A couple weeks ago, I was given a review copy of the new book by Stephen T. McClellan: Full of Bull: Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market. Here is my review:
Much of the text is autobiographical anecdotes about what it’s like to be an analyst. Those parts reminded me of Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst, the Reingold book, quite a bit. That’s not a bad thing, really, as in both books the story is interesting and worth knowing about if you are in the markets.
Still, at first I was wondering if Full of Bull would offer anything new on the topic. Thankfully, McClellan put a new twist on his book, and interspersed his anecdotes between directly useful advice for investors. So, it’s one-part autobiography, one-part textbook, and generally pretty well-written. He gives you some history, and then looks you right in the eye and says “… and here’s what this means to you.” I liked that, and thought it worked well.
The book is structured well with ample headings, and in the text he uses an informal writing style. It’s as if he’s having lunch with you, telling you what he knows about the markets. That makes it an easy and fast read, and at the same time gives the information an air of genuine honesty.
Topics covered include:
- properties of good management
- analyzing a company’s customer base
- protecting capital
- what to make of analyst recommendations
- how to interpret events like stock buybacks
- how to analyze corporate ‘turnaround’ stories
- … and many more
Be aware that this book is targeted toward investors, rather than traders. You won’t hear much about chart patterns in here! The focus is on interpreting news, fundamentals, and of course, analyst reports. Still, McClellan is conservative, which appeals to me even as a trader. Through his examples and his stories, he tells you how and why many events that are positive on the surface are actually covering up deeper problems. He tells you what kinds of companies, industries, and executives add to his confidence in an investment.
That’s not to say the book is perfect. I found that a few of the points are made in multiple places in the book. On one hand, you could say this helps drive the point home. On the other hand, in a couple places it felt repetitive. It is good to see the investment insights tied back to real-world analyst knowledge, but at the same time, not all of the insights are unique insider gems. The book’s textbook side forces it to go over some basics that an experienced investor will already have picked up. For instance, it advises to try to hold an investment for at least a year to get the lower tax rate. You don’t have to be a wall street insider to know that!
Overall, though, I’d say that the book was worth the read. The combination of an investing guide and an insider look at the life of an analyst works very well, and should make the book appeal to a wider audience than other purely autobiographical books. It gives the book practical applications, which I appreciated.
