A non-financial asset is an asset that cannot be traded on the financial markets and whose value is derived by its physical net worth rather than from a contractual claim, as opposed to a

financial asset A financial asset is a non-physical asset whose value is derived from a contractual claim, such as bank deposits, bonds, and participations in companies' share capital. Financial assets are usually more liquid than other tangible assets, such as ...

(e.g., stock, bonds). Non-financial assets may be

tangible Tangibility is the property of being able to be perceived by touch. A commonplace understanding of "tangibility" renders it as an attribute allowing something to be perceptible to the senses. In criminal law, one of the elements of an offense ...

(also known as

real assets Real Assets is an investment asset class that covers investments in physical assets such as real estate, energy, and infrastructure. Real assets have an inherent physical worth. Real assets differ from financial assets in that financial assets get ...

, e.g., land, buildings, equipment, and vehicles) but also

intangible Intangibles or intangible may refer to: * Intangible asset, an asset class used in accounting * Intellectual capital, the difference in value between tangible assets (physical and financial) and market value * Intellectual property, a legal concep ...

(e.g., patents, intellectual property, data). Non-financial assets can be further divided into produced assets (fixed assets, inventories, and valuables) and non-produced assets (natural resources, contracts, leases and licenses, and goodwill and marketing assets). Non-financial assets can be transformed into financial assets through

securitization Securitization is the financial practice of pooling various types of contractual debt such as residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans or credit card debt obligations (or other non-debt assets which generate receivables) and selling ...

; the non-financing asset thus becomes an

underlying asset In finance, a derivative is a contract that ''derives'' its value from the performance of an underlying entity. This underlying entity can be an asset, Index fund, index, or interest rate, and is often simply called the "underlying". Derivative ...

References

{{finance stub Asset Investment Finance