Asset

Definition

• Any item or possession of monetary value that is legally owned by a person. Assets can include real or personal property, and enforceable claims against others including bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, etc.

Synonyms
benefit, important, value, worth, gain

Alternate Spellings
Assets

Related Terms and Acronyms

• Adjusted Basis — Definition,
  • The amount you use to determine your profit or loss from a sale or exchange of property.
• Asset Case — Definition,
  • A bankruptcy proceeding where there are non-exempt assets that might be accessible to pay creditor's claims.
• Capital Assets — Definition,
  • Items that you own for investment or personal purposes, such as stocks, bonds or stamp collections. When you sell a capital asset, depending on the price you earn a capital gain or a capital loss. Gains are taxed at a special rate, and losses can be used in many cases to reduce the amount that is taxed. See also "Capital Gain" or "Capital Loss."
• Capital Investments — Definition,
  • Money used to purchase permanent fixed assets for a business, such as machinery, land or buildings as opposed to day-to-day operating expenses.
• Chattel — Definition,
  • Personal property that can be moved.
• Fixed Assets (FA) — Acronym, Important,
  • Assets like machinery, land, buildings, or property used in operating a business that will not be consumed or converted into cash during the current accounting period.
• Fixture — Definition,
  • Personal property that becomes real property when it is attached to a building. Examples include chandeliers, built-in bookcases and cabinets and drapery rods.
• Home Equity (HE) — Acronym, Very Important,
  • The part of a home's value that the mortgage borrower owns outright; the difference between the fair market value of the home and the principal balances of all mortgage loans.
• Illiquid Asset — Definition,
  • An asset that cannot be sold easily or in a timely manner for its full value.
• Intangible Asset — Definition,
  • Non-physical resources or rights to other assets. Patents, goodwill, permits and computer programs are examples of intangible assets.
• Intangible Property — Definition,
  • Property that does not have value itself, but represents something else. Stocks, bonds and franchises are examples of intangible property. Business furniture and equipment are examples of tangible personal property.
• Liquid Assets — Definition,
  • Cash and other property that can be converted quickly and easily into cash.
• Monetary Value — Definition,
  • A property's monetary value is its worth if sold at this moment in time.
• Net Interest Margin (NIM) — Acronym,
  • Net interest income (the difference between interest income and interest expense) as a percentage of average total assets.
• Non-liquid Asset — Definition,
  • A possession that can't be transformed readily into cash. Stocks and bonds are liquid assets because they can be sold easily; a house is a non-liquid asset because it takes time to sell.
• Personal Property (PP) — Acronym,
  • Property that is movable and not permanently attached to a dwelling or structure.
• Policyholder Surplus — Definition,
  • A method of determining an insurance company's relative financial strength by finding the difference between the company's assets and liabilities.
• Protected Cell Company (SPC) — Acronym,
  • A company that separates its assets and liabilities into a number of 'cells' to shield itself and each 'cell' from losses.
• Secondary Market — Definition,
  • A market where financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, options and futures are bought and sold to investors.
• Segregated Fund — Definition,
  • Investment vehicles that feature both maturity and death guarantees. Segregated funds share similarities with mutual funds but are categorized as insurance products.
• Short-Term Capital Gain (STCG) — Acronym,
  • Your gain from the sale of a capital asset that you held for one year or less.
• Short-term Capital Loss — Definition,
  • Your loss from the sale of a capital asset that you held for one year or less.
• Solvency — Definition,
  • To be able to meet one's financial liabilities in the short or long term.
• Sub Account — Definition,
  • A separate financial account used to keep track of a department's finances.
• Total Admitted Assets — Definition,
  • What assets an insurance company is legally allowed to include when determining its financial solvency.
• Trustee — Definition,
  • A person who holds and manages assets for the benefit of beneficiaries.
• Unaffiliated Investments — Definition,
  • Investments in assets made by an insurance company where they have no control over the assets.