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Wall Street Meat: My Narrow Escape from the Stock Market Grinder – A Successful Analyst's Cautionary Tale of Reputation and Longevity in Finance
Wall Street is a funny business. All you have is your reputation. Taint it and someone else will fill your shoes. Longevity comes from maintaining that reputation. Ask Jack Grubman, the All-Star telecom analyst from Salomon Smith Barney; uber-banker Frank Quattrone at CS First Boston; Morgan Stanley's Mary "Queen of the Net" Meeker; or Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget. Well, they probably won't tell you anything. But have I got some great stories for you. Successful hedge fund manager Andy Kessler looks back on his years as an analyst on Wall Street and offers this cautionary tale of the intoxicating forces loose in the world of finance that overwhelmed sober analysis.
272 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 2003
25 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
About the author
Andy Kessler
17 books21 followersAndy Kessler is an investor, author and businessman.
Andy Kessler has worked for about 20 years as a research analyst, investment banker, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. He was also the Co-founder and President of Velocity Capital Management, an investment firm based in Palo Alto, California, United States.
He has written forThe Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Wired, Forbes, The Weekly Standard, the Los Angeles Times and The American Spectator.
Andy Kessler has worked for about 20 years as a research analyst, investment banker, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. He was also the Co-founder and President of Velocity Capital Management, an investment firm based in Palo Alto, California, United States.
He has written forThe Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Wired, Forbes, The Weekly Standard, the Los Angeles Times and The American Spectator.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 20, 2017
This book is hilarious. Kessler is a great writer with a bone dry sense up humor. A fun memoir of Wall Street and the Roaring Nineties.
May 25, 2023
Wall Street Meats by Andy Kessler offers a profound exploration of the finance industry, with a particular focus on the critical role of reputation in achieving success. Drawing from his own experiences as a Wall Street analyst, Kessler provides a unique and insightful perspective on the day-to-day dynamics and office culture that permeate the financial world.
As someone in Equity Research, I found Kessler's portrayal of the industry to be remarkably accurate and relatable. Through captivating narratives and personal anecdotes, the author effectively captures the thoughts and emotions of professionals in finance, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and expectations they face.
A central theme that emerges throughout the book is the importance of maintaining a good reputation. Kessler underscores how trust serves as the currency of the financial markets, and how a tarnished reputation can have far-reaching consequences. Through cautionary tales and real-life examples, he highlights the impact of ethical lapses and questionable practices, reminding readers of the significance of integrity and professional ethics.
The book also delves into the complex dynamics of the analyst's role, shedding light on the delicate balance between analysis and the art of marketing oneself. One particularly poignant quote, where a portfolio manager emphasizes that analysts are in the entertainment business, not the analysis business, captures the prevailing sentiment in the field.
Moreover, Wall Street Meats serves as a reminder that success in finance extends beyond being right about stocks. Kessler underscores the importance of impressing colleagues, clients, and investors through a combination of analytical prowess, effective communication, and building strong relationships. These insights provide valuable guidance for individuals aspiring to thrive in the finance industry.
While the book was published in 2003, its relevance remains intact today. The lessons on reputation, integrity, and the intricate dynamics of Wall Street continue to hold true, making Wall Street Meats a timeless resource for professionals and enthusiasts alike.
In conclusion, Wall Street Meats by Andy Kessler offers a captivating and comprehensive exploration of the finance industry. Through engaging storytelling and insightful analysis, Kessler shines a spotlight on the crucial role of reputation, integrity, and effective communication in achieving success on Wall Street. This book serves as a valuable resource for anyone seeking to navigate the complex world of finance with integrity and professionalism.
As someone in Equity Research, I found Kessler's portrayal of the industry to be remarkably accurate and relatable. Through captivating narratives and personal anecdotes, the author effectively captures the thoughts and emotions of professionals in finance, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and expectations they face.
A central theme that emerges throughout the book is the importance of maintaining a good reputation. Kessler underscores how trust serves as the currency of the financial markets, and how a tarnished reputation can have far-reaching consequences. Through cautionary tales and real-life examples, he highlights the impact of ethical lapses and questionable practices, reminding readers of the significance of integrity and professional ethics.
The book also delves into the complex dynamics of the analyst's role, shedding light on the delicate balance between analysis and the art of marketing oneself. One particularly poignant quote, where a portfolio manager emphasizes that analysts are in the entertainment business, not the analysis business, captures the prevailing sentiment in the field.
Moreover, Wall Street Meats serves as a reminder that success in finance extends beyond being right about stocks. Kessler underscores the importance of impressing colleagues, clients, and investors through a combination of analytical prowess, effective communication, and building strong relationships. These insights provide valuable guidance for individuals aspiring to thrive in the finance industry.
