NEW FINANCIAL ADVISOR? CHECK HIM OUT

In the wake of the Bernard Madoff scandal, the advice "Know who you give your money to" is certainly worth restating. Granted, a lot of people who gave money to Madoff knew him well, and clearly didn't a Ponzi, but a little home work can still go a long way.

The website http://www.finra.org/index.htm is a good first stop.

Managed by the Financial Industry Regulation Agency, you can run a "broker check" which will list the qualifications, licenses, registrations and exams that the person you are dealing with has passed.

You can also find a broker's employment history for the last 10 years.

While the disclosure section points to problems that a broker may have had in the past.