BNET Business Dictionary
Business Definition for: Asset
- any tangible or intangible item to which a value can be assigned. Assets can be physical, such as machinery and consumer durables, or financial, such as cash and accounts receivable.
Assets are typically broken down into five different categories. Current assets include cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, inventories, and prepaid expenses that are expected to be used within one year or a normal operating cycle. All cash items and inventories are reported at historical value. Securities are reported at market value. Noncurrent assets, or long-term investments, are resources that are expected to be held for more than one year. They are reported at the lower of cost and current market value, which means that their values will vary. Fixed assets include property, plant and facilities, and equipment used to conduct business. These items are reported at their original value, even though current values might well be much higher. Intangible assets include legal claims, patents, franchise rights, and accounts receivable. These values can be more difficult to determine. Accounts receivable, for example, reflect the amount a business expects to collect, such as, say, $9,000 of the $10,000 owed by customers. Deferred charges include prepaid costs and other expenditures that will produce future revenue or benefits.
Wiktionary Definition for: Asset
- Something or someone of any value; any portion of one's property or effects so considered.
- Ex: ''These shares are a valuable '''asset'''.''
- software Any component, model, process or framework of value that can be leveraged or reused.
Additional Resources
- Six Myths About Asset-Based Loans
- Since its inception, the asset-based lending industry has been plagued by a pervasive image that asset-based loans are inherently bad. Asset-based loans are flexible, versatile, and competitively priced. Today, asset-based loans are a fundamental financing solution offered by many lenders, including the major money-center banks. The article discusses six myths...
- White papers 2003-06-09
- Asset Allocation Funds: 6 Picks
- Managers of tactical asset allocation mutual funds can invest in everything from stocks to commodities, moving money out of one asset category and into another whenever they want. They?re supposed to buffer you against collapsing markets while offering growth potential. It all sounds great in theory. But in the real...
- Articles 2009-11-03
- Issues In Asset Allocation: Introduction
- The article talks about the asset allocation, there is a division of asset allocation into three categories: policy or strategic asset allocation, tactical asset allocation and dynamic strategies for asset allocation, which are designed to change the distribution of return. The strategic asset allocation can be characterized as a long-term...
- White papers 2001-06-19
- The Empirical Relationship Between Average Asset Correlation, Firm Probability Of Default And Asset Size
- The asymptotic single risk factor ASRF approach is a simplified framework for determining regulatory capital charges for credit risk and has become an integral part of how credit risk capital requirements are to be determined under the second Basel Accord. Within this approach, a key regulatory parameter is the average...
- White papers 2002-06-17
- Western Asset Closed-End Funds Add New Board Member
- NEW YORK -- Western Asset 2008 Worldwide Dollar Government Term Trust Inc. (NYSE: SBG), Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (NYSE: ESD), Western Asset Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc. (NYSE: EFL), Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: EMD), Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund II Inc....
- Research articles 2007-03-02
- Fitch Upgrades 3 and Affirms 5 Classes of Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2005-SN1
- NEW YORK -- Fitch upgrades three subordinate classes and affirms five classes of Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2005-SN1 lease transaction as follows: --Class A-2a asset-backed notes affirmed at 'AAA'; --Class A-2b asset-backed notes affirmed at 'AAA'; --Class A-3a asset-backed notes affirmed at 'AAA'; --Class A-3b...
- Research articles 2006-08-09
- Strategic Asset Management
- An effective asset management system is designed to increase asset and resource effectiveness by providing a platform to support all types of asset classes and all types of work in a dynamic organization. In fact, proper use of an asset management system can significantly help maximize the utilization of...
- White papers 2009-09-18
- Asset Allocation and Mutual Funds
- Asset allocation is the current rage of the mutual fund industry. In its simplest terms, asset allocation refers to the process of adjusting the relative proportion of different asset classes in an investment portfolio. Precisely because it is so popular, the merits of asset allocation tend to be accepted uncritically....
- White papers
- Six Myths About Asset-Based Loans
- Since its inception, the asset-based lending industry has been plagued by a pervasive image that asset-based loans are inherently bad. This view was born during a time when "prestigious" companies simply didn't do securing a loan with collateral and asset-based loans were offered only by a handful of lesser-known lenders....
