I received an email from an avid reader who is genuinely concerned if the next recession will put a dent on her portfolio which she has been building for years.   She asked if it's necessary to put a hedging instrument in the portfolio in order to minimize the downside risk of her portfolio given that they are mostly in traditional equities and the nature as such that she is worried her net equity portfolio will go down once recession hits.   While she didn't specify her age, it appears that she is in the 30s range.   It is always difficult to give a guidance advise in this sort of scenario as everyone's risk profiles are different hence the tolerance level would also deviate.   Investing itself involves risk and in order to generate a good amount of returns over time, it is inevitable that we have to take intelligent risk and this ......