Full of Bull and over 620,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Give this as a gift certificate
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get a $2.00 Amazon.com Gift Card
Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio
 
 
Start reading Full of Bull on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio [Paperback]

Stephen T. McClellan (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)

List Price: $16.99
Price: $13.25 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $3.74 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Friday, July 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
22 new from $9.94 13 used from $8.23

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $9.99  
Paperback $13.25  

Check Out Related Media



Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Trend Following (Updated Edition): Learn to Make Millions in Up or Down Markets by Michael W. Covel$14.95 

Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio + Trend Following (Updated Edition): Learn to Make Millions in Up or Down Markets

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

Product Description

“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

 

“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

 

“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 misinformed 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

 

Discover the truth about stock analysts’ research.

 

The  Truth  About  Wall  Street  Stock  Research–Now  100%  Updated  for  Today’s  Markets!

 

They mislead. They confuse. You can’t afford to listen to one word stock analysts say–especially not right now. Wall Street won’t tell you how to protect your capital or steer you toward gains. The Street is good at selling, not analyzing; it wants you to trade, not invest. In Full of Bull, one of the Street’s leading insiders reveals the hidden code behind Wall Street’s Byzantine practices.

 

For decades, Stephen McClellan was one of the Street’s top analysts–he knows exactly how the game is played. Now, in this revised guide for the individual investor, he describes how Wall Street came to cost investors billions by denying the realities of a market collapse in progress. He explains how a congenitally favorable bias led brokerages to keep recommending stocks, such as AIG and Fannie Mae, up until the moment of their ultimate demise.

 

In Full of Bull, you’ll learn how to look for analysts’ favoritism and blind spots; how to react appropriately to upgrades, downgrades, and price targets; and how to recognize what company announcements really mean. Drawing on his immense body of experience analyzing top companies, McClellan shows you how to systematically evaluate a company’s prospects and choose investments based on principles that work. This is exactly the kind of objective, focused guidance you won’t be getting from your broker!

 

 

From the Back Cover

“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

 

“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

 

“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 misinformed 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

 

Discover the truth about stock analysts’ research.

 

The  Truth  About  Wall  Street  Stock  Research–Now  100%  Updated  for  Today’s  Markets!

 

They mislead. They confuse. You can’t afford to listen to one word stock analysts say–especially not right now. Wall Street won’t tell you how to protect your capital or steer you toward gains. The Street is good at selling, not analyzing; it wants you to trade, not invest. In Full of Bull, one of the Street’s leading insiders reveals the hidden code behind Wall Street’s Byzantine practices.

 

For decades, Stephen McClellan was one of the Street’s top analysts–he knows exactly how the game is played. Now, in this revised guide for the individual investor, he describes how Wall Street came to cost investors billions by denying the realities of a market collapse in progress. He explains how a congenitally favorable bias led brokerages to keep recommending stocks, such as AIG and Fannie Mae, up until the moment of their ultimate demise.

 

In Full of Bull, you’ll learn how to look for analysts’ favoritism and blind spots; how to react appropriately to upgrades, downgrades, and price targets; and how to recognize what company announcements really mean. Drawing on his immense body of experience analyzing top companies, McClellan shows you how to systematically evaluate a company’s prospects and choose investments based on principles that work. This is exactly the kind of objective, focused guidance you won’t be getting from your broker!

 

 


Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: FT Press; Original edition (June 29, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 013702312X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0137023127
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,270,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen T. McClellan
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Stephen T. McClellan Page

Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio
93% buy the item featured on this page:
Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio 4.0 out of 5 stars (40)
$13.25
Full of Bull: Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market
4% buy
Full of Bull: Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market 4.2 out of 5 stars (24)
$18.39
Reading Minds and Markets: Minimizing Risk and Maximizing Returns in a Volatile Global Marketplace
4% buy
Reading Minds and Markets: Minimizing Risk and Maximizing Returns in a Volatile Global Marketplace 3.4 out of 5 stars (42)
$17.15

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

40 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Medicore and out of date... Sensationalized, September 16, 2009
By GW (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   
This review is from: Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Although this is the revised edition, McClellan seems like he is in the wrong decade on much of his advice and ends up sensationalizing his underlying premise. Now I would agree, he is largely correct in his read of security analyst's and the institution environment... but he draws it out over far too many pages. Really this message would be better served in a 10 page article and not a book.

