Back in December, Mitch Anthony had the guts and candor to write about the ordeal he and his family experienced making a series of bad real estate investments with a purported Iowa real estate developer who turned out to be a running a vast Ponzi scheme.

The response he received from readers was overwhelming. On page 31 of this issue, we decided to reprint a small sample of the letters he received.

I’ve always believed that the vast majority of advisors are honest people who enter this business because they want to help other people first. Empowering other people to achieve financial independence is personally rewarding. In the process, many financial advisors can achieve independence themselves, but if one wants to get truly rich, there are better routes to follow.

Never before in human history have so many people been expected to manage a 30-year retirement on their own. That explains why this emerging profession has grown so fast in the last 40 years. But when there is that much money floating around among people who aren’t professionals, sharks will inevitably start to circle.

Many financial advisors will tell you off the record they’ve had more clients fall victim to bad private investments than we’d like to think. As often as not, people are duped into these schemes by folks they already know. From what Mitch told me, his accountant who recommended the investment was a believer himself.

Private investments tend to be riskier and many have produced tempting returns. But if an advisor is going to get involved in this corner of the market, they better be knowledgeable and work with others who are even more sophisticated. On page 55, iCapital co-founder Nick Veronis and vice president Caroline Rasmussen outline the steps any advisor looking at this universe must evaluate.

Elsewhere in this issue, Karen DeMasters writes about Philip Marshall, who turned in his father, former ambassador, CIA operative and Broadway producer Anthony Marshall, for financially abusing his mother, philanthropist and Alzheimer’s victim Brooke Astor. Starting on page 42, the younger Marshall shares his candid insights.

The president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank has said financial abuse against seniors is becoming a national crisis. While regulators at Finra and elsewhere are waking up to the problem, it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.        

Email me at [email protected] with your opinion.