（又称“短期票据”），比如，美国短期国库券和商业票据，也算作短期投资。

Marketable equity securities include investments in common and preferred stock. Marketable debt securities can include corporate bonds—that is, bonds issued by another company—but they also need to have short maturity dates and should be actively traded to be considered liquid.

权益性有价证券包括普通股和优先股。债务性有价证券包括公司债券，即另一家公司发行的债券，该等债券需在短期内到期，交易活跃，具有流动性。

Short-Term Investments vs. Long-Term Investments

短期投资与长期投资

Unlike long-term investments, which are designed to be bought and held for a period of at least a year, short-term investments are bought knowing they will be quickly sold. Typically, long-term investors are willing to accept a higher level of volatility or risk, with the idea that these "bumps" will eventually smooth out over a long period—as long as, of course, the investment is growing in a positive trajectory.

与旨在购买并持有至少一年的长期投资不同的是，短期投资是在有意很快出售的情况下购买的。一般来说，长期投资者愿意接受较高水平的波动或风险，他们认为这些“波动”终将在很长一段时间内归于平静，当然，前提是投资增势保持良好。

Fast Fact: Long-term investments are also used by individuals that are able to stow away their money and don't have immediate needs for it (such as to buy a car or a house).

信息速查：长期投资也适合有多余存款但没有需求（比如，购车或购房）要立即满足的人士。

Advantages and Disadvantages of Short-Term Investments

短期投资优缺点

Short-term investments help ground an investor's portfolio. Although they typically offer lower rates of return compared to investing in an index fund over time, they are highly liquid investments that give investors the flexibility of making money they can withdraw quickly, if needed.

短期投资有助于奠定投资者投资组合的基础。随着时间的推移，相较于投资指数基金，短期投资的回报率一般比较低，但是短期投资具有高流动性，投资者能够在需要的情况下快速提款。

For a business, long-term investments are not counted as income until they are sold. This means that companies that decide to hold or invest in short-term investments count any fluctuations in price at the market rate. This means short-term investments that decline in value are marked down as a loss for the company on the income statement.

对于企业来说，长期投资在出售之前不视为收益。这就意味着，决定持有或购买短期投资的公司要按市场利率计算价格波动。短期投资减值的，通过减记在损益表上记为公司损失。

Pros

优点

·Short-term investment gains are reflected directly on the income statement.

短期投资收益直接在损益表上反映。

·Short-term investments take on lower risk, making them stable options.

短期投资的风险较低，比较稳定。

·Short-term investments help diversify income types, in case of market volatility.

短期投资有助于在市场波动的情况下实现收入的多元化。

Cons

缺点

·Short-term investments typically have lower rates of return.

短期投资的回报率一般比较低。

·Any declines in value of a short-term investment will directly affect the net income of a business.

短期投资发生的任何减值会直接影响企业的净利润。

Examples of Short-Term Investments

短期投资示例

Some common short-term investments and strategies used by corporations and individual investors include:

对于企业和个人投资者来说，常见的短期投资和策略包括：

·Certificates of deposit (CDs): These deposits are offered by banks and typically pay a higher interest rate because they lock up cash for a given period. These periods usually range from several months up to five years. They are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000.

存款证：存款证由银行提供，由于会在特定期限（通常为数月，最高不超过五年）内锁定现金，一般利率较高。美国联邦存款保险公司（FDIC）为银行存款提供保险，最高保额为250,000美元。

·Money market accounts: Returns on these FDIC-insured accounts will beat those on savings accounts, but require a minimum investment. Keep in mind that money market accounts differ from money market mutual funds, which are not FDIC-insured.

货币市场账户：FDIC保险账户的回报率将超过储蓄账户的回报率，但是对最低投资额有要求。需要注意的是，货币市场账户不同于货币市场共同基金，FDIC不为后者提供保险。

·Treasuries: There are a variety of these government-issued bonds, such as notes, bills, floating-rate notes, and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS).

债券：政府发行的债券种类繁多，比如，票据、浮动利率票据、通货膨胀保值债券（TIPS）。

·Bond funds: Offered by professional asset managers/investment companies, these funds are better for a shorter time frame and can offer better-than-average returns for the risk. Just be aware of the fees.

