A long-term investment is an account on the asset side of a company's balance sheet that represents the company's investments, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. Long-term investments are assets that a company intends to hold for more than a year.
The long-term investment account differs largely from the short-term investment account in that short-term investments will most likely be sold, whereas the long-term investments will not be sold for years and, in some cases, may never be sold.
Being a long-term investment means that you are willing to accept a certain amount of risk in pursuit of potentially higher rewards and that you can afford to be patient for a longer period of time.
It also suggests that you have enough capital available to afford to tie up a set amount for a long period of time.