Bernie Madoff's epic fall might have you thinking along the same "trust but verify" lines. The L.A. Times has a few timely pointers on this front. Perhaps I'm hopelessly biased, but I think hiring a reputable corporate investigative firm is where it's at. Trusting your accumulated life's wealth to someone isn't quite the same as picking out a new dishwasher. I would think one would want to go the extra mile and seek a little professional help. An investigator may not uncover the fact that the mother of your prospective money manager ran afoul of the Feds forty years ago, but they'll unquestionably perform a more thorough vetting than you could.

-- MDT

Labels: background checks, Bernie Madoff, corporate investigators