After the Madoff Mess, What?

In the Wealth Report, Robert Frank sees a post-Madoff flight to big-bank investment services. But he says the fleeing investors won't be happy about it:

Big banks call it “flight to quality.” But it is more like flight to a lesser evil. You can go to “your guy” and risk losing everything. Or you can go to a big name and risk losing just part of it.

Some choice.

What's more, some of the big names may have themselves led clients into Madoff's clutches. Ben Stein in the NY Times tells how a wealth-management team from "a major investment bank" tried to get him to move his money to Madoff two years ago. Was the team naive or greedy?

Jim Gust suggests that the trust and investment pros at community and midsize banks should be well positioned to gain new clients. New and persuasive marking strategies will be needed. Let's look for worthy ideas in the new year.