CHILDREN CHILDREN

The stock market crash that accompanied the recession of 2008 brought an avalanche of lawsuits with it.  Small wonder.  Companies that put out rosy forecasts and stock brokers who encouraged putting money in them have been sued by angry investors who found themselves left with but a small portion of the assets they once owned.

Some claims had merit; wrongdoing undoubtedly occurred leading to the crisis.  Others were more of the kind to look for someone, anyone, to blame rather than one’s own greed.  One judge finally had enough.  Securities laws, he chastised, do not require that investors be treated like children, or that all risk in the market be removed for them like by a doting parent.

Sometimes, buyers still must beware.