Many people, including myself, assumed Bernie Madoff successfully (at least for 20 years) convinced his victims to invest in his Ponzi scheme based on the greed of his potential investors. I was surprised to learn the truth of how Madoff was able to pull this off in a newspaper article I read on a recent trip.
Here’s what I read: Talking about how Madoff lured so many into his scheme, Henriques said, “Madoff didn’t exploit people’s greed, he exploited their fear…fear of a crazy, complicated marketplace.” Keep in mind: Madoff pulled this off for 20 years which covered many different market conditions during the 1990’s and 2000’s. Our recent market volatility over the past two years is considerably worse than during that of the Madoff’s Ponzi scheme era. That said everyone must be on guard when talking to anyone about their finances/retirement accounts. There are many people out there trying to lure you and your money into something that may appear as a safe alternative to whatever you’re doing. While what they may be offering may sound really good and may be legitimate, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in your best interest. The truth is that it might be in the sales person’s best interest if you change due to the large commission they may stand to receive. Make sure you do your homework prior to making any changes…it could be very costly (to you) if you decide after the fact that the change you just made wasn’t in your best interest. Please do not hesitate to call our office for a second opinion. We will provide you with the truth about what someone is recommending…good or bad we’ll give it to you straight,
then you decide what’s best for YOU.