How two former traders of William J. O'Neil + Company made mad money using O'Neil's trading strategies, and how you can, too From the successes and failures of two William O'Neil insiders, Trade Like an O'Neil Disciple: How We Made Over 18,000% in the Stock Market in 7 Years is a detailed look at how to trade using William O'Neil's proven strategies and what it was like working side-by-side with Bill O'Neil. Under various market conditions, the authors document their trades, including the set ups, buy, add, and sell points for their winners. Then, they turn the magnifying glass on themselves to analyze their mistakes, including how much they cost them, how they reacted, and what they learned.
Presents sub-strategies for buying pocket pivots and gap-ups Includes a market direction timing model, as well as updated tools for selling stocks short Provides an "inside view" of the authors' experiences as proprietary, internal portfolio managers at William O'Neil + Company, Inc. from 1997-2005 Detailing technical information and the trading psychology that has worked so well for them, Trade Like an O'Neil Disciple breaks down what every savvy money manager, trader and investor needs to know to profit enormously in today's stock market.
It goes without saying that before reading or deriving any benefit from this book you need to be understand William O'Neil's CANSLIM principles. The authors first chapter is titled 'The Evolution of Excellence The O'Neil Trading Method, however, it is impossible in 17 pages to even skim O'Neil's principles and unless you have read 'O'Neil's 'How to Make Money in Stocks' you shouldn't buy this book.
I didn't get a great deal out of this book but it did reinforce my already high opinion of O'Neil and his methodologies. The writers introduce the pocket pivot point concept and even devote a chapter to it but nowhere is it precisely defined and the examples do not portray it in a consistent manner. I had to buy 'In the Trading Cockpit with the O'Neil Disciples' before I was fully conversant with the pocket pivot point principle.
Like O'Neil, the writers are very big on taking stops and limiting losses to 8%, but having said this they are a little more discretionary than O'Neil.....they actually say that you sometimes need to allow a little 'porosity.'
This book was a useful addition to my trading library but not a top tenner.
Great book on understanding the principles behind Bill O'Neil's CAN-SLIM method of trading. The authors don't just tell you how they made fantastic returns, but they also discuss in detail some of their big mistakes. This is to help the reader clearly understand where they went wrong so as to "learn from their mistakes.
Some good points made by the authors, pocket pivot being the best one. But there is an unnecessary chapter [chapter 7] which talks about their timing model. It is just a long sales pitch with no insight as to how the model actually works. Hence giving 4 stars.
If you have read "How to make money in Stocks"(O'Neil), you should read this one too. New point has been updated from O'Neil's Principles is Pocket Pivot. Some chapters too long hard to concentrate and get the main point.
It’s a great break overall. The strategies and methods reinforce what I’ve read in other books, which helps builds confidence in taking trades. The more you read the better. The “extra” information and resources at the end of the book is what I found most useful.
I personally feel this book did not do justice to Bill O'Neil's legacy. For one, the thoughts presented in this book aren't as coherent as the principles taught. The ideas take awhile to absorb due to a lack of organization in the book. It also seems the methods taught are fit to showcase extraordinary returns since are no logical explanations behind their use (Eg. Using 10 & 50 SMA levels as support instead of 30).
The book's quality is brought down by numerous life experiences which are vaguely related to the topic at hand. This could have been heavily reduced to put emphasis on the lessons instead.
On the plus side, the book is covered in plenty of life principals on becoming a better trader. It delves into the psychology of a good traders based on great minds like Eckhart Tolle and Jesse Livermore.
Great book on investing in momentum stocks, has lots of examples of failures and successful trades. Most of the 18,000% return was during the biggest market bubble ever, however the principles used were sound.