Articles about illegal credit card practices, money laundering, and high fees rewarding fund managers are fodder of ever-increasing skepticism. But there is another question to ask:

Why do perpetrators of financial crimes choose to commit them? The short answer is–because they can. Financial wrong doing, even when it’s proven, can occur multiple times within the same institution. Addressing the Government Enforcement Institute at the University of Texas School of Law, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said, “. . . when a bank’s employees repeatedly engage in criminal misconduct, the institution as a whole is the entity that is appropriately held accountable.” That’s great–when it works.

A will and estate plan specifies the distribution of assets; more complex succession planning may include trusts and other structures to be passed to subsequent generations.  But what about memories, ideas about mistakes to be avoided after decades of trial and error, personal values, as well as general wisdom earned over a lifetime?

“If you’ve been in the game 30 minutes and you don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.”—Warren Buffett.

 Can one person rise to the very top of his or her game in more than one area of life?  Exploring various interests to enhance our personal development is generally considered admirable.  Such pursuits might offer the average Joe knowledge and experience in diverse areas—musical composition and a weekend football league, perhaps.  A vast majority of people (who attempt to do everything on their own) may gain the skills honed through regular practice, however; they are not sharpening their competitive edge in any given area.