Medium-term is an asset holding period or investment horizon that is intermediate in nature. The exact period of time that is considered medium term depends on the investor's personal preferences, as well as on the asset class under consideration. In the fixed-income market, bonds that have a maturity period of five to 10 years are considered to be medium-term bonds. A day trader who seldom holds open positions overnight may consider a stock that is held for a couple of weeks as a medium-term position, whereas a long-term investor may define the medium term as a holding period of one to three years. Similarly, homeowners may regard anything less than 10 years as a medium-term horizon when it comes to real estate.Determining an investments horizon, or term is often based on the intention behind the investment more than the investment itself, such as when the funds will be used for other goals, or whether a lump sum or an income stream is the desired result. The most common terms are generally considered short, medium, and long.