Editing Investors Overseas Services (section)

===Founding and Early Growth===
(1956–1965) Origins: IOS was founded in 1956 by Bernie Cornfeld, a Brooklyn-born entrepreneur with a degree in psychology from Brooklyn College. After working as a mutual fund salesman for Investors Planning Corporation (a US version of IOS which eventually goes under due to SEC scruntiny), Cornfeld moved to Paris in 1955, identifying a market for offshore investments among U.S. expatriates, particularly military personnel. He incorporated IOS in Geneva, Switzerland, to exploit Swiss banking secrecy and avoid U.S. regulatory oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Business Model: IOS offered mutual funds, such as the Fund of Funds, which invested in other mutual funds, promising high returns through diversified portfolios. Targeting non-U.S. clients (e.g., American GIs, European professionals), IOS employed a high-pressure sales force of 25,000 by the late 1960s, operating in 100 countries. Its flagship International Investment Trust (IIT) and Dreyfus Fund attracted middle-class investors with promises of wealth, using a pyramid-like structure where new investor funds paid dividends to earlier ones. Cornfeld's psychology degree aided him in developing the high pressure sales techniques he taught to his sales force.

Early Success: By 1965, IOS managed $400 million in assets, growing to $2.5 billion by 1969, equivalent to $20 billion in 2025. Cornfeld’s charisma, flamboyant lifestyle (owning a French castle, jets, and dating models like Victoria Principal), and slogan “Do you sincerely want to be rich?” fueled IOS’s appeal. The company’s offshore status in Geneva, Panama, and the Bahamas allowed it to evade taxes and regulations, attracting wealthy clients, including celebrities and European aristocrats.