Stay The Fuck Away From Derivatives.

Even after all this, markets are in no way anywhere near to fair value. So, we need even more bloodletting. 

Remember that around the world, the garbage products known as Derivatives-based are in the quadrillions so when they blow up, which they eventually will do, you'll likely lose almost everything. Most people haven't got a clue that some ETFs are based on derivative contracts: think base and precious metal, leveraged and inverse ETFs. So, be exceedingly careful.

Of course, regular ETFs will replicate the index so no more safety there than being in the underlying stocks when it's bath time. Ditto for mutual funds, unless the stock-picker is God himself.

That's why for precious metals, physical is always a good idea but not if the premiums are ridiculously high -- and don't store meaningful quantities of same at home. Use the brand name storage facilities. Then look over closed end funds such as trusts, which are based on physical. And finally there's the world of mutual funds and individual stocks.  

I'm buying trusts and stocks where the legends of precious and base metal investment are pretty much all in, either as part of management or with a substantial weight of the stock already in hand. I'm also letting the high quality stocks and royalty companies come to me, as Rick Rule would say, and buying them on sale. (This is my favourite part.) 

So...keep your head, keep your cool, and know why you're buying and selling. Try never to sell because you have to and as much as you can, don't ever buy anything on margin. That, in and of itself, can quite literally wipe you out.

May God and the Force be with all of you.