A type or situation of risk sentiment where investors seek the safety of riskless assets and investments. In a risk-off environment, investors are under pressure to sell their risk assets and buy less risky or riskless assets. The main determinant switching to risk-off is volatility, i.e., the magnitude and speed of price changes over a short period of time such as hours or days. Examples of safe assets (or riskless assets) include US treasury bonds, currencies of well-established and stable economies such Japan (JPY), USA (USD), etc.

At times of bad news and crises, investors abandon risk assets, selling stocks and commodities and buying safer government debt issues and currencies (risk-off assets).

Risk-off is also known as risk-negative.