“Ascot Partners. Sound familiar? No? You’re not alone. Let’s try again. Familiar with Bernard Madoff? I’m betting you are. Yet the two are part of the same story. Ascot Partners was one of the funds that fed into Bernie’s hedge fund (feeder funds). The folks who did due diligence on behalf of Madoff’s eventual victims. And, depending on who you believe, they were either co-conspirators or flat-out didn’t do their job.
I think many shared my hope that a silver lining to the Madoff cloud would’ve been investors’ placing heightened importance on doing detailed due diligence on potential advisers. Sadly, the facts show otherwise. According to Ponzitracker.com, at least 67 Ponzi schemes were uncovered in 2013, the largest being Edward Fujinaga's estimated $800 million scam. Proper due diligence helps protect you from the crooks. But it can also help you identify honest, capable advisers.’
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