In today’s volatile economic environment, investors crave security and stability more than ever. Geopolitical crises and rising energy prices continue to create uncertainty. Added to this is inflation, which causes a loss in value year after year.
Therefore, it is now crucial to understand how to not only increase but also maintain your wealth. In this article, we highlight the most important aspects of preserving assets.
The last decade recovered from the banking crisis in 2008, when the euro crisis began two years later: Government debt rose, banks fell into distress and the economy suffered. But all of this was soon forgotten: The economy boomed again, there was cheap money due to the low interest rates, the number of investors rose as well as the number of risky investment opportunities. Bitcoin is just one prominent example of this.
It wasn't just in Silicon Valley that investments were made in many smaller technology companies, sometimes with just one idea, that a new hype emerged that stretched over several years.
But the hype ended in 2020 at the latest: Starting with the coronavirus pandemic, recent years have reminded us how crises can come from nothing and result in major cuts. The financial market collapsed massively with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, then recovered rapidly - and then received a massive damper again from rising interest rates.
Since then, the stock markets have been characterised in part by wild movements back and forth. From mid-2024, the ECB gradually lowered key interest rates again, and inflation approached the target of two per cent at the beginning of 2026. However, with the Iran war and the subsequent energy price shock, inflation has once again climbed above the mark, and investors are again looking more cautiously at the markets. At present, hardly anyone seems to expect the world to return to normal in the short term.
To keep your capital stable, you need the right strategy for securing your assets.
Securing assets is particularly challenging in these times: inflation is high and even tangible in the supermarket around the corner. It all started with the pandemic. In order to prevent a collapse, the central banks have printed much more money than usual and kept interest rates low. This made it easier for states to indebted themselves to launch stimulus programmes and provide economic aid so that as many companies as possible could get through the crisis.
This worked quite well, but now there is more money in circulation. And - in simple terms - if there is a lot of money, then more can be demanded. Prices are rising. In addition, the pandemic has also paralysed factories, ports and logistics. It was possible to produce less. Soon rising demand exceeded supply, an additional driver for inflation. After all, rising energy prices are driving up the inflation rate.
Inflation is calculated monthly by the Federal Statistical Office: The prices of around 750 goods - they come from all areas of daily demand - are determined and weighted according to the assumed average demand. The price development of this shopping basket is also known as the consumer price index.
If average prices have risen compared to the previous year’s month, we speak of inflation. If they have fallen, which is rather rare, it is called deflation.
Central banks around the world, including the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (FED), have set themselves a small target of inflation of almost 2%. Following a phase of significant interest rate hikes, they have gradually lowered key interest rates again since mid-2024 - and have paused interest rates for the time being with the latest rise in inflation.
The real return is the decisive factor for preserving the assets. Real return is the actual purchasing power of an amount of money over time. For example, if wealth is invested as fixed-term deposits, the ratio of interest rates and inflation rates determines whether purchasing power increases or decreases.
Inflation, in turn, has a negative impact on purchasing power. For wealth to actually be preserved, interest rates must be higher than inflation. And this is not currently the case in this country. So wealth is shrinking.
However, even if you invest in equities, for example, inflation can put pressure on returns: If the company is struggling with higher production costs, for example, this affects the dividend and the price.
With klimaVest, we are acquiring wind and solar farms that not only contribute to the expansion of renewable energies, but also provide our investors with some inflation protection. This is because we can sell the generated green electricity to companies and utilities via state-subsidised feed-in tariffs, direct marketing or electricity purchase agreements. A higher inflation rate also leads to higher electricity prices, so that our investors benefit more from the income.
Wealth building is the process of increasing capital through investments and savings. The goal is clear: Generate more assets with high-yield investments. Because returns are always associated with risk, it ideally takes a longer investment horizon to be able to endure setbacks and weak phases.
Asset preservation is the strategy for preserving existing capital and minimising losses. It usually only comes into effect when an asset already exists, which is now to be protected. Wealth preservation often plays a role as we get older, if wealth was previously built up and it is available - and if it is now to serve as security.
Just like for wealth building, investing capital is also advisable for preserving wealth and requires an active strategy, because if wealth were only left in the account as money, there would be a loss in value - according to the current inflation rate and key interest rate.
