Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal: My War Against Wall Street's Giant [Hardcover]

Keith Schooley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

When financial consultant Keith Schooley took a job with one of the largest, most respected securities firms on Wall Street, he had high hopes for a successful career. He was proud to work for a company of such high integrity as Merrill Lynch. It didn’t take long, however, for Schooley to realize Merrill Lynch’s well-cultivated reputation was not based on what went on behind the facade. Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal—My War Against Wall Street’s Giant is Schooley’s detailed account of the disturbing incidents that eventually led him to a courtroom battle with the behemoth firm.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Keith Schooley

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Lakepointe Publishing (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971610363
• ISBN-13: 978-0971610361
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,444,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing sensational and no real dirt, June 1, 2002

By 

Rachel Tozier (Brea, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal: My War Against Wall Street's Giant (Hardcover)

I agree that the story is sad and the author got the short end. That said, this isn't the Greek Tragedy that some seem to imply, nor is it a realistic account of David versus Goliath in the strictest sense.

First, Mr. Schooley brought much of the mess on himself. Not for raising the issues and bringing them to the attention of Merrill Lynch's management, but for hiding behind a facade of ethics and integrity while refusing to meet the company's internal investigators half way. Would that have compromised his ethics or integrity? I don't believe so.

Merrill Lynch's first responses seemed to include a sincere effort to resolve the complaints to the satisfaction of all. While Mr. Schooley refused to budge from his demands which he claims were based on integrity, he also had strange ideas about integrity. While he was rolling dice with his family's future by rocking the boat, he neglected to let his wife in on what he was doing. That is deceit, not integrity and is only different from adultery is degree.

Second, this book is supposed to be evidence placed in the court of public opinion. Yes, the public will side with Mr. Schooley because we always root for the underdog and he was treated unfairly. If he thinks that this book will make a difference in Merrill Lynch's bottom line I contend that he's naive. The public will do what the public does. They'll feel sorry for him, but will not hesitate for a second to follow Merrill Lynch's investment advice if it'll make them money. That's the way life works.

Third, I take issue with the claims made by Mr. Schooley and the attorney who wrote the forward that arbitration is a bad thing. From personal experience I think arbitration is useful, especially in our society where we litigate at the drop of the hat. Of course an attorney is going to oppose arbitration because in most suits the only winners are the attorneys.

I do recommend this book because does have lessons to be learned. What those lessons mean is up to you. The story reads well in spite of bogging down in places in the beginning. It has the usual metaphors reported by others: Greek tragedy, Biblical David versus Goliath, and the more philosophical Good vs. Evil. It even has a bit of Karmic irony. After Mr. Schooley's life started falling apart which included a divorce his ex-wife went to work for Merrill Lynch. What it doesn't have is anything that will cause the same outrage as the Enron debacle. You'll have to look elsewhere for that kind of story.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cub scout in a den of vipers, May 31, 2002

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal: My War Against Wall Street's Giant (Hardcover)

What happens if a stand-up kind of guy decides to follow the written code of ethics in his brokerage firm? Welll, the result is as if you sent a cub scout to join a den of vipers.

Keith Schooley, tired of the rollercoaster world of oil investing in Oklahoma, turned his hardworking skills to brokering for Merrill Lynch. He did well on all his exams, he was one of the top 10 rookie producers for his area. He read all the required codes of behavior and ethics as set down by the brokerage industry, and monitored by the SEC and the NSAD, the internal brokerage self-regulating body.

Schooley soon found out that his office co-workers and supervisors were playing a bit fast and loose with their own guidelines in order to pass exams and win contests. When Schooley notified Merrill Lynch of violations of the ethics code as set down in their own documentation, his findings were hardly received with cries of joy. Rather, a cover-up on the scale of the Watergate break-in resulted.

While the violations that Schooley uncovered were not of the type that got Michael Milliken and Ivan Boesky in trouble, they were disturbing. Financial institutions hold themselves to a strict code (theoretically) of behavior because they deal with other people's money. This is why the words "fidelity" and "fiduciary" and "trust" are adjectives in so many financial institution names. Their self-regulating bodies and the SEC are supposed to watch over their activities and punish unacceptable behavior. But "quis custodiet custodes ipsos?" or "who's watching the watchers?" The effectiveness of the self-regulating NSAD was a bit like asking the mastiff to guard the roast.

Schooley became obsessed with getting justice and setting things to rights. He ended up escalating the incidents to the point where his entire life was consumed.

What's interesting about this book is NOT the nature of the scandal; frankly this is small beans compared to some of the violations we've seen in the courts. What is interesting is the peek into the inner world of a regional brokerage office. The culture encourages contests "pour le sport" that is, just for the joy of winning; the prizes were nothing these guys couldn't have put on their platinum cards. The contests were a way to one-up the next guy and for the bigger bosses to enrich their bonuses. As far as taking care of the customer, including doing all in the customer's best interest and fully informing a client about the financial products they were investing in, that was not even a consideration. As one supervisor put it "Just sell."

Why read this book? The arbitration proceedings, which form a greater part of the book, are interesting to see how these guys operate. The view into a brokerage office will make you think again about the trust and faith you may be putting in your own broker. More Latin: Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware.)

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diogenes doesn't invest at Merrill Lynch, May 29, 2002

By 

"kate_hartshorn" (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal: My War Against Wall Street's Giant (Hardcover)

At the core of this book is an examination of the same moral and ethical issues with which Plato grappled in "The Republic". If this book were a metaphor for classical Greek philosophy the author is Socrates whose disbelief in the state's gods cost him dearly. The state is Merril Lynch and its gods are the willingness to eschew corporate ethics and values.

In a perfect world this book would be a shocking exposé, but this isn't a perfect world. Instead, this book tells a story of corporate misdeeds, incestuous relationships among Wall Street, the SEC and the National Association of Securities Dealers - each of which are supposed to be interlocking parts of a system of checks and balances, with the whole resting upon justice that is supposed to be guaranteed by our legal system. As the story unfolds the parts are exposed as illusions built upon a shaky foundation. What is fascinating is the way Merrill Lynch attempts damage control as their position is threatened. They first use subtle persuasion, then increasing levels of intimidation, and finally cast off the veneer of their ethical image by raw threats. Along the way they sacrifice some of their own loyal (but flawed) managers who attempted to contain the growing mess, and circumvented laws when they could get away with it. In other words, a common story of the dark uses of sheer power that would make Machiavelli proud.

However, this isn't a common story. Keith Schooley does what other authors of this kind of book doesn't: he names names. He also carefully and meticulously builds his body of facts and supporting evidence, and does so with surprisingly good narrative for someone who is not a professional writer. The character of each person who played a role is accurately portrayed. Each event is documented in detail, and Keith's analysis of situations is objective and logical. It's the personal perspective that makes this story such a good read because Mr. Schooley's persistence in the face of one disappointment after another is an inspiration to those of us who would be tempted to take the easy way out if faced with the same circumstances.

If this book did anything it's rekindled my passion for justice, and has reaffirmed my conviction that there are people whose sense of honor and integrity will not be compromised no matter the cost. Mr. Schooley, if you're reading this, know that most of those who signed the Declaration of Independence had ignoble ends on a personal level, but made a difference on a much larger scale that has endured time. Your personal integrity may not have the same impact as theirs, but you deserve to stand alongside them. I think the court of public opinion will agree.