~snip~
With all these said, what are your opinions on this subject matter as I feel this needs to be looked into for possible measures to be taken for so as to further prevent or minimise the rate at which exchanges get hacked or being careless with investors and traders funds.
Given that a centralized exchange has full power over the coins you send to them, there's always the possibility that they choose not to give them back to you. They can lose your coins, or they can simply decide to keep them for whatever reason, maybe the government wants to freeze your account, or whatever.
Bitcoin allows you to have full control of your own money. There's no need to give it to 3rd parties, as it defeats the purpose.
So, to answer the question, no. It's never safe to give away your coins to a third party because you need to trust them. Bitcoin was designed to be a trust-less system.
The initial design for bitcoin was for p2p trading but unfortunately it was highjacked by the high and mighty turning it into a means of investment which later became the trend. Since then bitcoin is seen as an investment not a p2p means of payment which the current generation coming in is convinced it's all about investing and taking profit.
Third parties also facilitate this idea of taking profit after investing hence the idea of they holding your bitcoin as a third secured party exchange which in the real life they are not what you think they are. Exchanges are government arm of regulatory bodies on blockchain that's what I see them as. Their policies are mostly against the initial plan of bitcoin hence, the kyc and lots more.