Unsuspecting investors float innocently like swimmers on the tide. The brute rises from the depths. The victims splash unaware. No one suspects, no one prepares. The average investor thinks more about making money than about keeping it.
People focus on gains or income but pay little attention to the threat of losing in a major way.
Virtually no one prepares against the risk of great loss. They belittle the idea of a crash or panic that bankrupts the institutions and wipes them out personally. We have been rolling along for so long without a major financial disaster that most people no longer consider such an event possible. If you have ever started a business and tried to make a profit, you know how tough it is to make money. It can take years of work and struggle to get into the black.