Surprise audit trips up star financial adviser in Seattle - Investment News
"Some of the clients told investigators they had invested with Ms. Breard for more than two decades. They said that a few years ago, she began asking them to liquidate those accounts and write her checks which she would then invest in new accounts."
This is a BIG RED FLAG - never write checks (other than for fees) to your advisor and always make sure your statements are coming from an independent, reputable custodian. If you do these two things your money can almost never be lost to a Ponzi. I mail account consolidated statements to my clients, however these ARE IN ADDITION to the actual statements that are prepared by the custodians that I work with.
Finally, just because an Advisor is on Television or appears to be a media star, it doesn't mean they are honest or competent....as we are finding out with this Seattle thief.
Scott Dauenhauer CFP, MSFP, AIF
