What aspect does diversification specifically aim to address?

Diversification specifically aims to address risk exposure to individual assets. The primary principle behind diversification is to spread investments across various financial instruments, industries, and other categories in order to reduce the overall risk of the portfolio. When an investor diversifies their holdings, they are less likely to be significantly impacted by the poor performance of any single asset. This approach helps to mitigate the risk associated with individual investment downturns, as losses in one area can potentially be offset by gains in others.

While long-term growth potential is a goal of investing, diversification's primary focus is on managing and reducing risk. Specific asset classification and investment networking opportunities are not the core objectives of diversification; instead, they deal with categorizing investments or building connections in the investment community, which do not directly address risk management. Thus, the right answer highlights the fundamental role of diversification in minimizing exposure to the potential negative impacts of individual investments.