What is the difference between liquid assets and fixed assets?

The main difference between liquid and fixed assets is that liquid ones equal fast, easy access to cash. Checking and savings accounts are obvious examples of liquid assets. Still, so are stocks, bonds, and shares of companies, which can easily be sold (liquidated) and converted into cash.

What is a liquid asset?

Just as a liquid is easier to drain than a solid, a liquid asset can be drained more easily than a fixed asset. “A liquid asset is anything that can be easily converted into cash,” Craig D. Allen, president of Allen Wealth Management in Santa Barbara, California, said in an email.

Are liquid assets essentially identical to cash?

Liquid assets are perceived as being essentially identical to cash because they don't lose value when they're sold. A cash equivalent is an investment with a short-term maturity such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that can be quickly converted to cash.