Mar 5, 2010
For Psychic, Suit Came as Surprise You know there’s a problem when your money manager: Claims to be today’s Nostradamus; Names his company, Magic Eight Ball Distributing; Runs a website with wellness products like “Holy Tea.” According to the...
Feb 21, 2010
October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February. —Mark Twain
Jan 20, 2010
Next week I’m starting an advice column for finance professionals: Worst Case Wednesday. It’s about what to do when the unthinkable happens. You’re late for a meeting—even worse, you sleep through it. The SEC shows up at your front door. Your client asks...
Dec 2, 2009
#4 WELL-TRUSTED FRIENDS OR “WTF” WTFs are laureled and tenured advisers. Through years of service, they cross a relationship Rubicon among their client base—from stockbrokers to personal friends. They’re widely labeled as “the best.” They’ve been around forever. They...
Dec 1, 2009
#5 NuSKINNERS As a general rule, multi-level marketers allocate more time to recruiting other salespeople than to mastering their products. The choice makes sense, because they get a scrape of everything their “down-line” recruits sell. NuSKINNERS are stockbrokers who...
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.