Social order in every civilization is dependent upon a certain amount of trust. In the United States, we trust that people will obey the laws. Too much doubt and uncertainty can undermine a society as efficiently as a plague. Trust (or faith) in all of our institutions is necessary or we have no pillar to rest our backs against in times of trouble.

Of course, trust without intelligent questioning and monitoring can be abused by unscrupulous people. The only hope we have is that those people are not representative of our country as a whole, which may be a Pollyanna hope. But we are a nation of idealists, so I say, “invest.”

Whenever there’s a big pile of money, someone is thinking of ways to grab it for themselves. I might have trusted the mutual fund companies with my money a year ago, but now I would hesitate.

In the long run, however, it’s a good thing it’s out in the open, because people will become more informed and take the time to research fund companies before they invest. There’s been a lot of trust lost here, and it will take time to gain it back.

Yes. As a small investor, I have had better luck over the years with mutual funds than if I had kept my money under the mattress. I will continue to choose low to moderate risk, no-load, socially responsible funds. As with any investment, I believe it’s important to pay attention, learn as much as possible, don’t get greedy and don’t trust anyone too much.

Yes, I would ” and I do. The two companies to which we entrust a portion of our retirement income have not been implicated in the late trading scandals. You can’t tar all mutual funds with the same brush! I believe that reputable funds are still among the most secure investments.