When it comes to your real estate investments, it’s good to be a control freak. This is not what talking head hosts will tell you on the cable financial shows. They want you to drink the Wall Street Kool-Aid and do your best zombie imitation as you follow the broker of your choice's advice down the hemlock-laced path.

The surest way to become a spectacular failure as an investor is to give up control of your portfolio to someone else. We’ve talked before about the three essential problems with this, especially when it comes to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and the flat-out con game on The Street.

The first thing to do is get out of the aforementioned traditional investments. You will not get wealthy. You’ll be lucky to break even. It’s not a fair game. You will lose when you meddle with this incestuous brand of finance.

Here’s why you should be suspicious of your stock broker.

1. He might be a crook. Need we say more? You only have to take a quick glance at the headlines practically any day of the week to find the latest financial scandal.2. He might be incompetent. Once again, a slam dunk for our opinion. Lehman Brothers, AIG, and the list goes on.3. He might charge high administrative fees. Chances are, any major broker WILL charge administrative fees whether your portfolio goes up or down, and they likely won’t be small fees either.

So what’s an investor to do? Drop the stock market like a bad habit and review our free but unique rental property strategy documented onwww.JasonHartman.com. At Platinum Properties Investor Network, we’ll show you exactly how we’re making money in this economy.