Do you know Nancy Silverton? Nancy Silverton is a successful chef and entrepreneur who started highly regarded restaurants such as Campanile, Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza and La Brea Bakery. She trusted her financial advisor to take care of her sizable nest egg. One day, as she was driving in Napa Valley her father called and said, “It’s all gone! The whole Madoff thing is a fraud.” Silverton had invested her entire fortune—$5 million—with Bernie Madoff, the Ponzi-scheme king who robbed thousands of investors of more than $50 billion. At 56, Silverton was broke.

Is your investment portfolio with only one financial advisor? Nancy Silverton’s devastating experience illustrates why it is as important to diversify your nest egg among financial advisors as it is to diversify among asset classes. Maybe your advisor is a family member, family friend or a referral from a trusted friend.

You certainly trust these individuals; however, even a trusted friend can make a mistake.

Such was the case with Alberto Mugrabe, an extremely wealthy art collector from Columbia.   His long-time friend, Andres Piedrahita, recommended he invest with Fairfield Greenwich Group. Fairfield Greenwich Group invested approximately $7 billion of investors’ money in the Fairfield Sentry Fund managed by Bernie Madoff. Andres had advised his friend, “This is the Madoff thing, he’s the master.” Unfortunately for the investors of that fund, Bernie was the master of deceit. Fortunately for Alberto, he had invested only a portion of his assets. We can all learn from the wisdom of Alberto Mugrabe; diversifying your assets among multiple advisors makes sense. As Alberto said, “We had very little money with the fund, just under a million dollars, so I am not that upset personally”.

Even trusted advisors or family members can make mistakes, so take the advice of our Creator. In Ecclesiastes Chapter 11: Verse 2, it says “make seven or eight portions; you know not what misfortune may come upon the earth”. Let us learn a life lesson from Alberto’s wisdom; diversify your advisors and your assets. IHM has over twenty five years of investment experience. We have learned that it is in our clients’ best interest to partner with multiple advisors. If you have over 2 million dollars of investable assets and you have only one advisor, it is time to call IHM Financial and speak with a Registered Representative who can assist you today.