Investors worried about the next market downturn can find plenty of protection among exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Individual stocks can carry a lot of risk, while mutual funds don't have quite the breadth of tactical options. But if you browse through some of the best ETFs geared toward staving off a bear market, you can find several options that fit your investing style and risk profile.

Entering 2020, Wall Street keyed in on a multitude of risks: the outcome of the Democratic primaries and the November presidential election; where U.S.-China trade relations would head next; and slowing global growth, among others.

But Collaborative Fund's Morgan Housel hit it on the nose early this year in a must-read post about risk: "The biggest economic risk is what no one's talking about, because if no one's talking about (it) no one's prepared for it, and if no one's prepared for it its damage will be amplified when it arrives."

Enter the COVID-19 coronavirus. This virus, which has a fatality rate of about 2% and appears highly contagious, has afflicted more than 80,000 people worldwide in two months, claiming 2,700 lives. Those numbers almost assuredly will grow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already warned that they believe an expanded U.S. outbreak is not a question of "if," but "when." U.S. multinationals have already projected weakness due to both lower demand and affected supply chains, and the International Monetary Fund is already lowering global growth projections.

Whether a bear market is coming remains to be seen. But investors clearly are at least rattled by the prospects; the S&P 500 has dropped more than 7% in just a few days. If you're inclined to protect yourself from additional downside - now, or at any point in the future - you have plenty of tools at your disposal.

Here are a dozen of the best ETFs to beat back a prolonged downturn. These ETFs span a number of tactics, from low volatility to bonds to commodities and more. All of them have outperformed the S&P 500 during the initial market panic, including some that have produced significant gains.

iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol USA ETF

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We'll start with , which are designed to allow investors to stay