‘The reason our stock market is so successful is because of me. I’ve always been great with money...that’s what I do. And I’ve done it well, I’ve done it really well, much better than people understand and they understand I’ve done well.’ - Donald Trump
Madoff's "victims" made two mistakes - they didn't question the abnormally high returns, and they didn't question the abnormally low volatility. They had 100% confidence in risk-free ponzi returns...
Bueller?
"Markopolos, was afraid both of Madoff and of the tame "feeder funds" that fed him customers' money. "If he didn't have a reason to kill me, think about the feeder funds. What's going to happen to their lifestyles? They're all going to be ruined financially, they'll all be sued and, hopefully, many of them will go to jail. What will people do to protect their lifestyles?"
In a newly published book, No One Would Listen, Markopolos describes agonising over how Madoff could produce 1% to 2% returns every month, in positive territory 96% of the time, producing a 45-degree curve of profit – with no volatility.
Markopolos concluded that it was impossible – not only was it mathematically inconceivable to smooth out all the ups and downs in the S&P index's performance, Madoff would need to use more options than existed on the entire Chicago Board Options Exchange"
Anything is possible for a while:
"Be patient, your haircut is coming"
"Think about the feeder funds and their trusted salesmen, how would they survive without BTFD?"
