Bernard Madoff $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme

[DragonBits]

Jeff, clicked on submit before I was finished. Part of my post got lost. But I have to go now, so I will end with less details.

Let me say that most sleazy brokers aren't outright crooks like Madoff, in that they take your money and never sell you anything. Those guys eventually go to jail.

Most sleazy brokers are being paid a higher commission to sell you an asset no one wants to own. A great way to find new shorts.

Then there are a lot of mediocre brokers that are really gamblers at heart.

Then there are average brokers that are honest and just do what you tell them, try and sell you on some investment that everyone knows about and try to keep individuals from doing really stupid things.

It stands to reason that really good brokers, traders, investors aren't looking for new clients or trying to pump something as they don't have a real need to do that. Good investments take care of themselves, they don't need an advocate. In fact, just the opposite, if you know a $2.00 stock that is likely to go to $100, you want to keep it to yourself so you can accumulate as much as possible and get your clients into while it is still cheap. But those sorts of investments are rare.