- White papers 2003-01-05
- Dynamic Strategies, Asset Pricing Models, And The Out-Of-Sample Performance Of The Tangency Portfolio
- This paper study the behavior of an investor with unit risk aversion who maximizes a utility function defined over the mean and the variance of a portfolio's return. Conditioning information is accessible without cost and an unconditionally risk less asset is available in the market. The proposed approach makes it...
- White papers 2003-02-01
- The Importance of Asset Allocation in an Investment Program
- This article defines asset allocation in more detail, explains why asset allocation decisions are so critical, and recommends an action plan for determining a prudent asset allocation structure. To support the discussion, it also presents a case study that illustrates asset allocation decision making. Asset allocation defines the percentage of...
- White papers 2000-06-01
- Western Asset Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc. and Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. Announce Board Approval of Proposed Merger Plan
- NEW YORK -- Western Asset Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc. (NYSE: EFL) and Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (NYSE: ESD) announced today approval by each Fund's Board of Directors of a proposal to merge Western Asset Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc. with and into Western Asset...
- Research articles 2008-02-15
- Western Asset Zenix Income Fund Inc. and Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. Announce Board Approval of Proposed Merger Plan
- NEW YORK -- Western Asset Zenix Income Fund Inc. and Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. today announced approval by each Fund's Board of Directors of a proposal to merge Western Asset Zenix Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: ZIF) with and into Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. (NYSE:...
- Research articles 2008-05-09
- Board Approval of Proposed Merger Plan Announced by Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc. and Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund II Inc
- NEW YORK -- Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: EMD) and Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund II Inc. (NYSE: EDF) announced today approval by each Fund's Board of Directors of a proposal to merge Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc. with and into Western Asset Emerging...
- Research articles 2008-05-27
- Fitch Rates Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2004-2
- NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings assigns the following ratings to Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust CARAT 2004-2: -- $220,000,000 class A-1a 3.12% asset-backed notes 'AAA'; -- $657,000,000 class A-1b floating-rate asset-backed notes 'AAA'; -- $740,000,000 class A-2 3.35% asset-backed notes 'AAA'; -- $558,000,000 class A-3 3.58%...
- Research articles 2004-12-09
- Fitch Rts Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2002-5 'AAA'
- Business Editors NEW YORK--BUSINESS WIRE Nov. 13, 2002: Fitch rates Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust CARAT 2002-5 as follows: --$485,000,000 Floating-Rate Class A-1 Asset-Backed Notes 'AAA'; --$1,035,000,000 Floating-Rate Class A-2a Asset-Backed Notes 'AAA'; --$325,000,000 1.71% Class A-2b Asset-Backed Notes 'AAA'; --$600,000,000 Floating-Rate Class A-3a...
- Research articles 2002-11-13
- Fed's Kohn Sees No Asset Bubbles Building in U.S.
- By Karen PierogCHICAGO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy is meant to encourage investors to move into riskier assets in order to promote economic recovery, and there are no signs currently the policy is resulting in the build-up of a U.S. asset bubble, the central bank's number-two...
- News items 2009-11-16
- Is Information Risk a Determinant of Asset Returns?
- There are various factors affecting the asset returns. Among them the major factor is trading. This article investigate the role of information-based trading in affecting asset returns. It shows in a rational expectation example how private information affects equilibrium asset returns. Using a market microstructure model, it derive a measure...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- Asset Divestiture Following Horizontal Acquisition: A Dynamic View
- Business acquisition, resource redeployment, and asset divestiture are elements of a dynamic process in which firms change their businesses by recombining internal and external resources. It shows that post-acquisition resource redeployment leads to asset divestiture from the business that receives the redeployed resources, but not from the business that contributes...
- White papers 2000-12-02
- Tried, True and Trusted—A Primer on Asset-Based Loans
- Balance sheet management has become increasingly more complex with the litany of financial tools available today. Under increased scrutiny, many financial executives are getting "back to basics." Companies seeking both liquidity and transparency are turning to asset-based loans. An Asset-based loans is defined as a secured business loan in which...
- White papers 2002-07-01
