Financing ownership: How capital design determines who can acquire, hold, and transfer assets

Abstract

Before an asset can be owned, it must be financed. The terms of that financing decide who can acquire it, on what conditions, and whether ownership survives the first transition. This is the sixth paper in IIBD's Community Wealth Infrastructure series. It examines the capital that makes acquisition possible in the first place, and how financing design allocates ownership. Part of the Community Wealth Infrastructure Series (Working Paper No. 6), published by IIBD. Suggested citation: Williams, R., & Dillon, D. (2026). Financing ownership: How capital design determines who can acquire, hold, and transfer assets (Community Wealth Infrastructure Series, Working Paper No. 6). IIBD.