Where Are the Customers' Yachts? A Critical Examination of Wall Street Practices | Finance & Investment Book for Stock Market Enthusiasts | Perfect for Investors, Business Students & Financial Analysts

So, you want to make money on Wall Street? Good idea, only be wary of investment counselors, stock brokers, or anyone purporting to have all the answers, such as authors of books on investing. Fortunately for us, Fred Schwed is not among them. His is a cautionary tale. He's worked on the Street and knows of its many pitfalls. Yes, his book was originally published in 1955, but as Jason Zweig (Money Magazine) points out in the introduction to the 2006 edition, nothing has changed. "The names and faces and machinery of Wall Street have changed completely from Schwed's day," writes Zweig, "but the game remains the same."The fact is, says Schwed, no one can predict the future with accuracy, but that is exactly what Wall Street analysts, investment counselors and ambitious stock brokers are claiming to do. It can't be done. The Wall Street game is nothing less than a crap shoot, with lots of losers and few winners, and the winners often end up losers. Who makes the big money on Wall Street? Investment bankers and brokers--from their exorbitant fees. They are the fat cats with the yachts parked out on Long Island, not the clients.Schwed aims his harshest criticism at investment counselors. "(They) allocate the funds between themselves and their clients in the ancient classic manner, i.e., at the close of the day's business they take all the money and throw it up in the air. Everything that sticks to the ceiling belongs to the clients."The authors makes a fine distinction between Wall Street speculators and investors. Speculators are the quick-buck artists hoping to make a killing; they don't. Investors are patient and looking for some place to put their money for the long term; they are the ones who actually make money. Put another way: "Speculation is an effort, probably unsuccessful, to turn a little money into a lot. Investment is an effort, which should be successful, to prevent a lot of money from becoming a little."Schwed's book is funny, wise, a splash of cold reality. While filled with irony, it's not cynical. The author, who reportedly lost a bundle on Wall Street, remains a believer. "I have a sneaking fondness for that wretched old hag, the capitalistic system . . . we had better preserve our financial machinery even with much of the nonsense still adhering to it . . . The only successful method so far devised for getting millions out of the public, for enterprise both good and bad, is some system similar to the devious mechanism of Wall Street."Bottom line: no one on Wall Street has the answers. It's a guessing game. Be smart: invest for the long term, and maintain a healthy dose of skepticism.