I believe that a lot of the elements that made it into this updated edition end up up going beyond his comfort zone. I think a lot of readers will get bored. I think would be better served by other authors who take a more straightforward approach. A lot of the key points and takeaways are reiterated in these reviews... You loose out on some uninspiring stories half of which were from the times when he was on the other side of the fence.

Also, as another reviewer pointed out some of his suggestions and comments are completely ridiculous: like avoiding NASDAQ stocks. This is like saying you should avoid TV's from non-American companies - outdated and biased.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Only an analyst could write this..., August 28, 2009
This review is from: Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I'm a portfolio manager for a hedge fund, so I have some experience with analysts and a lot of aspects of Wall Street that McClellan outlines in the book.

First, the positives. The part about analysts is absolutely right. Analysts and investment banks are not there to cater to individuals -- they are there to provide support to commission-generating clients, who are large institutions and hedge funds. These funds pay quite a bit for the research, either through commissions or direct payments. Individuals don't pay anything... so individual investors get what they pay for. If you stop and think about it, this shouldn't be a surprise. My experience with analysts is always this: they know everything about the companies they cover, but they have little to no ability to draw good conclusions from that information. I don't know of a single major financial institution that allows an analyst to trade based on his or her analysis. There's a reason for it.

And now the negatives.

The inability to draw sound conclusions shows up in the rest of the book. McClellan shouldn't be giving investment advice -- it is atrocious. Most of the time it is contradictory and uninformed, sometimes he is just reckless. He claims you should invest in themes that will be big -- for example, 2 years ago, commodities were great. Or 25 years ago, computers were just becoming a big deal. But who knew at the time?? These themes are obvious in hindsight, but I challenge anyone to identify that theme today. Social networking (which you can't even buy)? Solar power? Nanotechnology? Genome sciences? Broadband infrastructure? Something completely different?

He claims buy small companies with large revenue growth. However, they should also be listed on the NYSE, not the NASDAQ, which many might find at odds with the "small company" part. Other tips of his: don't invest in mutual funds or internationally. Avoid tech. Don't diversify.

So out of all this, buy small NYSE-listed companies with double digit revenue growth, highly profitable, and trade at low multiples in industries that are going to be hot, but just haven't been identified by the general public. There are so many problems with this, I don't even know where to start. It's equivalent to him saying, "Put most of your money in the 7 companies you think will be the next MSFT. By the way, you should have invested in MSFT 25 years ago when it had its IPO... except you'd be breaking my investing rules by buying NASDAQ stocks, tech stocks and IPOs."

But especially dangerous is his advice for investors in down markets -- if stocks are about to go down a lot, just sell and wait until things go up again. And don't buy if the markets are going even lower. And how exactly are you supposed to know if markets are headed higher or lower? McClellan conveniently keeps that "Wall Street secret" to himself. Oh, and another tip from McClellan: Be calm about your trading and ride out all of the ups and downs in the market -- don't sell if your stocks go down.

Huh?


He claims to be a value investor a la Buffett, but this is certainly not the case. Even Buffett points out that nearly everyone should just invest their money in an index fund and not think about it; be happy with average, at least you're not getting killed by Wall Street and hedge funds. McClellan wants you to believe that everyone can have above average returns. Don't believe a word of it -- it's the same garbage every other Wall Street house and snake oil salesman wants you to believe to get commissions, subscriptions, and royalties out of you.

Key takeaways: Analysts are not helpful for the individual investor. Ignore their "price targets" and their stock rating -- they won't help you. But after the last 10 years of insanity in the markets, what investor doesn't at least suspect this?

I don't recommend this book. There are so many better books out there about investing that lead to these same conclusions about analysts. Burton Malkiel's A Random Walk Down Wall Street does this with a more rational approach to investing, so stick with the classics.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Clearly Biased and Opinionated, yet Informative and Insightful, September 24, 2009
By T. Shih (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Full of Bull (Updated Edition): Unscramble Wall Street Doubletalk to Protect and Build Your Portfolio (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Before picking a book with a title "Full of Bull" it should be obvious from the get-go that certain assumptions will be made, and the book is written from a particular perspective. Something else to keep in mind is the disclaimer: "This book is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services or advice."

