Bonds and cash help to moderate volatility and should be for diversification, but "not for long-term return, " he says.

NPR: Q&A: Shielding Your Nest Egg From Financial Woes

Companies also get black marks for too much volatility in earnings, cash levels or even sales.

FORBES: 2004 Mutual Fund Survey

Many respondents said they are holding cash to protect against ongoing market volatility.

FORBES: Investors Stash More Cash

You will want some cash on hand during periods of high volatility to take advantage of periods when assets are significantly mispriced.

FORBES: Five Ways To Protect Your Money In 2012

High debt levels typically make a business unattractive for an acquisition as potential buyers have difficulty raising additional debt against the business, and the associated volatility related to the future cash flows also raises the cost of capital for acquisition.

FORBES: Refinancing Measures Help Reduce Interest Expense

Also today could be a day we find some new longs or see if anything shows relative strength for a cash-flow trade or more into this volatility.

FORBES: Cyprus Sets Up Opportunity To Buy The Dip

Instead you are capturing a portion of the volatility between lows and highs, raising cash near highs, deploying the cash again near lows.

FORBES: Short The Market With These Six Exchange-Traded Funds

But importantly, in these days of stock market volatility, it could also be in cash, fixed interest or property depending on the way your pension is set up and how much investment risk you are prepared to take.

BBC: purse and cash

In a region with such a history of volatility, banks also need quicker access to cash.

ECONOMIST: Down but not out

Cash in 2013 is not a bad place to be, given the unresolved tax and budget issues and renewed volatility in the market.

FORBES: Cast A Wide Net For Yield