Don’t Hire This Guy

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...

Wall Street Tips from Mark Twain

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

Worst Case Wednesday

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...

Top Ten Types of Stockbrokers #4

#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...

Top Ten Types of Stockbrokers #5

#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...