Free Lunch On Wall Street [Paperback]

Charles B. Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1993

Something for nothing? On Wall Street, no less? It's true. Even small investors can take advantage of "perks" galore from the companies they invest in and the financial services firms they do business with. This guide comes complete with 25 coupons for discounts on financial services. As he did in his "Buying Stocks Without a Broker", Charles B. Carlson provides small investors with little-known secrets that can pay off big. He allays skepticism by explaining why companies offer perks (mainly to build goodwill and test products) and by analyzing the investment merit of the businesses behind them. Then he presents a cavalcade of perks that are there for the taking. Readers will learn how to: identify "the leaders of the perks" - the firms that offer the best product discounts, free samples, and specially priced tour packages; buy stocks at a discount, just as Wall Street executives do; get satisfying perks from brokers - from free investment magazine subscriptions, to lavish dinners, to rock-bottom commissions and fees; build clout (and reap even more freebies) by attending annual shareholders' meetings; cut out the broker (and high commissions) through investment methods known as DRIPs - dividend reinvestment purchase plans and direct purchase plans; gain benefits for the environment, education, and charities through social investing; and unearth similar perks from your bank and insurance brokers.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Not only is Carlson unloved by the brokerage community, he may well land on many corporate "hit" lists. Quite simply, he details what's available to investors in the way of product and service discounts, little known perks, and just plain free "stuff." Consider one tip. Many major U.S. companies offer current shareholders DRIPs, or dividend reinvestment programs. Or another hint: just by attending an annual meeting, company "owners" might be able to buy products in employee-only stores or sample new merchandise. Along the way, other money-saving advice is freely dispensed: why stock splits are nothing to take to the bank; how to read an annual report; and stockbroker negotiations 101. A directory at the end summarizes Carlson's potpourri; just remember that the best things in life might not be free. Barbara Jacobs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill; First Edition edition (1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070099790
• ISBN-13: 978-0070099791
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,963,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles B. Carlson, CFA,is CEO of Horizon Investment Services LLC, an investment advisory and money-management company. He is also CEO of Horizon Publishing, a publisher of investment newsletters. Horizon's flagship publication, Dow Theory Forecasts, has been published weekly since 1946 and is one of the oldest investment newsletters in the country. Carlson is a bestselling author and is regularly quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and Money magazine, and is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and radio, and CNN.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars This book had a good hook...20 years ago, May 19, 2010

By 

Jason Kirkfield "The Pride and Sorrow of chil... (Purple Mountains Majesty) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Lunch On Wall Street (Paperback)

I have some of Chuck Carlson's other books, but this is the one that put him on the map in the early Nineties, along with Buying Stocks Without a Broker. Somewhat sadly, FREE LUNCH has been obsoleted in more ways than one. First, and in general terms, DRiP investing became mainstream, as companies started courting investors directly (even if fees have increased in recent years), and Chuck's secrets became less so. Second, and more specifically, the bonus "hook" this book sold with was the coupons and offers, all of which have long since expired. In many cases the companies are no longer in business, and none of specials were all that special anyway: FIVE FREE hours of AOL (back then it was still called America Online), and mostly lots of trial subscriptions to financial publications.

But a bigger problem still is the wisdom of building an investment portfolio based on baby food coupons (Gerber) and discount film processing (Moto Photo). Surely an investment in a worthless company is just that--worthless--despite the seemingly attractive freebie it may offer. Mr. Carlson acknowledges as much in the final chapter. ("Don't take a big position in a lousy stock just because the company offers a good perk.") Unfortunately that advice is too little, too late for a book hung on the freebie premise.

As it is, most of the tangible perks, including AMF's (formerly American Recreation Centers) free bowling, have long since been rescinded. Even coupons for a company's own products have disappeared for the most part; I have not received a coupon insert with my P&G annual report for several years.

One tip I did take from the book was the Marvel Comics 1991 Annual Report. It's almost a graphic novel and I picked up a copy on ebay several years ago. Definitely a nice conversation piece. And not that I availed myself of it, but the 15% theme park discount for Anheuser-Busch shareholders sounded decent. I would hope that the free gum from Wrigley's is still sent out but in today's economy, who knows. As for less materialistic perks, I enjoyed the story of Chicago divorcee Betty Rogers, who gained entry to twenty-five annual shareholder meetings in order to meet the next Mr. Right!

Weirdly, Berkshire Hathaway was NOT included in this book, despite their world famous annual Omaha shindig. There are also some typos. In summary, while you might get a kick out of leafing through this time capsule, more current data is provided in George Fisher's All About DRIPs and DSPs, or better still, just search online. FREE LUNCH does provide some good information for individual investors (sort of a precursor to The Individual Investor Revolution: Seize Your New Powers of Investing & Make More Money in the Market also by Carlson), and if I had been on Amazon when it was published in 1993, I surely would have rated it higher.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stick with classics - Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch, August 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Lunch On Wall Street (Paperback)

Investing requires research and WORK. Free Lunch on Wall Street is not a free lunch. It still requires WORK on your part. You get out of your investments exactly what you put into them. You can read Free Lunch on Wall Street, but I don't think it's worth $14.95. Sure, you may get a free lunch at the shareholders meeting, but is it worth the other expenses just to get there

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars too out of date, February 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Lunch On Wall Street (Paperback)

I think that there are a lot of other ideas on how to get involved in Drips using the company and your own savvy of computors and go online to save money or build a portfolio with out the high costs. I personally would like to see such a book.