I know this is driving the analysts crazy. The market pundits are losing their minds. The market shouldn’t keep breaking new highs; not with headlines proclaiming the end of the recession. Or should it? The Dow is up more than 4000 points since its most recent low in March.

The driver is the same as as it always is….investor emotion. While at this time last year the dominant emotion was panic, this time its panic….too! There is a tremendous amount of pressure to be invested right now. As long as the fear of missing the greatest one year run in history mounts, investors will pour money into stocks. Is this wise? Sure it is as long as you know when to lock in gains and get out of the way of the sneaky bear.

Question: Do you have a sell discipline? Is it based on your “gut” or something measurable?

I really hate to continually blog about dishonest financial advisors but it seems that we are surrounded by them. I spent the better part of today meeting with hard working business owners who fell victim to the sinister designs of their longtime tax advisor. What makes a successful, highly regarded and trusted advisor turn to the dark side? It can’t just be about money…. Can it?

With so many crooked advisors being outed, many investors have started wondering who can be trusted to offer prudent advice without the risk that their advisor will steal from them. The easiest way to protect yourself from fraud is to use an advisor who avows his/her fiduciary duty to you and one who never actually takes custody of your assets.

What do you think should become of the likes of Bernard Maddoff?