The Final Warning? Individual Investors Piling Into Stocks, Market Leverage Hits All Time HighsMac Slavo Kennedy promptly sold off all of his stock holdings. Within a year the United States saw a massive stock market crash that wiped out the life savings of millions of Americans and ushered in a decades-long Great Depression. When asked why he sold all his stocks Kennedy replied, You know its time to sell when shoeshine boys give you stock tips. This bull market is over. Throughout history there have always been critical warning signs in the midst of financial exuberance that signaled the bursting of the bubble. According to a report from Bloomberg the warning siren may have just gone off again. Heres the kicker, and its one that could potentially lead to massive losses for all of these folks piling into stocks and exchange traded funds. According to market veterans, average investors are heavily leveraged right now. That means they are actually borrowing money to buy more stocks in the hopes of making huge gains, an effect that could lead to extreme stock market volatility very soon. TheElliot Wave Financial Forecast noted thatearlier this year investors had an unprecedented leveraged debt load of $466 billion. Though investors have slightly reduced that leverage since February, Elliot Wave notes that a very similar divergence was observed back in 2007, shortly before the implosion of the global financial system: What all this means is very simple. Investors have borrowed nearly half a Trillion dollars in an effort to realize multi-fold gains during the unprecedented rise in stock markets over the last several years. After all, who wants to miss out on this one shot to early retirement? What they may not be counting on, however, is that an economic recession is soon to be announced. Though not spoken about in most public financial circles, the elephant in the room is the deteriorating state of the American consumer who is cash-strapped, jobless, and maxed out on their personal credit. Now its just a matter of time, because that negative growth trend hasnt changed and at some point in the next several week its going to be making headlines, revealing the purported economic recovery to be nothing more than fantasy. Those leveraged investors who have piled into stocks over the last twelve months should take heed. Hattip Durango Kidd You can read more from Mac Slavo at his site SHTFplan.com, where this first appeared. 