A special purpose entity (SPE) or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is a subsidiary having legal status which has been created to carry out narrow, well-defined and temporary set of goals. It can be a corporation, trust, partnership, or limited liability company and may be controlled by several companies working together. Mostly they are created for the sole purpose of acquiring certain assets or derivative exposures and issuing liabilities that are thereby linked solely to those assets or exposures. SPE's are typically designed to isolate the parent firm from accounting, tax, or regulatory risks. SPEs are also sometimes referred to as a "bankruptcy-remote entity" which implies that the assets sold to the SPV are not at risk if either the SPV or the company whose assets are being securitized becomes insolvent.