This paper revisits the traditional analytical framework linking finance and growth by explicitly taking into account the rise of intangible assets. Using a panel of developed countries from 1995 to 2015, we provide evidence both at the sectoral and at the firm level thatfinancial frictions act as a drag on productivity growth and that these effects are more pronounced for intangible intensive sectors. Our measure of sector-level intangible intensity adds a new dimension in describing the technological characteristics of a sector by capturing its innovation potential, distinct from financial dependence. These findings, which are robust to alternative specifications, shed light on the role of financial factors in explaining the productivity slowdown in developed economies and provide support for using intangible intensity as a new dimension to proxy the relative exposure of industries to financing frictions. Finally, our paper provides new insights on how financial frictions propagate to the real economy.