These are my Post-Madoff Rules for Investor Self Protection. Feel free to send me yours, to add to the list. And remember, I'd love to hear from people who invested with Madoff.

-Nobody’s Smarter than You.
If they’re so smart, they can explain their investment strategy.
If they can’t, they aren’t worth trusting.

-There are no secrets.
It’s a joke to think there’s some super wonderful way to invest that beats out everyone else.
In this age of information, do you think anything stays secret? Anything good?
Anything bad sure doesn’t.
If your investment manager were smoking hot, he or she would not be hiding.

-Don’t let the guy or woman who gives you advice hold your money.
Generally, if the advice comes from one place and somebody else executes the trades or has custody of the money, you have a check-and-balance system against fraud.

-Don’t let the guy or woman who gives you advice control your money.
For goodness sakes, make your own decisions.
Which means, get up to speed on personal finance.
It’s what you have to do.

-There’s no excuse for not looking over the advisor’s shoulder.
There’s no excuse, other than you being mentally incapable of figuring out what makes common sense, for you not knowing what your money’s doing and why.
The theory behind investing isn’t rocket science.
You can get it.
Don’t leave it in someone else’s hands.