FULL OF BULL

• Ranked in top 100 overall Amazon book sales mid-March 2008

• Ranked #1 Stocks/Investing Amazon book sales mid-March 2008

• In 2nd printing USA

• German Translation
Borsenmedien AG, mid-2008


As a retired securities-industry insider, I candidly debunk conventional Wall Street “wisdom” in this book. Individuals need objective, focused guidance. And they won't get it from Wall Street! I urge individuals to steer clear of expensive brokerage-promoted trading strategies and to concentrate instead on making sound, sensible investments. Wall Street discourages real investing-it's trading and transaction oriented. Brokerage recommendations can often be misleading or even counterproductive. Professional investors know better than to take the Street literally; individuals should apply the same approach. This book explains how to avoid Street pitfalls by identifying worthless “research”; how to read between the lines of stock-market commentary; critically evaluate declarations by corporate managements; and make sense out of overheated media reports. Full of Bull arms its readers with a wealth of insight into the ambiguous and convoluted ways of the Street, so they can maneuver around these influences and make more profitable long-term investment decisions.

I spent 32 years on Wall Street as a senior securities analyst. Having a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, I was ranked for 19 years as one of the top experts in my sector on the Institutional Investor All-American research team and am enshrined in The Wall Street Journal's Analysts Hall of Fame. After I left the business a few years ago, conversations with friends and associates awakened me to the fact that numerous seemingly sophisticated individuals constantly struggle to generate decent returns in the stock market. Why? Because they simply have no clue as to how the Street actually operates. Despite being savvy folks on their own professional turf, they are babes in the woods when pitted against Lower Manhattan.

Astonishing though it may seem, investment counsel from brokerage firms can frequently be inaccurate and biased. The blame primarily lies with securities analysts. Yet nearly all “how-to” books on investing are produced by outsiders: TV personalities, financial journalists, university professors, newsletter writers and-in a few cases-money managers. Such authors are virtually never brokerage-firm investment analysts. Consequently, they cannot and do not decipher and expose the puzzling, deceptive, conflicted culture of the Street. It's not their forte. Because I was a leading Wall Street analyst, I am uniquely equipped to unveil the embarrassing industry secrets that render the market so perilous and frustrating for individual investors. I have been there and witnessed what transpires. And I “tell it like it is.”

Full of Bull is intended to convert serious individual investors into informed professionals. Thoughtful readers will master the art of placing Wall Street research into its proper perspective. The material that securities analysts grind out can be extremely valuable to those who know how to interpret it. Analysts, intimately familiar with both the “big picture” and the obscure idiosyncrasies of specific companies and entire industrial sectors, often provide constructive commentary in response to changing trends and breaking news; they also publish helpful earnings estimates. But there are fatal flaws in the system. For example, security analysts are notoriously bad at picking stocks! And brokerage emphasis-lists can lead a novice totally astray. Buy? Outperform? Hold? What do these seemingly transparent terms really mean to the cognoscenti? Not what you may think. Those and other traps must be taken into account if an individual is to master the discipline of investing. Astute students of this book will obtain a major leg up on cutting through the clutter and acquiring the tools required to assess companies, appraise managements, select stocks, discern Street subtleties, and ultimately profit by becoming their own competent, confident investment analyst.

  • “Steve McClellan has drawn on an insider's lifetime view of how Wall Street really works to produce a practical and entertaining book of advice for investors. Whether you are a new or experienced investor you'll get something valuable out of it, including more than a few chuckles.”
    –Charles O. Rossotti, Former Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service
  • “Steve McClellan's Full of Bull provides a long overdue insight into the confusing maze of Wall Street analysis and stock recommendations. This book exposes The Street's “insider code” and provides both a cautionary tale and an indispensable guide into the Byzantine world of investment analysis.”
    –Thomas M. Siebel, Founder, Siebel Systems, Chairman, First Virtual Group
  • “Steve McClellan is one of the smartest guys in the investment industry. For years his research helped investors figure out how to get better returns. Now he's collected a career's worth of observations and conclusions about how Wall Street works and how to avoid the mistakes that cost ordinary people millions–no, billions–of dollars everyday. Read this book and have more money for your retirement.”
    –Doron Levin, Columnist, Bloomberg News
  • “Only Stephen McClellan could have written this book. As a senior statesman of industry analysts, Steve has worked in the inner circles of Wall Street for over thirty years. When Steve talks, everyone in the industry listens. This book is like a college extension course for investors, and it's taught by the Dean.”
    –H. Ross Perot, Sr., Founder, Electronic Data Systems, Founder, Former Chairman, Perot Systems
  • “Today the typical share is held much less than a year, usually by an institution, speculator, or insider whose gains are at the expense of the under-informed or mis–informed individual investor. Securities analysts are of little help. With his 30+ years of relevant experience, Steve McClellan tells you why and how to better protect yourself if you're an individual investor.”
    –Josh W. Weston, Former Chairman, Automatic Data Processing
Copyright © 2007-2008, Stephen T McClellan