Tangible Assets

Tangible assets are the “stuff” that we own or have access to; these occupy the middle row of the RIM. Most important are the practical aspects of daily life on which our survival and happiness depend: food, water, clothing, energy, land, buildings, transportation, and technology. Whenever we trade our time, energy, or money for anything physical—whether we hold it personally, like a well-forged shovel, or collectively, like a shared summer cabin—it becomes one of our tangible assets. It is easy to overlook this realm when thinking of our investments, especially those that are not “liquid,” or readily resold.

Our decisions about which and how many tangible assets to invest in are often at the center of our economic lives and practice of investing. We are constantly faced with choices about when to convert some of our financial assets into tangible assets. While our homes and property are commonly considered “investments” because of their potential to gain value, this is the exception rather than the rule among tangible assets, many of which degrade in resale value quite quickly. We often choose to buy something that we know will never provide a financial payback because we believe it will enrich our lives in other ways. In addition, our possessions make apparent the impact we have on the world through our purchasing choices—all that stuff we have in our houses and garages offers the opportunity to contemplate the natural and human resources that were required to make and transport it to us.

But tangible assets also extend beyond the things within our personal grasp. The burgeoning “sharing economy” surely involves tangible assets, whether it's owning tools collectively with others or joining a car-sharing service that provides you with a vehicle when you need it. You might choose to invest in local food security by joining a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm. The parks, libraries, and other shared resources we enjoy in our communities are also part of our tangible portfolio. On a larger scale, you may decide to support efforts that create tangible benefits to the local or global community and the biosphere. This could include things like habitat conservation and wildlife corridor projects around the globe, efforts to keep water rights with the land rather than sold to distant cities, and investments that conserve agricultural land for future generations of farmers. Ultimately, a healthy, functioning ecosystem is our most fundamental tangible asset, one that we all hold in common.