ABSTRACT
Finance is about making investments in an unknown future in the hope and expectation of making some return on that investment. Finance is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the economy, and public debates about finance often focus on public regulation, not private law. This chapter gives a brief overview of the legal toolkit that is commonly used to forge financial assets. In the absence of legal rank orders of this kind, there could be financial transactions—but not, financial markets on a global scale. Corporate and trust law can be used for the legal separation of assets from their previous owners and their creditors. Convertibility assumes the ability to transfer or assign a legal claim from one person to another. Establishing priority rights that withstand counter-claims, creating legal vessels with an infinite lifespan, and creating legally enforceable claims to convert private money against state money, all require state law and state enforcement, which lends these claims universality.
