when such systemic events occur some investors look to buy safe haven assets that are uncorrelated or negatively correlated to the general market during times of distress while most assets are falling in value safe havens either retain or increase in value 
examples of safe havensa number of investment securities are considered to be safe havens for years gold has been considered a store of value as a physical commodity it cannot be printed like money and its value is not impacted by interest rate decisions made by a government because gold has historically maintained its value over time it serves as a form of insurance against adverse economic events when an adverse event occurs that lingers for a while investors may decide to pile their funds into gold which drives up its price 2also when there is a threat of inflation the value of gold increases since it is priced in u s dollars 3 other commodities such as silver copper sugar corn and livestock are negatively correlated with stocks and bonds and can also serve as safe havens for investors treasure bills t bills are debt securities that are backed by the full faith and credit of the u s government and hence are considered safe havens even in tumultuous economic climates t bills are also seen as risk free as any principal invested is repaid by the government when the bill matures investors therefore tend to run to these securities during times of perceived economic chaos 4regardless of the state of the market consumers are still going to purchase food health products and basic home supplies therefore companies operating in the defensive sector will typically retain their values during times of uncertainty as investors increase their demand for these shares examples of defensive stocks include utility healthcare biotechnology and consumer goods companies arguably cash is considered the only true safe haven during periods of a market downturn however cash offers no real return or yield and is negatively impacted by inflation some currencies are considered safe havens in volatile markets investors and currency traders may seek to convert holdings of cash into these currencies for protection the swiss franc is considered a safe haven currency 5 given the stability of the swiss government and its financial system the swiss franc usually faces a strong upward pressure stemming from increased foreign demand switzerland has a large safe and stable banking industry a low volatility capital market virtually no unemployment a high standard of living and positive trade balance figures switzerland s independence from the european union also makes it somewhat immune to any negative political and economic events that occur in the region incidentally switzerland is also a tax haven for the wealthy who take advantage of the country s high security and anonymous banking features to evade taxes and hide potentially ill gotten funds 6in addition to the swiss franc and depending on the particular challenge the market is facing the japanese yen and the u s dollar usd are also considered safe haven assets 78 often the u s dollar is a default safe haven for companies facing any domestic currency uncertainty due to the fact that it is the world s reserve currency and the denomination for many international business deals in a year as tough on equities and bonds as 2022 morgan stanley noted that the u s dollar played its safe haven role as expected and helped to diversify portfolios as a result of its negative correlation with global equities in fact the investment banking firm pointed out that the safe haven dollar s power to diversify had even increased as the 120 day correlation between the usd and u s stocks reached its lowest point since april 2012 9real estate such as a home and real estate investment trusts reits can also make good safe haven investments special considerationsthe assets listed above are not guaranteed to maintain their values during periods of market volatility furthermore what constitutes a safe haven changes over time for example if an entire economic sector is performing poorly but one company within that sector is performing well its stock could be considered a safe haven investors should carry out due diligence when looking to invest in safe havens an asset that is considered a safe haven in a downturn may not necessarily be a good investment when the stock markets are rising 