Sandy Hutchens, August, 2009 - The book was a sleigh ride, very entertaining. With Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford, this is the first decent lowdown as to how they were able to do what they did, and how its very easy to spot a fraud - if you know what you're looking for. If are a small investor, because even small investors were taken in by Madoff and the rest, this book will be a boon to you.

The book also goes into what is reasonable to expect from investing returns and that is particularly enlightening. This will no doubt help you to avoid being conned by the scam artists. Books like this, if disseminated widely will put these crooks out of business. Fisher's book delves into how they did it and has the feel of a detective book (which I like!) as well as a history book since it includes such notorious characters as Charles Ponzi, whose name has become famously adopted for use to label illegal pyramid fraud schemes

Overall, as the title suggests, Fisher offers five signs of potential financial fraud. The rules are: 1) Never hire any form of money manager or advisor who takes custody of your assets. 2)Returns are consistently great - too good to be true. Bad years indicate integrity, says Fisher; schemers don't want complaints or reasons for investors to redeem their money. 3) The investing strategy isn't understandable. 4) Your advisor promotes benefits like exclusivity - eg. secrecy. Or again, he tries to make it sound way too intricate to get into. 5) You didn't do your own due diligence.

How to Smell a Rat is an excellent book, incisive, easy to read and invaluable for those of us who are interested in the investment industry. Take it with you next time you go and see an investment advisor.

From the publisher: "In December 2008, a well-regarded member of the finance community, former NASDAQ chairman, huge charitable contributor, and pillar of New York society admitted to his sons the $65 billion he managed for hedge funds, charities, foundations, Hollywood stars, and myriad smaller investors was a fraud - a Ponzi scheme.

2008 and 2009 will be remembered for bear markets, a global credit crunch, and some of the largest investment scams ever. But these scams are nothing new - from Charles Ponzi to Robert Vesco to Bernard Madoff - they've been repeated throughout history, and there will certainly be more to come in the future. But the good news is fraudsters often follow the same basic playbook. Learn the playbook - and know how to ask the right questions - and financial fraud can be easy to detect and simple to avoid.

Some advisers start intending to embezzle. Others evolve to it as Madoff claims. Either way, it's structurally the same, and you can learn ways to identify both intended and possible future fraud. Throughout your investing life, you may be presented with opportunities that seem too good to be true. In How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud, trusted financial expert Ken Fisher provides you with an insider's view on how to spot potential financial disasters before you commit your money to a scam.

Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this reliable resource takes an engaging look at recent and historic examples of fraudsters, how they operated, and how they could have been easily avoided. Fisher then shows you quick, identifiable features of potential financial frauds and arms you with questions to ask when assessing money managers.

With this newfound knowledge, you can learn to spot red flags, such as:

    * Advisers with direct access to investors' funds
    * Firms with numbers that seem too good to be true?
    * Managers with fees that are too low? Madoff didn't charge any fees, he just charged for trading!

There should be a premium for integrity. Asking the right questions and performing the proper due diligence go a long way toward finding a firm that insulates you from financial fraud. With the help of trusted financial expert and bestselling author Ken Fisher, you'll be better prepared to identify and avoid financial scams that could instantly destroy the wealth you've worked so hard to build."

From the Commonwealth Club site:

"In recent years, the public has been shell-shocked by some of the biggest financial frauds and scams in history. Fisher believes that nearly every investment scam ever perpetrated was actually easily detectable and avoidable. Hear his examples and timely advice on what investors need to look for - how to be sure investment choices are sound by asking the right questions, noticing the red flags and breaking down complicated jargon. This program is a must-see for anyone affected by the economic downturn."