Page 921 - How to Make Money in Stocks Trilogy

170 HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN STOCKS SUCCESS STORIES

first stock, 10 shares of Hershey’s, the maker of Chunky candy bars. David
followed his stock and others in the market, wondering why some stocks
would go up and others would go down.
His fascination with the market continued through high school and col-
lege. After hearing Bill speak at an investment seminar in Century City,
David took a trial of Daily Graphs. When he went down to pick up the chart
book each Saturday, Bill O’Neil was often there answering people’s ques-
tions. David listened to these conversations, riveted.
Once he graduated from UCLA, David showed up at the O’Neil offices
and offered to work for free. He met with Kathy Sherman, Bill’s executive
assistant at the time, who recognized David’s energy and enthusiasm for
stocks and the market. David left thinking nothing might come of his visit to
the O’Neil office, but by the time he got home, there was a message on his
phone machine saying that Bill O’Neil wanted to interview him. A few days
later, when Bill was interviewing David, he asked him what he wanted to do
in five years. David wasn’t really sure, but replied, “I know you’ve been suc-
cessful. I just want to learn all that I can.”
David started in the institutional area of the firm doing research and
learning everything about the CAN SLIM Investing strategy. A new bull
market began in August 1982, and David started investing, using what he
®
had learned since joining O’Neil + Company . He says, “I did pretty well for
about a year and a half but was making lots of mistakes and gave back most
of my gains.” David went back and studied his trades and came to the con-
clusion that he was buying stocks that were too extended. He decided to
become extremely disciplined and from then on, “My performance really
started to take off.”
David rose to national attention by winning the U.S. Investing
Championship three times between 1985 and 1990. This competition was
sponsored by a former Stanford professor and involved real money in real
accounts. Each year, approximately 300 contestants, including portfolio
managers, market letter writers, and individual investors competed to see
who could achieve the best returns.
David says, “The CAN SLIM principles are all laid out for you, but it’s
your job to adapt it to your comfort level and make it work. It will require
some studying, but to be successful in anything, you have to be willing to put
in the time.”
From 1982 to 1985, one of David’s primary responsibilities was working
closely with Bill to advise the firm’s 500 institutional clients on individual