While the book was published in 2003, its relevance remains intact today. The lessons on reputation, integrity, and the intricate dynamics of Wall Street continue to hold true, making Wall Street Meats a timeless resource for professionals and enthusiasts alike.
In conclusion, Wall Street Meats by Andy Kessler offers a captivating and comprehensive exploration of the finance industry. Through engaging storytelling and insightful analysis, Kessler shines a spotlight on the crucial role of reputation, integrity, and effective communication in achieving success on Wall Street. This book serves as a valuable resource for anyone seeking to navigate the complex world of finance with integrity and professionalism.
August 12, 2019
I'm not so sure he escaped
Andy Kessler writes a nice book. I mean he's a professional writer and he spent a lot of time on Wall Street before and during the bubble years, up close and personal. And he wasn't a stock broker and he wasn't a trader. He was an analyst in technology stocks during a time when technology stocks mushroomed up like tulips under the windmills. A stock analyst studies the industry and the individual companies. He knows revenues and profits and cash flow and debts and bottom lines. He's a fundamentalist. He makes recommendations. Buy, hold, sell--well, they never actually recommended "sell" in those days. Presumably he knows when the price of a stock is out of step with what it's worth.
But the bubble years were tough times for fundamentalists since the ducks were quacking and when the ducks quack they say, "We don't need no stinkin' fundamentals. We just buy the dips."
At some point Kessler discovered that there's something wrong with this picture. If a stock analyst knows so much why is he working for Goldman Sacks or Morgan Stanley? If he knows which stocks are going to go up and which are going to go down, why hasn't he mortgaged the ranch and milked all his relatives for funds and invested in the stocks himself?
Here's the answer. Hold on to your sweet petunias. As Kessler notes in the very first chapter he's only supposed to get it right 51% of the time, and with a little hedging and ex-post facto double-talk, he can fudge that. In other words, it's crystal ball time, and rational people don't raid the cookie jar to bet on flips of the coin.
Let me tell you what an "analyst" is called in Las Vegas. An analyst is a "tout." That's a "Gold Sheet" or a "Green Sheet" sold in liquor stores and bars with a phone number and some stars and exclamation points advertising their monster "**Superlock of the Week!!!**" That is, you pay them some money and they tell you which sports team to bet on. Needless to say, if they really knew who was going to cover the spread that week, they would mortgage the ranch...etc.
By the way, one of the problems with Andy's strict fundamentalist approach is that the markets are not entirely rational, which is why there is such a thing as technical analysis, which basically says the trend is your friend, or forget the fundamentals, buy the chart--or more deeply understood, buy the irrational exuberance of the public, which is what most of the people who made money in the go-go nineties did. A nice little book that explains some of this is Joel Kurtzman's How the Markets Really Work (2002) where he gives his conviction that, "Markets may move to the beat of their dumbest members," adding, "In my view...markets are not rational."
Anyway, at some point (it is clear to me) Andy Kessler realized that although he wasn't the kind of analyst that touts only those stocks that his firm owns or does business with, he was still a Wall Street strawberry. We can tell he figured this out because somewhere about three-quarters of the way into this very readable and engaging tome, he ups and leaves the comfy confines of Morgan Stanley and a six-figure plus income and begins to do his own investing. That is, he actually bets on his own picks. Wow. Now understand that even here of course he hedges. He forms his own capital management company; that is to say, he gets people to send him money which become chips that he shoves into the pot on their behalf. If he wins, hurrah, and if the stocks he likes tank, well, he still gets paid.
Kessler's is the latest in a long line of "confessional" books written by Wall Street people, almost always ex-Wall Street people--e.g., Where Are the Customers' Yachts? (1940) by Fred Schwed Jr.; License to Steal: the Secret World of Wall Street and the Systematic Plundering of the American Investor (1999) by Anonymous and Timothy Harper...etc. Kessler's book stands out because he was an analyst, not a salesman (i.e., a "broker"), and because he worked with and knew many of the top people on the street and was well-regarded, but was not a top executive. This is also an interesting personal story of a somewhat geek tech guy (but personable) who was smart enough and eventually hip enough to wow 'em in the presentations, who worked hard enough to be (I'm guessing) right more than half the time.
Where his book is not among the best is in what he leaves out. For some reason Kessler doesn't actually reveal how much he was paid (again I guessed at the six figures plus) or how well the stocks he touted performed, nor is he specific about how well he did with his own portfolio. We realize when he gets to trading and discovers the market-maker's spread (Where did THAT come from?) that he really had little idea what life was like for the "retail people" who had to not only buck the spread but, before the rise of Internet trading, pay rather hefty commissions as well--which is why the customers never had any yachts. But Kessler's reticence is probably just as well since everybody knows that there are two things people consistently lie about: sex and money. Kessler doesn't mention the former and is vague about the latter. I tend to respect that.
