Page:Hints About Investments (1926).pdf/272



are all, who are outside the circle of professional experts, ignorant about investments, and so also are some who are inside it; but there are degrees. The ignorant investor with whose plight I am now concerned is the really blatantly ignorant one, who constantly falls a victim to knavery not because of his or her greed or stupidity, but because of sheer ignorance of the whole business and lack of a sound and disinterested adviser.

It is easy to tell people, as I have in the foregoing pages, that investment is a very difficult matter and that the best way of dealing with it is to find a good stockbroker and follow his advice. But what if they do not know a stockbroker, and what if they happen to fall into the hands of a bad one?

It is easy also to tell people to consult their bank manager. But many people have not a banking account, and sometimes the advice given by bank managers is unfortunate.