Investing Activities, once a corporation has obtained funds through its financing activities, it buys assets that enable a corporation to operate. The corporation may also obtain intangible assets that lack physical substance, such as copyrights and patents. The purchase (and sale) of the assets that are used in operations (commonly referred to as property, plant, and equipment) are a corporation’s investing activities. Regardless of its form, assets are future economic benefits that a corporation controls. The assets purchased by a corporation vary depending on the type of business that the corporation engages in, and the composition of these assets is likely to vary across different companies and different industries.