This review is from: How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

William O’Neil the author has just published his magnum opus and its a wonderful book to show the small investor how to attain wealth in an effective and systematic fashion.

This book is a guide to understand how the Stock Market really works. William O’Neil perfected his CAN-SLIM method in the 1960’s to make himself a multi-millionaire. He felt that his investment system was something most people could learn so he launched a newspaper in 1984 called Investment Business Daily (IBD) to teach small investors how to invest well and increase their net worth significantly.

During the go-go Bull market years of the 1990’s IBD reached a subscription level of over 300,000 subscribers and competed head-on the the venerable and established Wall Street Journal (WSJ). I am convinced IBD is the superior newspaper because it specifically teaches the small investor how to outperform Mutual Funds by using the small investor’s main advantage — the ability to get in and out of the market quickly. This advantage when properly used allows the small investor to avoid the major damage of a huge Bear market downturn such as in the case of 2001-2002 and also in 2008. Mutual Funds being so heavily invested with billions of dollars of stocks are not so nimble; consequently they usually take heavy losses during large market downturns such as in 2008.

His system is called CAN-SLIM. It is a complex set of rules; so allow yourself two years to learn the basics. You will have to master the reading of technical charts and understand fundamentals of various companies. You need to understand concepts such as Sales, Earnings, Return on Equity (ROE). how Mutual Funds operate, accumulations, distributions, relative price strength (RPS), cups and handles, breakouts, 50-day moving averages, base failures, puts, calls, pivot points, double bottoms, growth stocks vs value stocks, accumulation days etc. Understanding these concepts is not for the faint hearted; there is a lot to learn.

O’Neil will show you the way with his book. Unfortunately the rules are very, very counter-intuitive and contrary to so called conventional investment wisdom and what most investment pundits advise. It will probably go against everything you have been taught in life. That is why most people have difficulty applying CAN-SLIM methods because it is so counter-intuitive. For example: What really works well is to buy high and sell higher. We are conditioned to buy low and sell high. This latter approach is not effective in the stock market but most people buy in the conventional wisdom manner and in many cases get clobbered. 98 % of individual investors buy stocks this way and it is not effective. You also need to know when the Bear Market is coming so you can exit and go to cash for safety. IBD provides the early warning indicators when the Bear is near.

There is much to learn in order to win against the Stock Market and how it really works. But it can be done. To do so you need to be a hard worker and be able to learn from your mistakes. Learning CAN-SLIM is similar to learning upper-level math courses such as statistics. There are no royal roads or shortcuts in learning and applying CAN-SLIM rules. It is not an easy subject to learn. You should also have access to the Enhanced Daily Graphs to see both the Fundamental and Technical Analysis displayed on one page. You will need these tools to win this financial war; these tools provide the key financial intelligence to let you know what is really occurring in the world of the stock market.

I also recommend you keeping notes in a journal of some type. This will help you to learn the skills needed. You must also develop a skill in reading the charts to understand the psychology of what is happening in the market place. There are about 100 charts of past winners to study which provide the guide for picking future stock winners if you are able to recognize the patterns. If you can read the past history well you can predict the future. It will appear like you are looking at Latin and Greek symbols at first and will seem unintelligible for awhile but after much practice you will readily start seeing patterns. These patterns provide the entry and exits points for effective stock buys.

Why is learning this method so hard. Here are some of the key CAN-SLIM rules that must be mastered if you do not want to financially hurt by the Stock Market:

1) Buy stocks above $ 20 per share at the optimum pivot point in a buying surge during a strong Bull Market and sell at a higher price.

2) Always cut your losses at 7 — 8 % when buying.(Most important rule).

3) If initially successful; pyramid your buying up.

4) Stay in cash during a Bear Market.

5) Never argue with the Stock Market; it is always right.

6) Concentrate your stock buying and watch your stocks closely.

7) Do not over diversify.

8) Read the investment classics by Jesse Livermore, Gerald Loeb, Benard Baruch and Nicolas Darvas. They are the pioneers in this field and the teachers that William O’Neil discovered after reviewing over 2000 stock investment books in the early 1960’s. Only few authors such as Jesse Livermore and Gerald Loeb were deemed worthwhile. William O’Neil learned their methods, added some of his findings and crafted their wisdom into a complete and effective but complicated system called CAN-SLIM.

9) Keep your ego in check. Stay objective. Don’t celebrate too much when you win; Don’t get depressed when you get losses.

10) Keep your gains big & Keep your losses small.

11) Buy high and sell higher (very counter-intuitive !)

12) High diversification of stocks ensures mediocrity; Concentration in the right stocks leads to large gains.

13) Yearly gains of 20 — 100 % are possible in strong Bull markets while in Bear Markets your capital is preserved.

I have also subscribed to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for twenty (20) years. But the WSJ does not provide the information that is in IBD. IBD is unique and is an investment education conduit for people who are active learners and who wish to increase their net worth significantly.

The WSJ has some good in-depth articles on business news but doesn’t inform the small investor when to be in or out the market or how to pick the best growth stock leaders. This is the gap which IBD fills. I am convinced IBD is by far the more valuable newspaper for the small investor.

Effective use of the IBD tools is like a financial light sabre that will allow you to make significant financial gains especially in the first year of a strong Bull Market.

These methods are for those who do not mind hard work. You must be able to learn from your mistakes and be tenacious in learning the complexities of the Stock Market. If you are looking for an easy way to make significant money you need to look elsewhere. You will not be happy trying to learn very complex and counter-intuitive concepts. If do you pursue this study; it will probably take you at least 2 years to learn CANSLIM well. It is an art as well as a science.

What about actual results. I am a Chief Engineer in Aerospace and the skills and knowledge I have picked up in the last 5 years with O’Neil’s system has added about $100,000 each year to my savings since 2006. The time I spend on it each week is about 3 to 4 hours so it is like having a second job. I have not quit my day job but with the extra savings I have more peace of mind and with three children to send thru college in the near future I am confident I will be able to do so. In short — I may not be on easy street yet but I feel like I am out of the salt mines. This CANSLIM approach has worked well for me and I hope to improve my skills in it by continued study. I plan to get better at this. This system does work well.

Thank you Mr. O’Neil. you are a great teacher and wonderful philanthropist for the small investor. Highest recommendation for you, the reader to use this system to make money in the stock market.

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