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2008 will be remembered as a dismal year for equity markets worldwide. In Asia alone, Japan's Nikkei 225 Average [NIKKEI
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]slumped 42% for the year, chalking its worst performance on record. South Korea's KOSPI came close behind with the index down 41%.
As 2008 draws to a close and we enter the new year, how should we position our investments?
Johann Santer, managing director of Superfund Financial, says safety is key to protecting one's wealth in 2009.
He likes gold, because inflation, while taking a back seat for now, will rear its ugly head again in the long run. He believes the precious metal offers protection as well as future performance in one's portfolio.
(Watch interview at left)
"It's the oldest currency around in the world. It is not backed by any debt, so you can exclude counterparty risks or default risk for it," Santer explains on CNBC Asia's "Protect Your Wealth" segment. "We also see shortages especially in supply at the moment (due to) increasing demand from countries like India and China. The production costs of gold are increasing because the mines are also having more requirements for infrastructure that will benefit gold pricing."
Managed futures is also on Santer's radar. He has faith in the investment vehicle as it has held up well during crises.
"They have really stellar, outstanding performance and returns. They are the only non-correlating asset class you can find out there. They are not using any external leverage so they are highly liquid as well. You most likely can go in into the funds on a weekly, or on a monthly basis. So there is quite a number of reasons why we should look into these kind of strategy at the moment.
Comments? Questions? Send them in here.
Catch "Protect Your Wealth" on CNBC's Asia Pacific network every Tuesday on "CNBC's Cash Flow," Wednesday on "Asia Squawk Box" and Thursday on "Capital Connection."
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes