investment horizon is the term used to describe the total length of time that an investor expects to hold a security or a portfolio 
basics of investment horizoninvestment horizons can range from short term just a few days long to much longer term potentially spanning decades for example a young professional with a 401 k plan would have an investment horizon that would span decades however a corporation s treasury department might have an investment horizon that s only a few days long in fact some trading strategies especially those based on technical analysis can employ investment horizons of days hours or even minutes the length of an investment horizon will often determine how much risk an investor is exposed to and what their income needs are generally when portfolios have a shorter investment horizon that means investors are willing to take on less risk when investors construct an investment portfolio establishing an investment horizon is one of the first steps they need to take investment horizons and portfolio construction