Kristina Zucchi
金融市場是買方和賣方一起交易例如股票、債券、大宗商品、衍生品和貨幣之類金融資產的市場。金融市場的目的是為全球交易設定價格、籌集資金和轉移流動性和風險。盡管金融市場的構成成份很多，但是兩個使用最多的是貨幣市場和資本市場。
貨幣市場用於短期目的，通常最多長達一年。相反，資本市場則用於長期資產，任何資產的成熟期限都會超過一年。貨幣市場和資本市場組成了金融市場的絕大部分，並且經常被同時使用以管理公司、政府和個人的流動性和風險。
資本市場
資本市場也許是使用最廣泛的市場。股票和債券市場都受到密切關註並且他們的日常變動被當作世界市場一般經濟狀況進行分析。因此，在資本市場運營的機構，例如證券交易所、商業銀行和所有類型的公司都受到詳細檢查。
在資本市場運營的機構進入市場為了長期目的籌集資金，例如合並和收購，以此擴大業務或者開展新業務或者進行其他的資本項目。企業為了這些長期目的籌集資金進入一個或多個資本市場。在債券市場，公司以企業債券的形式發行債務，而地方和聯邦政府都可能以政府債券形式發行債務。類似的，公司也可以決定以在證券市場發行股票的方式籌集資金。政府機構不是傳統的上市公司，因此不發行股票。發行這些股票或者債券的公司和政府機構被認為是這些市場賣方。
買方，或者說投資者買入這些股票或者債券進行交易。如果賣方，或者說發行方第一次在市場發行股票，那麼這個市場被稱為一級市場。相反，如果股票已經發行並且在買方之間進行交易，被稱為二級市場。買方在一級市場銷售時賺錢，而不是二級市場，盡管他們能影響他們股票在二級市場的定價。
資本市場證券的買方傾向於使用資金進行長期投資。資本市場風險巨大且通常不用於短期投資。只要有長期視野，許多投資者金融資本市場的目的是進行退休或者教育儲蓄，這意味著他們年輕並敢於冒險。
貨幣市場
投資者通常在進入資本市場的同時進入貨幣市場。資本市場需要投資者承受風險和有耐心，而貨幣市場則是進行短時間投資的場所，其時間週期通常是一年或者更短。資本市場使用的金融工具是股票和債券，而貨幣市場使用的金融工具則是存款、抵押貸款、承兌匯票和匯票。在貨幣市場運營的機構為中央銀行、商業銀行和承兌機構等。
貨幣市場為個人、企業和政府機構提供不同的功能。進入貨幣市場的主要原因是獲得流動性。發行短期債務的目的通常是維持營業開支或者運營資本而不是為了資本增額或者大型項目。公司可能想快速籌集資金所以進入貨幣市場，或者他們只是想支付工資。貨幣市場在確保公司和政府維持流動性中占據重要角色，使其不會出現資金匮乏並且不需要進行代價昂貴的貸款持有超額資金並錯失獲得利息的機會。
另一方面，投資者在貨幣市場投資非常安全。不像資本市場，貨幣市場的風險很低，規避風險的投資者非常願意進入貨幣市場。有固定收入的老年人通常使用貨幣市場因為這些投資類型非常安全。
總結
資本市場貨幣市場間存在類似和不同。從發行方或者說賣方的角度來看，兩個市場都提供一個必要的業務功能，那就是維持充足的資金水平。進入兩個市場的賣方目的取決於他們的流動性需求和時間週期。類似的，投資者或者說買方進入市場的目的也不同，資本市場提供高風險投資，貨幣市場提供安全性高的資產，貨幣市場回報通常低但是穩定，而資本市場提供高回報。資本市場回報的大小通常和其風險水平直接相關，但是也會出現例外。
由於缺乏風險使投資者不能利用這些非正常情況獲取高回報，資本市場被認為是長期有效短期低效的。這些非正常情況正是資本市場投資者意圖掌握的。貨幣市場意圖安全，他們偶爾會出現負回報。無論長期或者短期，資本市場或者貨幣市場，那些疏忽大意造成的風險都是投資者需要註意的重點。
Financial Markets: Capital Vs. Money Markets
By Kristina Zucchi, CFA
A financial market is a market that brings buyers and sellers together to trade in financial assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities, derivatives and currencies. The purpose of a financial market is to set prices for global trade, raise capital and transfer liquidity and risk. Although there are many components to a financial market, two of the most commonly used are money markets and capital markets.
