Risk-off assets will likely be the secular investment theme of the 2010s.

Their counterparts, risk-off assets, have lagged.

The performance see-saw between risk-on and risk-off assets reflects this fight between economic and political realities.

Since the beginning of the crisis, the dollar has been a fairly consistent risk-off asset, tending to rise when risky assets are falling and vice versa:

Marcus Grubb, managing director for investment at the World Gold Council, said the reality is that gold can behave as both a risk-on and risk-off asset.

Risk-off assets are perceived safe haven assets like US Treasuries, German Bunds, the US dollar and even US stocks.

Analysts at HSBC said that their risk on risk off index, which measures how closely different asset classes are correlated, hit an all-time high, with the dollar the most risk-off asset.