“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!

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 40 Ratings

decent stock tips - 2010-02-18
Reviewer Rating:
There's some decent stock tips to invest more wisely on bullish stocks. Thanks amazon. Good read with good info.

Gives you the cynicism you should have before investing in Wall Street - 2010-01-19
Reviewer Rating:
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. As much as anything, it makes it clear that you are the only person with your best interest in mind and that anybody offering you services or advice is looking for some way to make money off of that advice and you should never assume that their plan really includes you making money.

All of that said, I don't think this book is necessarily too useful for anybody that strictly invests in mutual funds, particularly index funds. Such a person probably figured out a long time ago that they didn't have the time, skill, or risk threshold to actively trade and invest in individual companies.

Some useful advice for private investors - 2009-12-08
Reviewer Rating:
Trading/investing in share market is not easy for individual investors, esp. in current volatile markets. This book provides some useful tips to develop your own investment strategy and avoid the traps, which per the author, are purposely put forward by wall street analysts to lure investors. Definitely investing is a mixture of art & luck. the art can be learnt from such tips, but luck can't.

I'd suggest reading this book if you are rather new to the world of investing and are looking for a book which can help to understand some terminology, how to interpret them, and develop your own investment plan. Remember that nobody can guarantee anything. every individual has his own style and choice when it comes to investing in the market.

Not Investing for Dummies - 2009-11-24
Reviewer Rating:
Full of Bull written by a former stock analyst is an attempt to help the individual private investor. It does contain some insights and what may be considered some "inside" information but some of this information is so drawn out as to muddle the point. For example, early in the book there is a long section about analysts and how they are geared toward helping large companies and corporations and not the "little guy" and how their advice cannot be taken at face value. The issue was there were pages and pages of examples and equating this to that and discussion rather than one succinct point and example that I almost had to go back and re-read to be sure I got the correct point. For the "layman" or newbie investor (or if you've never invested before in your life) this can be overwhelming. This isn't an investing for dummies book in other words - which is fine - but don't expect to come into it with zero information and fully understand everything. The author spends some time criticizing Wall Street and analyzing recent and past "crashes" which is interesting. And he gives some direct advice on doing research and investing in certain types of companies and of warning signs that companies may not be doing so well. I think this will need multiple reads to glean the full amount of information from it but is worthwhile enough to look through. I'd give it a 3 -½ but will round up to 4.

Some useful info but self-contradictory at times. - 2009-11-24
Reviewer Rating:
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 volatile movements of stock markets. Intended to give the individual (small) investor clear pictures of Wall Street's misinformation, many of the author's investing strategies are becoming obsolete and at times self-contradictory. Examples: McClellan emphasized long term investing yet advised dumping stocks after approx. a year to lock in profits and to prevent further loss. IF an investor had dumped stocks during the end of 2008 or early 2009 by following this strategy, he/she would have missed the subsequent strong rebound; He stated mutual funds are too dull yet suggested index funds and ETFs to "participate in the market"; He recommended investing in focused/specialized companies yet distrusts "techie geeks" who are experts in a specialized technological niche. The main theme of this book is that the investment industry is only there to benefit the institutional investors and screw with the individual investors. Financial analysts and ratings are not be be trusted (common sense). The author stressed skepticism of all financial research, reports, company buy-backs, and slimy, extravagant executives. Most investors have already learned to distrust Wall Street and large corporations after the recent financial debacles. Some of the "secrets" presented here are common knowledge to most investors who conduct investment research on the internet. McClellan's investing strategies are overly conservative and pessimistic and just can't adapt to the current market conditions. The section on favorable/unfavorable traits for corporate execs was rather funny. There is also a useful glossary of basic financial terms at the end of the book.

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