offshore investments

The securities industry is always coming up with the "latest and greatest" way to make a quick buck. But almost all of such vehicles are structured to benefit brokers and money managers. Investors wind up getting relegated to their usual status as victims with no redress.

Stepping up its scrutiny of offshore investing, the IRS demanded that hedge-fund and private-equity investors disclose hundreds of billions of dollars they have invested offshore. This is part of a crack down on questionable use of offshore tax havens, which started with a very public case filed...