[Perfectlap]

That's true. but our markets are and will continue to be the haven for wealthy investors around the world because we are the most transparent and liquid. If you're rich you have to put your money to work somewhere. You can't buy food with a block of gold and you can't put all your money in your house, people learned this the hard way.

p.s.
people who lost a lot of value in their retirement accounts last year and the year before have made a big comeback. Those who sold in the panic are in bad shape indeed. That's the thing about the markets, if something goes up in value those who are in a position to profit from a fall have already made their bets. On the flip side If a market falls from irrational selling and despair, similar bets are being made to profit from the eventual surge back to the mean. The forces are just too powerful to pass up cashing in one way or the other. This is why I think it's always good to cash in on some gains when things get way too bullish, or periodically before it even gets to that point. Funnel some of that gain into a cash account so that you can buy things when the markets bottom out--as they have done at least 20 times in the last 80 years. But they always come back.