Stephen McClellan describes himself as a career Wall Street investment analyst with 32 years of experience covering high-tech stocks. His promise is that with his help, the individual investor can become savvy on various Wall Street practices and the driving forces behind them. The author makes no claim on which specific funds or stocks to invest in, and he encourages the readers to stay up to date on reports, investment news, etc. Instead, he provides a few stout guidelines and research tips. (There's also a ~20 page glossary that I found to be informative about different investment vehicles and common terminology).

This is the first book of this type that I've picked up (I am relatively new to investing on Wall Street in general), but my general feeling is that through the mild sensationalism, there is good advice and truth to be found. The first point that struck me was that Wall Street is transaction-oriented in the sense that brokers and such actually want you to buy and sell frequently, and the media/literature surrounding Wall Street serves to push additional transactions by constantly publishing 'recommended' stocks and introducing random companies as having the next greatest thing.

Throughout the book, McClellan makes suggestions that were initially counter-intuitive to me, but after thinking about his suggestions and perusing the historical data he used to back up his claims, I felt inclined to agree with him most of the time. The kicker, however, is that hindsight is always 20/20 and since I haven't tried any of his techniques, I can't vouch that they've worked for me or not, though I have begun to listen more closely to investment news.

My primary complaint is that the overall presentation of Wall Street is negative with an emphasis on deception. I believe that the author's perspective can be effectively translated while taking an agnostic view of Wall Street, simply by analyzing the lack of proper incentives for the overarching financial institutions and their relationship to the individual investor.

Full of Bull makes the argument that individual investors cannot rely on Wall Street generated reports as the sole source of financial information. By being informed about the incentive structure of Wall Street and what to look for in a good long-term stock and how to do good research, the author claims that anyone can achieve above-average returns while only incurring low risk if they are willing to put in the work. This book therefore is just the starting-point of something larger as there aren't many explicitly simple suggestions. Even if Wall Street does not incentivize rational, long-term behavior, by learning how to filter out the noise, we can learn to form our own opinions and hopefully protect personal interests.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars decent stock tips
There's some decent stock tips to invest more wisely on bullish stocks. Thanks amazon. Good read with good info.
Published 5 months ago by kittykat

3.0 out of 5 stars Gives you the cynicism you should have before investing in Wall Street
If nothing else, the one thing I think this book should give anybody is a healthy dose of cynicism before they start investing in stocks. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Truth Teller

4.0 out of 5 stars Some useful advice for private investors
Trading/investing in share market is not easy for individual investors, esp. in current volatile markets. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kanishk Rastogi

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Investing for Dummies
Full of Bull written by a former stock analyst is an attempt to help the individual private investor. Read more
Published 8 months ago by D Strick

3.0 out of 5 stars Some useful info but self-contradictory at times.
It sounds good to have inside information from a seasoned, former Wall Street CFA. However, most of the info presented here simply can't keep up with the current rapid and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by D. Chou

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
Almost like taking a course on investing. Insider secrets, how the large brokerage houses work and gives you the insight to see around what the securities analysts would have you... Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Bull is full of good advice on what to do, and what not to do, when it comes to investing your money in the Stock Market
Full of Bull was written by a former Wall Street analyst. As an analyst he got a first hand view of how Wall Street, CEOs and even analysts themselves lead naive investors astray,... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Patrick Regan

5.0 out of 5 stars Tells it like it is!
I loved this book. Stephen McClellan doesn't mince any words, and he provides helpful, actionable advice to people like me (non-Wall Street personal investors). Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mark Hunsaker

3.0 out of 5 stars A mish-mash of useful and not-so information on investing
I had never heard of Stephen McClellan, but apparently he and his books on investing have been around a while. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Eric C. Sedensky

4.0 out of 5 stars timely insider's view
The author was more decades a well known and respected stock analyst, and he brings to the book a wealth of knowledge of both how Wall Street has worked, and how it could work... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Konrad Baumeister

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!


Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.