u can bet now that a bunch of wealthy people were burned that the SEC will be huge player in the future...u can also bet it will not have any effect on the big money...for show they will only fuck with retail traders by imposing stupid rules like the uptick and who knows what the fuck they will come up with
Why would you expect underpaid government bureaucrats to spot a fraud that many investors with hundreds of millions on the line did not? People at the SEC get paid a pittance, and they get no financial reward for unmasking gigantic fraud. If you want the SEC to spot fraud, then you start paying them fraud-discovery bounties. Until then, they will twiddle their thumbs and push paper for secure salaries and a watertight pension, like most bureaucrats do. The thing people *should* be asking is why investors put such amounts with a firm that had a 1 man auditing operation with a 200 square foot office out in Palookaville, and had almost no volatility of returns. The abrogation of fiduciary duty and 3rd grade due diligence on behalf of investors is far more outrageous than any failings at the SEC.
When you grow up, when you have your own computer instead of using mommy's, you'll perhaps meet people who act because they believe a cause is just, and, even though they are not directly affected, others are. For many, that is reason enough to act. It would make no difference of my personal situation. This is a disaster for the country. And what little I can do, I'll do.
I'm not saying his investors deserved what they got, but in this business, it's always caveat emptor. To think otherwise is to be lulled into a false sense of security while the wolf waits just outside the door.
That is a good question. Is it as simple as Bernie Madoff created his reputation on trust and integrity? He became very well known and successful on wall street, so not many question him, they trust him. Like a brand name.
I don't care so much about rich Swiss or Hamptonite HNWIs got their pompous asses handed to them but that charitable foundations with millions of Dollars lost their entire equity in this scam is really sad.
I imagine there will be waves of hedge fund redemption in coming days, I bet many hedge funds have some non-liquidate assets, and investors don't want to be the last Ponzi bag holder. One positive side of the news: Liquidation of Madoff hedge fund itself would not have much impact on the market.