i watched for the first time 'American greed'...wow. i understand why my pinks went red in mid 2000's....after the great 1999-2000, from 05-07....right up to my stroke, i was losing everything, even my 25 yr old ins business...after its peak in '87.....i wasn't paying attention to all the ponzis and investment advisor scams going on. i not only recognized business names but also faces!!! i was approached by dozens of groups, including Penn, to attend fancy dinner opportunity seminars. buying sick peoples life policies, options on gold and gem stones from mines that didn't exist but gave you 10% a month on your investment, ins companies offering crazy products, changing owners like underwear, trips for us producers to places all over the world. me? i just stuck to basic products...that i bought for myself because i believed in them. one of them has paid for my home care as it did for many of my happy clients until the day they died....since most were 70-80 when i sold them...just me and 4 others left..lol....i lost a couple of agents in the 80's to those ez money scams..i never saw them again but did get two calls from the FBI asking me if i could help find them...lol
so, along with my re, my world-com, my Enron and dozens of once high flyers...i blamed myself for poor decisions and bad luck.....never knowing while i was going to the hospital with a stroke, many of those who took trillions out of circulation, we on their way to court and/or prison.
i gotta buy the 'greed' series and see how many others i was indirectly effected by....if not directly....yikes.
i wondered why over the years, all those great mags, 'vogue', 'details', 'esquire' quality, all about the top 'planners' and products..big smiles as these guys in their Armani suites were leaning on their new rolls or jags....
slowly stopped coming to me.
guess i missed it...but have the feeling the family of these guys are still running the penny markets and many are market makers.
i will be breaking all ties with the once great SI, RB IHUB and E trade...i will never get rich from these sources, but save myself an ulcer or another stroke.
good luck to all.
tom
