Riches distributed by hard love (7)
I believe the answer is:
cherish
'love' is the definition.
(cherish can mean to love or treasure)
'riches distributed by hard' is the wordplay.
'distributed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'hard' becomes 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications).
'riches' with letters rearranged gives 'cheris'.
'cheris'+'h'='CHERISH'
(Other definitions for cherish that I've seen before include "Nurture (a hope)" , "Nurse" , "Hold dear -- he's rich (anag)" , "Hold dear, be fond of" , "Protect and care for lovingly" .)