There are temporary periods in economic cycles where that is absolutely true! Temporarily, fixed interest vehicles are the "low-risk" parking lots, or "sidelines!"
If you are afraid of risks, then you are afraid of rewards, or waiting for them. Carefully calculated risks can minimize risk, without eliminating it, but can create a higher degree of safety. Ask a pro to help you with techniques like diversification, to spread risk.
There are rotten apples in each barrel and they stink it up pretty bad. Glean the good one's that were good before and will be even better after the bad one's are gone.
It's a catharsis, of sorts and is cleaning out the Clinton era ethics/morality break down that is NOT systemic! Believe it or not.
It depends on how you look at investment. Would you rather go out and buy a business that makes enough profit to earn back your purchase price in 30 or 40 years or would you rather go out and buy a business that will earn back your purchase price in 1 or 5 or 10 years? The PE of a stock is all that I've found to be of any value in evaluating a it, and any PE above 12 is just plain bad investing as opposed to just buying a business or starting a business (including real estate). I've found that 10,000 dollars invested in new equipment for my business pays for itself and starts making my bank account bigger in about 3 years. The stocks I buy seem to make nothing or make my bank account smaller. I'm pretty much through with stocks as an investment.
During the '90's I bought precious metals and I bought stocks and I bought equipment for my work. Guess which ones I still have and which ones are worth as much or more than when I bought them and which one puts money in the bank today?