Liquidity Preference Theory

See: Liquidity Preference; See: Preferred Shares.

This is a common term in venture capital funding of start-ups. When an investor first funds the company, they typically get their preferred stock first—ahead of when the common shareholder would get his stock. There are other forms of liquidity preferences—i.e., rights that inure to the investor over the investee—like various provisions that would force the founder to sell his company should a certain price be hit within a given time window.

It also involves (we know, we know, lots of definitions, but people use this term in different ways in different settings) the idea that investors prefer securities which are more easily turned into quick cash. So if something has a longer maturity date (like a long term bondor other thing where the money is tied up for a while), then they'll want some sort of extra benefit or premium for tying their money up for so long.