Bernard Madoff: What You Need to Know

Chip Hanlon, founder and president of Delta Global Advisors, told Rob Holmes he thought the markets would be able to shrug the scandal off. "I know the gut reaction is to say this will shake investor confidence and it's terrible for the economy, but it's likely a one-off," Hanlon said. "Everybody can see the number of assets at risk, and they might do some selling because this scheme could take the market down in the near term. But I think this occurs infrequently enough that people expect it's unlikely to happen to them. I hate to say it, but it's like a plane crash."

TheStreet.com asked readers who the scandal affected their confidence. Of the 3,540 people who answered the survey, 40.9% said the scandal "makes me more nervous than I ever was." Another 35.1% said that they "never trusted Wall Street" and never will.

On RealMoney.com Monday, Cramer told subscribers that the real impact of the Madoff scandal won't be felt until next year.

Glenn Hall wondered if the scandal puts to rest any doubt that bankers are "greedy idiots."

Kass on Monday reported that the impact of the scandal would be widespread. He said he received calls over the weekend from acquaintances, some of them crying, who had lost life savings. He also noted the impact on charities and the Florida real estate market. "It is not only the wealthiest that got duped, however, many smaller investors, who worked hard all their lives, invested their life savings with an alleged crook," he wrote.

Freed said many investors missed a red flag in that Madoff had been acting as his own prime broker. Even hedge funds a fraction of the size -- Madoff oversaw $17 billion, but has said to investigators he lost $50 billion -- use one or more prime brokers at large banks or securities firms such as Goldman or Morgan Stanley (MS), Freed wrote.

Christopher Grey on Tuesday wrote that it was not "a 'tragedy' that so many people with so much money and privilege were suckered by someone like Madoff. I think it is just a combination of laziness, stupidity and greed. That is not tragic to me. It is pathetic."

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