I’m sick of the victims of Bernard Madoff, the ones who lost everything. They want to know how they can recoup some of their losses. They think the taxpayers should bail them out, probably. Why not, it’s good enough for B. of A. They want to know how Bernie got away with his “Ponzi” scheme. He got away with it because of the blind greed of (his) investors of him. That’s how it is. If you invest in a fund that is returning unrealistic returns, guess what, something in there is unrealistic.
THE GOLDEN RULE: If it’s too good to be true, it’s not true.
I have some money in a mutual fund that paid me back 200% over a few years. Guess what, I lost my ass in this recession. But I don’t have all my money there. I have play money on it. INVESTING IS PLAYING! As it happens, investing has been a good bet for 70 years. Stock market investing has outperformed real estate investing during that span of time (on an average annual return basis; look it up), with far less “up front” money required to participate. You can also easily beat the market. I do it every year as a non-financial genius.
Your investment strategy is your responsibility. Your financial future is not the responsibility of B. Madoff, AG Edwards, Fidelity, Edward Jones, Val Kilmer or Batman.
STAY DIVERSIFIED! Don’t invest all your money in a higher-than-normal-yielding fund. Do due diligence and research. Funds that are hotter than normal will get cooler than normal. They should be considered as “growth”, not as “income”. I have bought growth stocks that went to zero. So my “growth” was negative, but I knew there was a chance to get into the deal. I put a small amount of play money in the wrong pot. I have lost money in “Growth” mutual funds. But he still had 48 other investments to fall back on.
If you invested 100% in BM (hmm, what else does that mean?) you deserve what you got, period. Some of that money should have been on Pepsi Cola. Or even the lottery or slot machines. Shame on Bernie, but shame on you. People who are raped may be in the wrong place. Nicole continued to live near OJ
As a sidebar, let me recommend “US Funds” (they’ve also lost their butt in the recession). They use a team approach. It is highly unlikely that 8 people controlling a fund would make the same mistake. That would obviously be questionable, and it would be the responsibility of the investor to admit the deception. American has been around since the 1930s and will probably still be around when Bernie gets out of jail. You should consider investing in Am. Fds. in the year 2160, when he is released. A $10,000 investment in one of his original funds in 1934 (with dividends reinvested, very important) is worth over $40 million. today. Is a $10,000 house in 1934 worth about $50 million today?
Sidebar #2: The stock market always overreacts. If it coincides with the percentage drop in the stock market (as if the Dow 14000 were ever realistic), unemployment levels should be well above those of the Great Depression. This country should be 58% of what it was 2 years ago. Pfftt! There is no correlation between the market and the reality of the economy. BUY WELL AND KEEP. Look for companies that have actually raised dividends in the face of financial disaster. Did you think there weren’t any? So you’re not doing your job.