The period of time between a security's issue date and its maturity date or date of removal from holdings and is the lifespan of the security. The life of the investment fall into one of two categories: short term (less than 1 year) or long term (from 1 to many years). For bonds, it is the time for all payments to be made to and received by the lender. For equities, it is the time period that the equity is acquired and then sold.