Your own risk profile is also decisive for whether you should focus on wealth building or preservation. Wealth building involves increased risk. If you are already wealthy and do not see the need to increase your assets further, preserving assets is the less risky alternative: It protects assets against loss of purchasing power and may preserve them for subsequent generations.
A long-term investment normally extends over a period of at least 12 years. It is not based on current trends and fashions, but has a broader horizon.
This has several benefits. Time becomes an ally in long-term investment in many ways:
This ensures real security - and at the same time a feeling of security. There is no pressure or stress to beat the market, enter and exit at the right time. In certain phases of life - for example, when you already have a certain amount of wealth and are not dependent on increasing it further - or even in economically uncertain times, such security can be more important than achieving maximum return.
Diversification is the allocation of investments to different asset classes or instruments in order to reduce risk. For example, Instead of investing all the money in the equities of a single company, it is allocated to equities, bonds, real estate and commodities in the interests of diversification.
Risk management is the process of identifying, evaluating and minimising losses. To limit losses in volatile times, for example, you can place a stop-loss order for your investment in a company’s shares: If the share falls below a certain price, it is automatically sold.
As returns are generally always “buy” with risk, investments are considered particularly attractive if they have an attractive return and at the same time have a rather low risk class.
Diversification in the portfolio is a decisive factor for an asset preservation strategy as it minimises the losses of individual investments. For example, if equities lose value quite suddenly during a stock market crash, the resulting losses in a diversified portfolio can be absorbed by other asset classes. Bonds and gold often remain stable or rise even when equity markets fall.
Although diversification is central to asset preservation, it should remain within the framework and not be invested too small. Because almost every investment also involves transaction costs, the smaller the amount invested, the higher the absolute share of transaction costs.
There is also a risk of over-diversification: This is because you also miss out on most of the gains from certain investments, which in turn affects the performance of the portfolio. For example, An investor who wants to know how to invest 50000 euros and invest in 100 different shares doesn't just pay 100 times the transaction costs. Those equities that perform well are also hardly weighted.
High return with zero risk - who wouldn't want that? In reality, however, there is usually no such investment. Because return and risk usually go hand in hand: The higher the return, the higher the risk.
Or, to put it another way: The lower the risk, the lower the return. For so-called "safe investments", the risk is generally low - but the return is typically low.
Government bonds show this relationship clearly: Although government bonds from stable countries are often considered to be very safe, returns are also often very low. The situation is similar for daily allowances and fixed-term deposits: Money in the account is a very safe position from an investment point of view (the only risk is bankruptcy, but even then the deposits are usually legally secured) - but you usually receive interest on it at approximately the same level as the key interest rate.
It is also possible to invest in tangible assets. These are assets that have value in themselves, so-called intrinsic value. Therefore, the influence of monetary policy is usually low or non-existent. Such tangible assets may include physical gold - i.e. not certificates or other financial products such as ETCs linked to the gold value -, real estate or works of art.
Particularly in times of high inflation and economic crises, tangible assets benefit from intrinsic value: While paper money can lose value, physical goods retain at least their intrinsic value, and sometimes even increase in value. Some tangible assets even generate their own returns, for example wind turbines: They have an intrinsic value - that of the components, machines and systems - and also offer stable income thanks to years of purchase agreements for the electricity produced.
In a diversified portfolio, tangible assets should have a fixed place, as they generally stabilise the assets and also ensure predictability in terms of tangible assets with returns:
The more actively you manage your portfolio, the more you need to be ahead of your time, not only in terms of economic and technological developments. After all, if you want to secure your wealth, it is not enough to just look at what has worked in the past.
Instead, it is about what the technologies of tomorrow are and what economic developments will influence the coming years and decades. Geopolitics also plays a role: be it the crises and wars or new political majoritys in important countries and regions.
Nobody has a glass marble. However, you should consider carefully whether you want to see your investment for the next 20 years in traditionally quieter markets or in a bet on an emerging country.
The solar park around the corner may also seem advanced today - but will the technology still be state-of-the-art in ten years’ time? From a certain point onwards, it is advisable to rely on expert hands and heads.
As shares in companies, equities offer opportunities for high returns, but they also involve a certain risk: If a company is successful, the value of its shares rises; if it fails, the value can fall.
