New issue or change of owner
In the primary market, newly issued securities are sold and the issuer receives the funds. The secondary market concerns already existing securities. Investor.gov makes this distinction.[1](#source-cm-primary)[2](#source-cm-secondary) A security appearing in an app therefore does not show who receives the buyer’s money. A sale by an existing holder within a large offering must not automatically be treated as company financing: separate new shares from the existing block being sold. “Offering” without the transaction composition is insufficient.
Educational calculation: a company issues 100 new bonds at 1,000 roubles and receives 100,000 roubles before costs. Later, an investor sells eight of them to another investor at 1,120 roubles. 8,960 roubles moves between participants; the issuer receives no new funds from the resale. Its original obligations do not disappear. All figures are fictional; commissions, intermediaries and special arrangements are excluded to isolate the direction of cash flow.
Money term is not transaction term
The money market is usually associated with short-term financing and liquidity management; the capital market with longer-term debt claims and equity participation. The boundary depends on the classification used, so name it rather than treating it as a natural constant. Investor.gov describes money funds through investments in liquid short-term debt instruments, money and cash equivalents.[3](#source-cm-money) This does not mean every such fund is a bank account or every short-term debt is guaranteed to return.
Spot and forward contracts describe another axis: the relationship between agreeing terms and scheduled performance. Buying a long-term bond in the spot market does not turn it into a money-market instrument. The buyer acquires a long-term claim even though settlement follows a separate trading calendar. Conversely, a forward contract on a short-term rate can have a contract term different from the underlying indicator term. Write both terms on separate lines.
Venue and infrastructure
Exchange or OTC agreement does not automatically determine primary status, debt term or absence of clearing. Combinations depend on system design. [OTC counterparty risk](/guides/otc-counterparty-risk/) addresses performance risk, while [trade and settlement](/guides/exchange-and-settlement/) separates agreement from settlement. Classification words do not replace checking counterparties, collateral and documents. An issuer’s solvency cannot be inferred merely because its security is admitted to organised trading.
For an independent check, record what is transferred, whether a new claim is issued, who receives money, the obligation term and how the transaction ends. Then add currency and infrastructure without changing earlier answers. If the label cannot fill the card, it is too broad for a practical conclusion. The map prevents logical errors; it does not choose an instrument or forecast prices.
Check for mixed classifications
Describe buying an already traded long-term bond through an intermediary. “Capital market” does not say whether the company receives new money. “Secondary” does not establish the debt claim’s term. “Exchange” does not say when settlement completes. A complete description retains several independent descriptors. If all other questions disappear after one label, classification has replaced information.
Another control question: does debt become short-term merely because the current owner plans to sell soon? No. The investor’s holding horizon and the obligation term concern different objects. A short investor plan also does not create a buyer on the required date. Label the subject for each calendar: issuer payment, parties’ settlement and owner’s planned spending. These calendars may coincide in an example but are not identical by definition.