Is your portfolio truly diversified?

Life is full of ups and downs — and the financial markets are no different. As an investor, you’re no doubt happy to see the “ups” — but the “downs” can seem like a real downer. Isn’t there any way to help smooth out the volatility in your investment portfolio?

First of all, to cope with volatility, it’s helpful to know what causes it — and there can be many causes. Computers that make trades in milliseconds, based on mathematical models, are sometimes blamed for intraday volatility, but large price swings can also occur following the release of government economic reports, such as those deali...