Definition: The word securities is used to describe any asset that can be bought and sold on a market by exchanging paper certificates or electronic ownership records. Shares of stock, ETFs, and many bonds are securities. Real Estate held in REIT form and traded also counts as securities. Regular mutual funds or real estate does not.
You'll often hear financial professionals use securities as a catch-call phrase for your investments. Investment analysts are often called security analyst.
Examples:
John sold $80,000 in securities from his investment portfolio to come up with cash for a down payment on his house.
