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The stock market is being manipulated before our eyes. Just this week, GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) were at the center of major pump and dump and short squeeze events. Chaos in the market brought their implied volatility levels to 400—we’re talking off-the-charts levels of price variability.
The volatility was the result of average retail investors banding together to counter the short positions of hedge fund fatcats.
In the end, major stock trading platforms like Robinhood and TD Ameritrade halted all purchase orders and even forced long positions to liquidate. Just when small-time investors thought they could make the system work in their favor, the powers that be shut it down.
It feels like every day it becomes more obvious that the stock market is all but rigged against the average American.
Meanwhile, private aircraft purchases are up 40% for the country’s richest. As experts have pointed out, there’s a K-shaped recovery going on in which the ultra-rich are getting richer while everyone else is left to fend for the scraps.
The global security situation doesn’t look bright, either. Top generals in the Middle East are threatening war over the Iranian nuclear program. And (surprise, surprise!) the Arctic ice caps are still melting, which might cause total ecological and economic collapse in our lifetime.
Plus, now that the Democratic Party has complete control over Washington, we’ll likely see an aggressive fiscal stimulus. While $2,000 checks might provide needed short-term relief, they could have disastrous effects on the value of the dollar later on.
Every day it becomes clearer that you can’t trust the U.S. dollar or the stock market to store your wealth. The silver lining, however, is that we might have a once in a lifetime wealth transfer event coming up in which hedge fund money finally starts trickling into the hands of the average investor.
In the meantime, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself and your family from financial ruin. Investing in offshore precious metals is one of the best ways to shelter your savings from market collapse or the debasement of the U.S. dollar. For added safety in your IRA or 401(k), consider diversifying with cryptocurrencies.
Mark Turner is an author and editor at Sophisticated Investor. He has over two decades of experience in the financial industry as a broker in both Chicago and New York and has written for several top tier publications. He currently covers the topics of alternative investments, geopolitical events, US economy, portfolio diversification and others.
