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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.
Learn about accounting for short-term investments: trading securities and available-for-sale securities. Short-term investments are readily marketable securities (stocks and bonds) that are intended to be sold within the time period of current assets. Logically, short-term investments are classified as current assets.