债券基金：基金由专业资产管理人/投资公司提供，期限较短，风险回报高于平均水平。只是需要注意费用问题。

·Municipal bonds: These bonds, issued by local, state, or non-federal government agencies, can offer higher yields and tax advantages since they are often exempt from income taxes.

市政债券：债券由地方、州、非联邦政府机构发行，收益率较高，享有税收优惠（通常免征所得税）。

·Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending: Excess cash can be put into play via one of these lending platforms that match borrowers to lenders.

个人对个人（P2P）借贷：借贷平台在借款人和贷款人之间牵线搭桥，将多余现金聚集起来借贷给贷款人。

·Roth IRAs: For individuals, these vehicles can offer flexibility and a variety of investment options. Contributions, but not gains, to Roth IRAs can be withdrawn at any time, without penalty or taxes due.

罗斯个人退休帐户（IRA）：对于个人而言，具有灵活性，投资选择众多。罗斯IRA的供款（不是收益）可随时提取，无需缴纳罚款或税款。

Important: If you have excess cash, using it to pay off higher-interest debt may be more advantageous than investing it in low-risk but low-return short-term investments.

重要说明：利用多余现金偿还高息债务可能胜过购买低风险、低回报短期投资。

Real-World Example of Short-Term Investments

短期投资真实示例

On its quarterly statement dated Apr. 21, 2022, Microsoft Corp. reported holding $92.2 billion of short-term investments on its balance sheet. The biggest component was U.S. government securities, which was $78.4 billion. This was followed by corporate notes/bonds worth $11.7 billion, mortgage/asset-backed securities at $590 million, foreign government bonds worth $501 million, municipal securities at $269 million, and certificates of deposit (CDs) at $2 billion.

Microsoft Corp.于2022年4月21日发布的季度报表显示，资产负债表上短期投资达922亿美元，占比最重的要数美国政府债券，达784亿美元；后面依次为，公司票据/债券117亿美元，抵押贷款/资产支持证券5.9亿美元，外国政府债券5.01亿美元，市政债券2.69亿美元，存款证20亿美元。

What Are the Best Short-Term Investments?

什么是最佳短期投资？

Some of the best short-term investment options include short-dated CDs, money market accounts, high-yield savings accounts, government bonds, and Treasury bills. Check their current interest rates or rates of return to discover which is best for you.

最佳短期投资包括短期存款证、货币市场账户、高收益储蓄账户、政府债券、美国短期国库券。投资者可以根据当前利率或回报率确定最适合的短期投资。

Where Can I Invest for 6 Months?

六个月适合什么投资？

Common short-term investment vehicles include six-month CDs, money market accounts, high-yield savings accounts, government bonds, and Treasury bills.

常见的短期投资工具包括期限为六个月的存款证、货币市场账户、高收益储蓄账户、政府债券、美国短期国库券。

What Is the Best Way to Invest $5,000?

五千美元最适合什么投资？

Based on experience and risk tolerance, investors will differ on this question. However, many financial analysts will say the best way to invest $5,000 is to put it in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 and keep it for the long run.

投资者的自身经验和风险承受能力不同，对这个问题的回答自然也不同。但是，许多金融分析人员会认为，5,000美元最适合投资共同基金或追踪标准普尔500指数的交易所交易基金，适合长期持有。

What Can You Invest in With Little Money?

投入资金较少适合什么投资？

Individuals with only a little bit of cash have a lot of options. They can put the money in any investments that don't require a minimum balance, such as certain savings accounts, fractional shares of an index fund, or even cheaper stocks, bonds, and CDs.

如果只有少量现金，也有很多选择，比如，可以投资对最低余额没有要求的产品，像某些储蓄账户、指数基金的部分成份股，甚至是便宜的股票、债券和存款证。

The Bottom Line

总结

Short-term investments can be great investments for individual investors and corporations who are looking for both liquid and stable options to grow their wealth. The options are plenty: from CDs to bonds and high-yield savings accounts, it's only up to each investor to do their homework.

对于希望通过具有流动性和稳定性的投资增加自身财富的个人投资者和公司来说，短期投资是个不错的选择，比如，存款证、高收益储蓄账户，具体需要投资者提前了解相关信息。