Bottom line: unless you are Jack Grubman, Frank Quattrone, Henry Blodget and some of the other pieces of Wall Street Meat that Kessler writes about who went down with the ship, you will find this an amusing book, a nice diversion from a long, long time ago on which to reflect. Kessler knows all the buzz words; he knows the players and (somewhat inadvertently) he lets us know him.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
Andy Kessler writes a nice book. I mean he's a professional writer and he spent a lot of time on Wall Street before and during the bubble years, up close and personal. And he wasn't a stock broker and he wasn't a trader. He was an analyst in technology stocks during a time when technology stocks mushroomed up like tulips under the windmills. A stock analyst studies the industry and the individual companies. He knows revenues and profits and cash flow and debts and bottom lines. He's a fundamentalist. He makes recommendations. Buy, hold, sell--well, they never actually recommended "sell" in those days. Presumably he knows when the price of a stock is out of step with what it's worth.
But the bubble years were tough times for fundamentalists since the ducks were quacking and when the ducks quack they say, "We don't need no stinkin' fundamentals. We just buy the dips."
At some point Kessler discovered that there's something wrong with this picture. If a stock analyst knows so much why is he working for Goldman Sacks or Morgan Stanley? If he knows which stocks are going to go up and which are going to go down, why hasn't he mortgaged the ranch and milked all his relatives for funds and invested in the stocks himself?
Here's the answer. Hold on to your sweet petunias. As Kessler notes in the very first chapter he's only supposed to get it right 51% of the time, and with a little hedging and ex-post facto double-talk, he can fudge that. In other words, it's crystal ball time, and rational people don't raid the cookie jar to bet on flips of the coin.
Let me tell you what an "analyst" is called in Las Vegas. An analyst is a "tout." That's a "Gold Sheet" or a "Green Sheet" sold in liquor stores and bars with a phone number and some stars and exclamation points advertising their monster "**Superlock of the Week!!!**" That is, you pay them some money and they tell you which sports team to bet on. Needless to say, if they really knew who was going to cover the spread that week, they would mortgage the ranch...etc.
By the way, one of the problems with Andy's strict fundamentalist approach is that the markets are not entirely rational, which is why there is such a thing as technical analysis, which basically says the trend is your friend, or forget the fundamentals, buy the chart--or more deeply understood, buy the irrational exuberance of the public, which is what most of the people who made money in the go-go nineties did. A nice little book that explains some of this is Joel Kurtzman's How the Markets Really Work (2002) where he gives his conviction that, "Markets may move to the beat of their dumbest members," adding, "In my view...markets are not rational."
Anyway, at some point (it is clear to me) Andy Kessler realized that although he wasn't the kind of analyst that touts only those stocks that his firm owns or does business with, he was still a Wall Street strawberry. We can tell he figured this out because somewhere about three-quarters of the way into this very readable and engaging tome, he ups and leaves the comfy confines of Morgan Stanley and a six-figure plus income and begins to do his own investing. That is, he actually bets on his own picks. Wow. Now understand that even here of course he hedges. He forms his own capital management company; that is to say, he gets people to send him money which become chips that he shoves into the pot on their behalf. If he wins, hurrah, and if the stocks he likes tank, well, he still gets paid.
Kessler's is the latest in a long line of "confessional" books written by Wall Street people, almost always ex-Wall Street people--e.g., Where Are the Customers' Yachts? (1940) by Fred Schwed Jr.; License to Steal: the Secret World of Wall Street and the Systematic Plundering of the American Investor (1999) by Anonymous and Timothy Harper...etc. Kessler's book stands out because he was an analyst, not a salesman (i.e., a "broker"), and because he worked with and knew many of the top people on the street and was well-regarded, but was not a top executive. This is also an interesting personal story of a somewhat geek tech guy (but personable) who was smart enough and eventually hip enough to wow 'em in the presentations, who worked hard enough to be (I'm guessing) right more than half the time.
Where his book is not among the best is in what he leaves out. For some reason Kessler doesn't actually reveal how much he was paid (again I guessed at the six figures plus) or how well the stocks he touted performed, nor is he specific about how well he did with his own portfolio. We realize when he gets to trading and discovers the market-maker's spread (Where did THAT come from?) that he really had little idea what life was like for the "retail people" who had to not only buck the spread but, before the rise of Internet trading, pay rather hefty commissions as well--which is why the customers never had any yachts. But Kessler's reticence is probably just as well since everybody knows that there are two things people consistently lie about: sex and money. Kessler doesn't mention the former and is vague about the latter. I tend to respect that.
