In a broad context, it is a tangible or physical item or economic resource that an entity or natural person owns.This is opposite to soft assets that are intangible or non-physical in nature. Hard assets can hold value that is derived from their tangibility: ability to be used for operation in a physical manner. Such assets are typically held for long periods of time. Examples include property, plant and equipment, commodities (oil, sugar, wheat, etc.)

In a different context a hard asset is synonymous with the term “above-water asset“: an asset whose market value exceeds its book value. In other words, assets such as bonds, CDOs, mortgages, are said to be above-water when their coupons trade approximately at current market rates.