There is no common definition of an SPE but some of the following characteristics may apply. Such units often have no employees and no non-financial assets. They may have little physical presence beyond a “brass plate” confirming their place of registration. They are always related to another corporation, often as a subsidiary, and SPEs in particular are often resident in a territory other than the territory of residence of the related corporations. In the absence of any physical dimension to an enterprise, its residence is determined according to the economic territory under whose laws the enterprise is incorporated or registered. Entities of this type are commonly managed by employees of another corporation which may or may not be a related one. The unit pays fees for services rendered to it and in turn charges its parent or other related corporation a fee to cover these costs. This is the only production the unit is involved in though it will often incur liabilities on behalf of its owner and will usually receive investment income and holding gains on the assets it holds. Whether a unit has all or none of these characteristics, and whether it is described as an SPE or some similar designation or not, it is treated in the SNA in the same way as any other institutional unit by being allocated to sector and industry according to its principal activity unless it falls into one of the three following categories: Captive financial institutions, artificial subsidiaries of corporations, or special purpose units of general government.