The Seattle Times (May 3, 2014 11:00 pm) -- When New York financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced to life in prison for masterminding one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history, it was an unnerving reminder that entrusting your money to a professional can be risky.

How do you know your broker is ethical, responsible and looking out for your best interest? The truth is, you often don’t.

That reality was hammered home in recent months by reports in The Wall Street Journal and by a group of attorneys who represent small investors in lawsuits. Both rebuked the investment world’s regulatory body — known as FINRA — for not doing enough to disclose bankruptcies, tax liens, financial fraud and other red flags in some brokers’ histories.

Specifically, they criticized FINRA’s online tool, BrokerCheck, long considered the gold standard of regulatory disclosures, which allows consumers to check on the education, credentials and disciplinary history of any broker. While easy to use, either by phone or typing in a broker’s name online, BrokerCheck doesn’t include every detail.