(Equity) investment funds are pools of funds invested in a variety of companies - this offers diversification compared to direct investment in individual shares. Investing in funds therefore means increasing the diversification of the portfolio. If an equity fund invests in companies from different sectors, this ensures even more diversification.
The benefits of investing in companies are the possibility of high returns and possible dividend payments, while investment funds significantly increase diversification. However, corporate equities are also subject to risk, which includes market fluctuations and company-specific risks. Although the latter can absorb investment funds in part, there is also a risk here in the form of possible management errors.
ETFs are not affected by management risks. ETF stands for Exchange Traded Funds. These funds are not actively managed, instead they track, for example, an equity index or a certain known one-to-one mix of equities.
There are also other forms of investment funds that invest in other investment areas rather than in equities. These include real estate funds. These other investment funds will be discussed in the next chapters.
In principle, investing in companies is almost indispensable for wealth building. However, they are losing some significance in asset protection, also because they generally rely on broader diversification.
Fixed-term deposits are parked as deposits with the banks for a specified period. Overnight money is also a deposit with a bank, but it is available daily.
Overnight and fixed-term deposits have a low risk, even if the bank runs out of liquidity, deposits are usually legally secured. Fixed-term deposits also provide fixed interest rates and thus predictability.
But the returns - here: interest rates are usually low, especially in low-interest periods. If inflation is higher, which is usually the case, then inflation “eats” the real value of money.
Currently, money in a cash overnight account also yields less interest than the inflation rate, which leads to a real loss in value. Daily deposits and fixed-term deposits are therefore suitable for short-term parking of parts of the assets, but are not suitable as long-term investments.
There are different types of real estate: Residential, commercial, agricultural and specialty properties. All properties are tangible assets that often increase in value over time. They can also generate returns in the form of rental income and contribute to portfolio diversification.
But they also have risks: The real estate market is also subject to some volatility, which can sometimes be high. In addition, high initial investments are required and there are often ongoing costs, such as for administration. Therefore, people like to invest in an indirect variant, for example in open-ended real estate funds.
Whether the investment is in your own home, in a specific property or in a good, proven real estate fund: Real estate belongs in every portfolio and is very suitable for preserving assets.
People need more and more energy. At the same time, climate change requires controlling emissions and reducing fossil fuels. The solution is renewable energies that generate little carbon dioxide and particulate matter. The importance of clean electricity is likely to increase massively in an increasingly electrified society that relies on e-mobility and heat pumps.
Renewable energies can be divided into the sectors of wind, solar, hydropower and biomass, among others. You benefit from an investment that is both economically future-oriented and environmentally sustainable. Demand for electricity from renewable energies is constantly increasing, and in many countries expansion is being accelerated by state subsidies and subsidies.
What is particularly appealing is that renewable energies are a future field, but at the same time offer a certain degree of certainty and predictability of returns through purchase agreements over a longer period of time. When constructing a solar park, we don't think from quarter to quarter, but often over decades.
Increasing competition, regulatory uncertainties and technological changes are risks of renewable energies. A wind farm can deliver constant energy over many years, but it also presents challenges such as maintenance, which can put pressure on the return on investment if it becomes increasingly technologically complex.
For this reason, the best rule also applies to renewable energies: "Diversificationin diversification". In other words: Further diversify within renewable energies to mitigate potential risks. This is made possible by investment funds that specialise in renewable energies and invest in various projects and sectors such as wind, solar and biomass.
The aim of hedging assets is to minimise and offset losses and thus keep the value of the assets constant. On the one hand, this can be achieved at a low risk. On the other hand, it is not enough to keep the money in an account, then inflation, which is currently higher than interest rates, would cause a loss in value.
That’s why we need a good plan, a coherent strategy. Among other things, diversification is crucial for successful asset preservation: Allocate assets to different asset classes such as equity funds, real estate and precious metals.
Renewable energies are a particularly promising investment for preserving assets. There is much to suggest that they will continue to gain in importance in the future. Nevertheless, this is a comparatively low-risk investment: Long-term off-take agreements, among other things, go hand in hand with return and stability in renewable energies - and thus offer an excellent component for diversification when investing to preserve assets.
A Commerz Real Fund Management S.à r.l. fund