Security (investment)
Security (investment): Under federal securities law, a broad category of investments including notes, stocks, bonds, evidences of indebtedness and investment contracts.
What security (investment) means
Put simply, security (investment) is part of the working vocabulary of a civil case. The short definition above covers the usual meaning. Still, a specific rule, statute or contract can give it a narrower meaning. For that reason, check how it is used in your own documents.
Where security (investment) comes up
The term is used across many kinds of cases. For example, you may see it in pleadings, motions and court orders. To see it in context, browse the motions and procedures library or the Learn the Law topics.
How to research the term
Start with the primary source. For example, if security (investment) appears in a federal rule, read the rule itself and its official notes. After that, check your court’s local rules and any standing orders from the judge. In addition, search recent decisions from your own state or federal district. They show how courts read security (investment) in practice. Because state rules often differ, our state procedures guide links to each state’s official rules. Above all, make sure the version you read is still in force.
You can read the current federal court rules online for free.
Related legal terms
- Securitization: pooling loans or receivables and selling interests in the pool to investors, who are paid from the pooled assets.
- Pooling and servicing agreement: a contract governing the transfer of loans into a securitization trust and the duties of the trustee and servicer.
- Secondary source: material that explains or analyzes the law, such as treatises and articles, but is not itself the law.
- Security interest: an interest in personal property that secures payment or performance of an obligation, governed by UCC Article 9.
- Service of process: formally delivering the summons and complaint to a defendant in a way the rules allow.
Why precise terms matter
Legal words often look like everyday words, but they can carry a precise meaning. Because of that, a small misreading can change how you understand a deadline, a duty or a right. Our glossary keeps each definition short and links it to the procedures where it matters.
Sources
Sources last reviewed: 2026-10-23
Lawtopolis provides legal information and education, not legal advice. Using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and court rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time; verify every authority against the official source and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction about your situation.