Liquidity (or Marketability)
Liquidity generally refers to how easily or quickly a security can be bought or sold in a secondary market. Liquid investments can be sold readily and without paying a hefty fee to get money when it is needed.
Concept at a glance
Definition and explanation
Liquidity generally refers to how easily or quickly a security can be bought or sold in a secondary market. Liquid investments can be sold readily and without paying a hefty fee to get money when it is needed. [1]
A stock’s liquidity generally refers to how rapidly shares of a stock can be bought or sold without substantially impacting the stock price. Stocks with low liquidity may be difficult to sell and may cause you to take a bigger loss if you cannot sell the shares when you want to. [1]
Liquidity risk is the risk that investors won’t find a market for their securities, which may prevent them from buying or selling when they want. This is sometimes the case with complicated investment products and products that charge a penalty for early withdrawal or liquidation such as a certificate of deposit (CD) . [1]
Source-supported connections
Frequently asked questions
What does Liquidity (or Marketability) mean in the cited reference?
Liquidity generally refers to how easily or quickly a security can be bought or sold in a secondary market. Liquid investments can be sold readily and without paying a hefty fee to get money when it is needed. [1]
Liquidity (or Marketability) connection map
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Sources and review dates
Reviewed 23 October 2026. Historical dates and award-time affiliations retain their original context. A review date is not an event date. Background sources are identified separately from official records.