5 Dumbest Things on Wall Street: July 18

4. Show Me Your Assets

What's the first thing you have to do in the Show-Me state?

You guessed it: Show me.

That's exactly what Wachovia's (WB Quote) Wachovia Securities had to learn the hard way on Thursday.

That day, a team of 10 state regulators raided the St. Louis office all in search of information related to auction-rate securities, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Auction-rate securities allow long-term borrowing by student loan companies, mutual funds, local government entities and financial services firms. The kicker is that the interest charged is based on short-term rates.

These securities were once considered a safe way to produce high yields for investors, but demand for such paper -- and thus its value -- has imploded as the credit markets crunched. As a result, lately Wachovia's been having trouble returning cash to clients.

Befuddled Missourians filed more than 70 formal complaints with the state regulator. The claims represented more than $40 million in unreturned assets.

Missouri had been asking Wachovia Securities nicely to reveal its records since April.

No dice!

So after the bank failed to fully comply, Missouri dispensed with the niceties and raided the headquarters.

"Hundreds of Missouri investors have called my office because of inability to access their money," said Carnahan in a statement. "They were told these investments were safe and easy to cash in, but now they cannot run their business, make medical payments, or pay school tuition."

What was Wachovia thinking, dilly-dallying bashfully in a state that prizes simple proof enough to earn the nickname the Show Me State.

Dumb-o-meter score: 85. Don't be shy about flaunting your assets -- Missourians want to see it to believe it.