Memo to Investors: If It Sounds Too Good To Be True - It Is!
From the Bloomberg article on R Allen Stanford:

The bank made “improbable and unsubstantiated” claims about its ability to generate “safe” returns of more than 10 percent, and it misled investors about exposure to Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission said today in a complaint against Stanford, firms he controls and two colleagues.

And this:

The SEC has asked former employees about the bank’s stated returns on investment, between 10.3 and 15.1 percent every year from 1995 until last year, according to documents and annual reports on the bank’s Web site. SIB says it has $7.2 billion in assets and 30,000 clients, according to the SEC.

Everyone likes a good deal. But you can't buy a Mercedes for $100, a Malibu beachfront house for $1,000 or earn 15% on CDs in a 4% world. It can't be done without extraordinary risk that will eventually impair principal.