Ask Warren Buffet - he’s never invested in safe things. /s

Though seriously, looking at Buffet - he invested in incredibly safe companies (ones generally valued at below their book value, at least for the first few decades) and used a bunch of leverage on them to make top-10 global wealth.

It bugs me (seems like it does for you, too) to hear the “you need risk for reward”.

Safe !== broke, and risky!== rich. But too many people equate ”safe” and bonds or index funds (which also won’t make you broke, they just won’t generate generational wealth for the most part).

Don't invest in vtsax, you'll lose all your money.