I am surprised that no one has pointed out the stupidity and greed shown by some of the investors who honestly believed they were going to receive a
125% return on their investment!
Sure, you can rant about the greed of the fund managers and the special place in hell that should be reserved for them but you must also recognize the greed of the investors that makes a scam such as this possible.
Hard to take advantage of someone who isn't trying to take advantage of someone himself!

 

LOL PWNT!

Know who Edward S. Lampert of ESL Investments is? Guy made $1.1B in personal comp last year, perfectly legit.

 

 

You do realise that 125% return is only 25% profit right? Why would you consider that greedy When you enter into an investment you do accept that there is a certain level of risk. But to say that they deserved it because they took that risk is ludicrous!

Millions of people invest in the stock market every day and those that invest in high risk ventures do so in hope of achieving a high return. Do you think they are greedy too?

 

if i am not mistaken, 125% return means that you earn 125% (in profit) of what you invested. when we hear of CDs that yield 3% annual return, then for every dollar invested, you will receive 3% in profit, or $0.03. it's never advertised that a CD yields 103% return.

also, if someone is willing to invest millions with a certain investment firm and does not do the adequate research to make sure that everything is legit, then yeah, they are stupid, and deserve to lose their money. reality is that there are crooks all around us, and there is nothing the world can do to keep crooks from exisiting. thus if you don't take all the necessary precautions, then if and when you fall victim to a crook, then it's your fault for being careless and/or naive.

 

yes, they are greedy because they are gambling their money on something with high risk. a healthy investor is someone who puts his money into securities that will yield him a decent return, but at the same time minimizes the chance of actually losing the money he invested. when one chooses to take a high risk with his money in hopes of receiving a high return, then he is more or less gambling his money, and as we all know, the act of gambling in some ways is triggered by greed.

 

Sorry, but you've just manipulated the definition of greed to suit your risk profile. Investing any money involves risk and can therefore be covered under your blanket description of gambling = greedy. The levels of risk are not always directly proportional to the returns so assuming that this was presented or understood as a high risk venture is misguided.

Can you back up this definition with a reference or would you prefer just to edit with an "IMHO"?

IMO a healthy investor only invests what he can afford to lose and does so with a clear understanding of the risks involved and what influences them. They must also understand that the higher the risk involved the higher the reward should be to warrant such a venture and be able to set up a diverse portfolio that offsets any of the higher risks creating a line of security.

This is either trying to put words in my mouth or somehow confusing intelligence with greed. I never so much as implied that the victims were smart with their money, only that they wouldn't be greedy to expect a 25% profit.

I do concede that I probably misinterpreted the 125% return as 125% of investment being the total returned rather than the pure profit.

 

This definitely clarifies the percentage confusion

 

you do realize you are wrong, right? And to suggest people taking a risk don't "deserve" to lose is "ludicrous." So people only "deserve" to win, regardless of the risks they take? What the hell is a "risk," again? As I see it, taking a risk means accepting the fact that you may lose. One hopes you are mature enough to not cry when that happens.

***

Millions of people invest in the stock market every day. People trying to turn their personal $1 million or $4 million or $20 million into $100 million are the definition of greedy. How else would you characterize someone who risks losing what is a huge investment on the rather modest chance of increasing their own personal wealth? People are perfectly willing to believe whatever they want, disregarding all logic and evidence to the contrary. Investment is a risky business, but people do it because there is always a broker willing to tell them they [/i]can[/i] make big money. No broker calls up a client and presents an opportunity to lose money, yet each and every investment in the market is such an opportunity.

If it were me, and my personal fortune of a few million dollars, I'd be rather protective of it, and not try to parlay it into something astronomical overnight. The risks are proportional to the gains. Of course, since I don't have, nor have I tried to attain, that kind of wealth, it is rather easy to say I'm not that greedy

 

There is a difference between being ROBBED and losing money because you picked a wrong company to invest.