Book Review: Full of Bull

I just finished reading Full of Bull: Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market by Steve McClellan, investment analyst for 32 years, and what a refreshing read it was. This is by far one of the best books I've read in a long time about common sense ways of choosing stocks. The book is very easy to understand, great for beginning investors, and enlightening for those who have been investing for a long time. The biggest takeaway for the book is the book's sub-title: 'Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says'.

McClellan goes into interesting detail about he became a Wall Street research analyst and how changes in investment research took place over the years. He gives lists of numerous things to watch out for, both positive and negative, when looking for a stock to invest in.

I agree with almost 100% of what he advises, only disagreeing with him in one area (he likes New York Stock Exchange stocks, I like NASDAQ stocks). He explains ways of looking at the executives, not only listening to what they say but how they say it, and what they do, at work and outside of work. He shows how this can be very important information to prospective investors.

McClellan also covers how to look at analyst rankings, and what it means when there is a change up or down. In addition, he talks about how companies release news, both good and bad, and how to understand not only what that news means, but what is not said, how much news is released, and how management responds to questions.

If you want a book on investing that is different and much better than the typical 'get rich' book, then Full of Bull is the one for you. By the way, I also like the title.

Disclosure: Steve McClellan and I are both fellow collectors of antique stock certificates.

By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com