BREAKING DOWN 'Non-Marketable Security' Most nonmarketable securities are government-issued debt instruments. Common examples of nonmarketable securities include U.S. savings bonds, rural electrification certificates, private shares, state and local government securities, and federal government series bonds. Nonmarketable securities that are prohibited from being resold, such as U.S. savings bonds, are required to be held until maturity. Limited partnership investments are an example of a private security that may be nonmarketable due to the difficulty of reselling. Another example is private shares held by an owner of a company that is not publicly traded.