Customer Reviews

Conflicted: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Every day, about three times a day, people email me and say "I want to come to Wall Street, I want to be an analyst, I want to pick stocks." I used to give them the whole rap, now I tell them to buy Conflicted. Michael Culp knows more about how Wall Street works than virtually anyone i have ever known, and he tells it all, in a fast and funny form that works even if you have no deside to come to Broad & Wall. Read this book, it is tremendous!

Michael Culp has a winner here!

You know how they always tell you that the editorial section of the newspaper is absolutely autonomous, and is not affected by the fact that the party in question is a big advertiser? Well, Wall Street has similar conflicts of interest between the analysts in Research, the bankers and the brokers.

This is a fast-paced novel by a man who has been there,and it shows the seamy underside of Wall Street--the part we only read about occasionally in the papers. It reads as smoothly as any spy story by Clancy, and with as much suspense. The characters are alive and recognizable.

In any good fiction, there has to be enough of a grain of truth to make the story plausible. The plausibility here is enhanced by the author's many years as a Wall Street analyst. He is writing about the world he knows, and you get the feeling that it is just as he describes it.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books.

"Conflicted" is the explanation that we all are looking for to understand where our pension money went. The well-developed characters in Mr Culp's book are clearly more dedicated to their own well-being than they are to the hapless investors whose money creates the platform for these Wall Street icons to earn their extraordinarily high salaries. The leading character in the book seems to be the most principled character and the reader will find out where that attribute gets him. The breath and scope of the morality deficiencies portrayed by the "Conflicted" characters will keep the reader mesmerized and outraged.
If you ever wanted to know how Wall Street reasearch departments really work then Mr Culp's book "Conflicted" is a must read

If you've ever wondered why those top-rated stocks you bought went down, you need to read this book and learn about the inherent conflicts of interest between research, institutional sales, retail sales, investment banking, and the analysts' own desire for financial success. Simple writing of a well-told story and highly reflective of reality. I know--I spent 30 years as a sell-side analyst and sat in on nearly every meeting detailed in the book but managed to retire 8 years ago without doing the perp walk, being fined, or going to jail.

Conflicted is a fast-paced visit through the previously cloaked halls of an equity research department. So that's what happens in there! While we have all read a lot about the investment-banking conflicts with which many real-life analysts have shamed Wall Streeters, Culp exposes many other temptations that lure analysts to behave in dishonest ways and are well rewarded for it. Michael Culp's novel is revealing, enlightening, and entertaining. The character development is so rich as to put a face on each name, to empathize with Robin, to feel Carl's sleaziness, and to imagine the skid marks left behind by Ken's Bentley. Culp's story-telling is captivating. The story's cadence is strong. I could easily visualize the action as it played out. It takes only a few initial pages to get sucked in. Then, you're hooked through the last word.

This book gave me a detailed look into the world of Wallstreet and all its hidden secrets, treasures, opportunities for monetary success as well as potential for financial doom. The main character (David Meadows) is well developed and likeable-
Michael Culp takes us through David's world of managing the Research Department at a pretigiuos brokerage firm where every player is focused on the same prize- and the means in which they procure their prize really gives the term "conflict of interest" as whole new meaning! A truly enjoyable read!

Conflicted reveals the inner-workings of a fictitious, mediocre equity research department as management attempts to improve its standing over a 14 month time period. David Meadows, research director, hires ranked talent in a tight time frame to improve his department's standing and his own compensation. The conflicts continue as analysts with compromised integrity commit a myriad of indiscretions (some blatant, some more difficult to trace). The author, Michael Culp, uses his Wall Street experience to make the conversations and department meetings seem real (because they probably were). His conversational style flows well and makes for a quick read. Extraordinary attention to detail of New York City life, Hampton's real estate and even bad Wall Street jokes could only be written by someone who lived it. Many real companies and people are mentioned which help blur the line of fact and fiction. These details seemingly effortlessly bring the fictitious research department to life for the reader. Conflicted is an entertaining and thought-provoking novel from a Wall Street vantage point unlike any other. It will be enjoyed by most.

Culp's first effort is rollicking, fast-paced, informative and oh so revealing. Who knew that the kid could write prose after so many years of restaurant financial reports - how droll. "Conflicted" should be required reading for all Series 7 applicants and for retail investors -- see how it really works before you put your money where the analysts' mouth is --- Of course our hero David Meadows seems a likely candidate for the "Michael Culp Behaves Alike Contest." But that's why we write them. If you want to have fun, encounter a "Wall Street meets Tom Clancy" pacing and style, and participate in a great story -- get "Conflicted."

As someone who has spent the last 15 years on The Street, I can attest to the veracity of this book. The author obviously writes from his own extensive experience and the result is an in-depth look behind the scenes of a big firm that should ring true for anyone who's been through it.

The only caveat is that for those not altogether interested in the minutia of what goes on the book may become a bit tedious (as the reviewer from Miami states). But I think that most investors and practitioners will find this a compelling story. I had a lot of difficulty putting it down.

This book reads like some type of personal whitewash--research director good/investment bankers bad. The characters aren't developed and the plot is listless. Oh! the intricacies of the Institutional Investor poll. Who will win? Envelope please, I can't wait. Want to sleep on the beach this summer? Here's the ticket.