I am still trying to get my head around the news about Bernard Madoff and his $50 Billion (yes, Billion with a B) fraud.  This is being way better reported in the financial pubs but seems as if many people wondered how this guy could consistently engineer such great returns.  That, of course, didn't stop the money from flowing in which was necessary because that money was being paid out as returns.  How unimaginative.  If you are going to cause this kind of wealth destruction you'd hope it would be done in a more innovative way.  But I digress…

The losses are adding up as those who lost come forward (or are forced forward).  There are some doozies with Banco Santander at $3.6 billion, HSBC at $1 billion and no shortage of others with big losses including some very wealthy folks.  Here's a list from the NY Times.

Markets are brutal and unforgiving and no one can consistently outperform them (even if you are not running a scam).  Just ask Bill Miller of Legg Mason about his track record of beating the S&P 500 now.  This guy consistently beat the S&P 500 index until recently and he is down, way down.  Stick to index funds (not leveraged ones), own individual stocks for a hobby, and enjoy the ride.  You will do no better or worse than the market this way and save yourself both some emotional strain as well as "management" fees.