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5 Simple Hedge Strategies for Volatile Times  Tickers in this
article: STI  BOSTON ( TheStreet) -- Given the wild ride
investors have faced since 2007, many are searching for ways to
mitigate risk and keep volatile market forces from wreaking
havoc on their finances.  Many such strategies have typically
been either stunningly complex or locked within the domain of
billionaires and mammoth institutions. Alternative investments
(through an endowment-styled approach), forward contracts,
swaps, options, derivatives and futures are among the weapons in
a hedge fund's arsenal.  You don't need to be a hedge fund or
multibillion-dollar institution to protect against market
forces.  But what can the average, retail investor do if these
options seem either too expensive or complicated?  The first bit
of advice offered by Ernie Dawal, chief investment officer for
wealth and investment management for Sun Trust Banks (STI) , is
to understand that "average in