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How to Smell a Rat
Book

How to Smell a Rat

The Five Signs of Financial Fraud

Wiley, 2009 plus...


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

The unlamented year of 2008 was a terrible time for investors. The news that money wizard Bernie Madoff stole some $65 billion from his investment clients with a giant pyramid scheme added insult to injury. Though already in his 70s, Madoff received a 150-year prison sentence for his thievery. Many felt the punishment was too light. The world is full of crooks and charlatans like Madoff. Fortunately for investors, they often give themselves away if you know how to spot them. In this savvy manual, business journalist Ken Fisher (writing with investment expert Lara Hoffmans) details five warning signs that can reveal crooks posing as financial advisers. getAbstract recommends this book to investors who are suspicious and to those who ought to be.

Take-Aways

  • The number of con artists is legion. Always has been. Always will be.
  • They target small investors as readily as large ones. Investors of all types can become victims of embezzlement.
  • Small firms with fewer people and fewer safeguards are more likely to suffer accounting fraud than big ones.

About the Authors

Ken Fisher, author of Forbes magazine’s Portfolio Strategy column, is the founder, chairman and CEO of a money management firm. Lara Hoffmans is an investment firm executive and a contributing editor for MarketMinder.com.