I heard not only from readers like these. I also heard from many industry leaders who offered the general encouragement, “Keep fighting this fight, and let us know how we can help.” One person who really offered actionable assistance was Duane Thompson, whose name you probably recognize for his years of legislative lobbying on behalf of the FPA. Duane was very generous with his time and knowledge of the legislative landscape, and I’m most grateful for his guidance. As he reminded me, “It’s no small matter getting a law changed.”
That’s true, but we can get it done, especially with the help of the judiciary committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In particular, we need to look at Title 18, Section 3282 of the United States Code, which deals with the statute of limitations for fraud. It’s outdated. It encourages criminal behavior for those who know how to play the system.
Any of us could get fooled, and some of us have. I would be careful about saying, “It could never happen to me.” Best to be skeptical with any investment proposition and be sure the person offering the idea and the idea itself both demonstrate high principles.
If a lot of learned, competent and noteworthy citizens have been cleaned out, what hope does this leave for the unlearned and overlooked? We must do what we can to protect them.
I’m looking forward to reading the new biography on Ulysses S. Grant by Ron Chernow—especially to mine further the topic of Grant’s friendship with Mark Twain. One of their bonds was that they both had histories of making bad investments. Twain, for the most part, was a dreamer who ended up too far out on the bleeding edge of technologies that didn’t make it to market and partners who cheated him on deals. Grant, meanwhile, fell into the confidences of investment hucksters on Wall Street who stripped him of almost everything he had.
In Twain’s autobiography, we learn that he offered to write Grant’s memoirs—largely to help his friend restore his estate. These two famous Americans’ experiences with investments serve to remind us that no matter how learned or skilled one is in one realm, it won’t make up for naiveté and misplaced trust when it comes to placing a fortune.
Let’s do what we can as a profession to protect those who have suffered such fates. I thank all of you, kind readers, for your moving responses and for any actions you may take to help protect investors. If we will all dare to do what we can … right will make might.
Mitch Anthony is the author of the industry best seller StorySelling for Financial Advisors and the groundbreaking The New Retirementality (now in its fourth edition). A highly sought-after speaker, Mitch is widely regarded as a thought leader and pioneer in Financial Life Planning.