Assets investors buy in a crisis: US Treasury bonds, the US dollar, the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and gold.
Safe havens tend to hold their value or rise when risky assets fall, because they are liquid, backed by strong institutions, or have a long record as stores of value.
Why it matters
Holding some safe-haven exposure cushions a portfolio in a downturn. The relationship is not fixed: in an inflation shock bonds and shares can fall together, as in 2022.
