However, at acquisition an entity is not precluded from classifying as trading a security it plans to hold for a longer period. If an entity acquires a security without the intent to sell it in the near term, it may still classify the security in the trading category. The FASB deliberately used the terms generally and principally in describing the trading category. However, the decision to classify a security as trading should occur at acquisition; transfers into or from the trading category should be rare; thus, if an entity elects to classify a security in the trading category, it should.
