The "safe guards" in place don't really exist to protect retail investors.

This will come across as hyperbole, but it's not. What you see going on in the world right now, the chaos, the blatant display of corruption in politics and business... that's nothing compared to the irredeemable cesspool that is the US financial system. It won't be much longer before that's laid bare for all to see.

The amount of blatant fraud, counterfeiting, and theft is staggering.