Despite the fact that most assets depreciate over time, there are some hard assets that have the ability to maintain value and sometimes also provide an income. Examples of hard assets investors have used as a savings tool include tank containers, coins, carpets and aeroplanes.

These hard assets often take the form of collectibles on which people place a high value, despite the passage of time. Carpets and coins tend to increase in value over time. The other set of hard assets investors put their money in are assets with long service lives. Items such as tank containers and aeroplanes take a long time to completely depreciate. These assets also tend to provide impressive income streams over their service period. These assets are obviously not for the average investor. The capital required to purchase many of these items is beyond the reach the average South African income earner. Nevertheless, investors can pool their resources for the purposes of attaining these assets.