Money markets are used for a short-term basis, usually for assets up to one year. Conversely, capital markets are used for long-term assets, which are any asset with maturity greater than one year. Capital markets include the equity (stock) market and debt (bond) market. Together the money and capital markets comprise a large portion of the financial market and are often used together to manage liquidity and risks for companies, governments and individuals.
Capital Markets
Capital markets are perhaps the most widely followed markets. Both the stock and bond markets are closely followed and their daily movements are analyzed as proxies for the general economic condition of the world markets. As a result, the institutions operating in capital markets - stock exchanges, commercial banks and all types of corporations, including nonbank institutions such as insurance companies and mortgage banks - are carefully scrutinized.
The institutions operating in the capital markets access them to raise capital for long-term purposes, such as for a merger or acquisition, to expand a line of business or enter into a new business, or for other capital projects. Entities that are raising money for these long-term purposes come to one or more capital markets. In the bond market, companies may issue debt in the form of corporate bonds, while both local and federal governments may issue debt in the form of government bonds. Similarly, companies may decide to raise money by issuing equity on the stock market. Government entities are typically not publicly held and, therefore, do not usually issue equity. Companies and government entities that issue equity or debt are considered the sellers in these markets.
The buyers, or the investors, buy the stocks or bonds of the sellers and trade them. If the seller, or issuer, is placing the securities on the market for the first time, then the market is known as the primary market. Conversely, if the securities have already been issued and are now being traded among buyers, this is done on the secondary market. Sellers make money off the sale in the primary market, not in the secondary market, although they do have a stake in the outcome (pricing) of their securities in the secondary market.
The buyers of securities in the capital market tend to use funds that are targeted for longer-term investment. Capital markets are risky markets and are not usually used to invest short-term funds. Many investors access the capital markets to save for retirement or education, as long as the investors have long time horizons, which usually means they are young and are risk takers.
Money Market
The money market is often accessed alongside the capital markets. While investors are willing to take on more risk and have patience to invest in capital markets, money markets are a good place to "park" funds that are needed in a shorter time period - usually one year or less. The financial instruments used in capital markets include stocks and bonds, but the instruments used in the money markets include deposits, collateral loans, acceptances and bills of exchange. Institutions operating in money markets are central banks, commercial banks and acceptance houses, among others.
Money markets provide a variety of functions for either individual, corporate or government entities. Liquidity is often the main purpose for accessing money markets. When short-term debt is issued, it is often for the purpose of covering operating expenses or working capital for a company or government and not for capital improvements or large scale projects. Companies may want to invest funds overnight and look to the money market to accomplish this, or they may need to cover payroll and look to the money market to help. The money market plays a key role in ensuring companies and governments maintain the appropriate level of liquidity on a daily basis, without falling short and needing a more expensive loan or without holding excess funds and missing the opportunity of gaining interest on funds.
Investors, on the other hand, use the money markets to invest funds in a safe manner. Unlike capital markets, money markets are considered low risk; risk-adverse investors are willing to access them with the anticipation that liquidity is readily available. Older individuals living on a fixed income often use the money markets because of the safety associated with these types of investments.
The Bottom Line
There are both differences and similarities between capital and money markets. From the issuer or seller's standpoint, both markets provide a necessary business function: maintaining adequate levels of funding. The goal for which sellers access each market varies depending on their liquidity needs and time horizon. Similarly, investors or buyers have unique reasons for going to each market: Capital markets offer higher-risk investments, while money markets offer safer assets; money market returns are often low but steady, while capital markets offer higher returns. The magnitude of capital market returns is often a direct correlation to the level of risk, however that is not always the case.
Although markets are deemed efficient in the long run, short-term inefficiencies allow investors to capitalize on anomalies and reap higher rewards that may be out of proportion to the level of risk. Those anomalies are exactly what investors in capital markets try to uncover. Although money markets are considered safe, they have occasionally experienced negative returns. Inadvertent risk, although unusual, highlights the risks inherent in investing - whether long or short term, money markets or capital markets.
本文翻譯由兄弟財經提供
文章來源：http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/052313/financial-markets-capital-vs-money-markets.asp