These steps can help preserve assets for heirs without breaking your bank.
Many firms in the industry were state-owned or heavily protected by governments keen to preserve assets deemed vital to national interests.
When the agency intervened last month, it said it was "preserving assets that might otherwise flow from the bankrupt company to other creditors".
"Is the goal to continue to make money in a risky environment or is the goal to preserve assets on which you collect fees?" Mr. Petzel added.
Mary L. Schapiro, the commission's chairwoman, said last week that the commission "sought 82 asset freezes to preserve assets for the benefit of investors" in fiscal year 2009, "an increase of 78 percent compared to 46" in the previous year.
Alex Kim, a Duke junior from New Zealand majoring in economics, told me that he and his teammates — Yuefeng Du and Yuci Zhang — faced the same quandary as most investors: how to generate income while minimizing risk and preserving assets for retirement.
But Mr. Giddens said in a statement that the layoffs were meant "to preserve assets and identify and marshal other property to maximize the estate in a manner that is fair to all customers and other creditors".
Working alongside the federal investigators on Madoff's 17th floor, staff workers for Lee S. Richards 3d, the court-appointed receiver for the firm, are trying to determine what parts of the firm can keep operating to preserve assets for investors.
One way to preserve assets for children, regardless of their ages, is to use trusts, Mr. von Poblitz said, adding that a resident of any state could establish a dynasty or multigenerational trust, but many states impose term limits on trusts.
The trustee overseeing the liquidation of MF Global's brokerage unit, James W. Giddens, said last week that the job cuts were meant "to preserve assets and identify and marshal other property to maximize the estate in a manner that is fair to all customers and other creditors".
But those fears can prevent people from taking advantage of the financial protection offered by bankruptcy, which may allow you to erase most of your consumer debt while preserving assets like your retirement accounts and sometimes even your home and car.
