SINCERITY

The "used car dealers" of the ancient world were the dealers in statuary, both new and used. They hawked their wares by declaring they were "sine cere"  At the time, it was the practice to conceal flaws in the statuary by filling them with a wax.  The expression "sine cere" means "without wax".

In our times, sine cere or sincerity is difficult to assess in individuals.  Some are excellent actors and deceive you with little effort.  Many times we deceive ourselves because we like the person and want to believe.  When you hear about all the bunko games and even large stock frauds, you wonder whether or not you could be taken in by these swindlers.  Would we be smart enough to see through them?  I don't know if I could detect all of them but if someone offered a two or three-hundred percent return, I know I would know!

It would be one thing if this happened only to old men and women or those whose knowledge of investing were nil, but this happens to seasoned investors and otherwise well educated people.  What is it about man that refuses to see the obvious in these cases?  Something for nothing is a fairy tale, especially in finance.  The only difference between these con-men and and a hold-up man is that they have a golden tongue instead of gold teeth.  BEWARE!