Bottom line: unless you are Jack Grubman, Frank Quattrone, Henry Blodget and some of the other pieces of Wall Street Meat that Kessler writes about who went down with the ship, you will find this an amusing book, a nice diversion from a long, long time ago on which to reflect. Kessler knows all the buzz words; he knows the players and (somewhat inadvertently) he lets us know him.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
November 26, 2025
I really liked it. This is a very well written account of Andy’s team in research on Wall Street. It’s a book that has aged very well and carries extra value today as a pre-GFC recount of how business was conducted on the street. I also really enjoyed Andy’s verdict on the system - that we are all effectively cogs in the machine and the humility to admit that his well-timed was nothing more than dumb luck vs a ‘puffed chest, here’s how I beat the market” approach. He seems like my type of my person.
June 28, 2010
Average book. The beginning was good as the author described how he entered the business. But the author seemed to take a "holier then thou" tact in that he was able to resist all the temptations of quick money. I was in the business and it wasn't that simple. I have trouble believing everything he said.
March 8, 2017
Gave some really detailed stories of the Wall Street, particularly equity research on the sell side during the 90s. It's a system and it worked towards the profit making of the whole firm, there's no credible and unbiased reviews and research.
September 5, 2015
A fun read; not as good as Liar's Poker, but this book gives an accurate summary of the 1990s on Wall Street.
May 11, 2020
Nice book on the equity research scenario of the 1980s till 2000s covering the LBO, Gulf Oil war, dot com bubble etc. The author explains that finally the revenue pools dictate who does war, and also what makes an analyst worth listening to(it is insights and not view on price). Book is not as useful to develop skills as to get an overall view of the USA market. Lots of jokes on MS/CS but probably less relevant now that people retired
October 15, 2020
Andy Kessler has a unique style, a style I personally enjoy, very matter of fact yet casual.
In this title Kessler provides invaluable insight into the world of financial analysts, during the extremely tumultuous period of dot com & telecommunications bubbles of the 90's leading to the 00's, of this period this is one of my favourites, if not my favourite.
In this title Kessler provides invaluable insight into the world of financial analysts, during the extremely tumultuous period of dot com & telecommunications bubbles of the 90's leading to the 00's, of this period this is one of my favourites, if not my favourite.
May 12, 2019
Solid Read
Entertaining and relatively eye opening. Probably won’t read it again but I’ll read another book by Andy Kessler in the future.
Entertaining and relatively eye opening. Probably won’t read it again but I’ll read another book by Andy Kessler in the future.
March 11, 2020
This guy definitely enjoyed living the high life with all the blitz and glam while it lasted
January 18, 2021
Very easy to read. A funny and dry account of Wall Street in the 80/90s.
January 18, 2021
Great recap of the dot-com boom era and insights on how the Street works
February 1, 2021
Author is a good writer, absolutely hilarious with a great sense of humor. Sadly, has some contemptible political views which make me question his writing.
February 3, 2024
I think this reads really well if you were born before '85. Good history lesson, happy to have picked it up.
February 19, 2008
"Kessler became a semiconductor analyst almost the day I joined Apple as a summer intern. The book almost starts at the Apple analyst meeting where he (and I) heard John Sculley say there was no role for Steve Jobs at Apple anymore. So his Wall Street/High Tech years neatly overlap mine, which makes the tale even more interesting, although it would be fascinating anyway. And hilarious. Fun also to note that his office after Wall Street was down the hall from GeeThree!"
November 3, 2013
Andy Kessler fue ventas/analista de Morgan Stanley unos años. Luego fue gestor de un hedge fund. Aquí narra su historia de esos años. Es un relato interesante, en el que le atiza a todo lo que se mueve y, según el tópico, no deja títere con cabeza. Cuenta cosas interesantes sobre el funcionamiento de los bancos de inversión y narra desde dentro la catástrofe de las puntocom. Es una lectura entretenida y útil para los interesados en el funcionamiento de la banca de inversión.
April 8, 2015
It's a good read no doubt. Andy Kessler does surley not try to defend Wall Street, nor does he demonize it. The book seems to be just an acount of someone who went along for some time, a story about the people he met on the way and events he witnessed. But don't expect too much. Real insights and information are quite rare.
August 20, 2015
A sweet book about analyst craft, one that reads at a brisk pace.
I liked that book mostly consists of numerous mini-stories - anecdotes from everyday Wall Street.
Author is arrogant at times, painting himself in nicest colours, this spoils a bit the overall impression.
But overall - very recommended reading, fun and educating.
I liked that book mostly consists of numerous mini-stories - anecdotes from everyday Wall Street.
Author is arrogant at times, painting himself in nicest colours, this spoils a bit the overall impression.
But overall - very recommended reading, fun and educating.
March 29, 2007
A good book, but not as great as I'd hoped. An airplane read.
January 29, 2009
Hilarious book, one of my favorite accounts of the reality behind the paper tiger wall street organizations.
June 8, 2009
I enjoyed this book; a good read for those of us with ties in the market...
June 30, 2012
Outstanding
July 4, 2010
Andy's first book.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews