Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst : A True Story of Inside Information and Corruption in the Stock Market

Here is the true story of a top Wall Street player's transformation from a straight-arrow believer to a jaded cynic, who reveals how Wall Street's insider game is really played. Dan Reingold was a top Wall Street analyst for fourteen years and Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jack Grubman's chief competitor in the red-hot sector of telecom. Reingold was part of the "Street" and believed in it. But in this action-packed, highly personal memoir written with accomplished Fast Company senior writer Jennifer Reingold the author describes how his enthusiasm gave way to disgust as he learned how deeply corrupted Wall Street and much of corporate America had become during the roaring stock market bubble of the 1990s. Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst provides a front-row seat at one of the most dramatic -- and ultimately tragic -- periods in financial history. Reingold recounts his introduction to the world of Wall Street leaks and secret deal-making; his experiences with corporate fraud; and Wall Street's alarming penchant for lavish spending and multimillion-dollar pay packages. Reingold spars with arch rival Grubman; fends off intense pressures from Wall Street bankers and corporate CEOs; and is wooed by Morgan Stanley's CEO, John Mack, and CSFB's über-banker Frank Quattrone. Reingold describes instances in which confidential deals are whispered days before their official announcement. He recalls the moment he learns that Bernie Ebbers's WorldCom was massively cooking its books. And he is shocked to have been an unwitting catalyst for a series of sexually explicit e-mails that would rock Wall Street; bring Jack Grubman to his knees; and contribute to the stepping aside of Grubman's boss, Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill. Some of Reingold's stories are outrageous, others hilarious, and many are simply absurd. But, together, they provide a sobering exposé of Wall Street: a jungle of greed and ego, a place brimming with conflicts and inside information, and a business absurdly out of touch with the Main Street it claims to serve. He shows how government investigators, headlines notwithstanding, never got to the heart of the ethical and legal transgressions of the era. And how they completely overlooked Wall Street's pervasive use of inside information, leaving investors -- even sophisticated professionals -- cheated. The book ends with a series of important policy recommendations to clean up the investing business. In the tradition of Liar's Poker and Den of Thieves , Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst is a no-holds-barred insider's account that will open the eyes of every investor.

Here is the true story of a top Wall Street player's transformation from a straight-arrow believer to a jaded cynic, who reveals how Wall Street's insider game is really played.

Dan Reingold was a top Wall Street analyst for fourteen years and Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jack Grubman's chief competitor in the red-hot sector of telecom. Reingold was part of the "Street" and believed in it.

But in this action-packed, highly personal memoir written with accomplished Fast Company senior writer Jennifer Reingold the author describes how his enthusiasm gave way to disgust as he learned how deeply corrupted Wall Street and much of corporate America had become during the roaring stock market bubble of the 1990s.

Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst provides a front-row seat at one of the most dramatic — and ultimately tragic — periods in financial history. Reingold recounts his introduction to the world of Wall Street leaks and secret deal-making; his experiences with corporate fraud; and Wall Street's alarming penchant for lavish spending and multimillion-dollar pay packages.

Reingold spars with arch rival Grubman; fends off intense pressures from Wall Street bankers and corporate CEOs; and is wooed by Morgan Stanley's CEO, John Mack, and CSFB's über-banker Frank Quattrone.

Reingold describes instances in which confidential deals are whispered days before their official announcement. He recalls the moment he learns that Bernie Ebbers's WorldCom was massively cooking its books. And he is shocked to have been an unwitting catalyst for a series of sexually explicit e-mails that would rock Wall Street; bring Jack Grubman to his knees; and contribute to the stepping aside of Grubman's boss, Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill.

Some of Reingold's stories are outrageous, others hilarious, and many are simply absurd. But, together, they provide a sobering exposé of Wall Street: a jungle of greed and ego, a place brimming with conflicts and inside information, and a business absurdly out of touch with the Main Street it claims to serve.

He shows how government investigators, headlines notwithstanding, never got to the heart of the ethical and legal transgressions of the era. And how they completely overlooked Wall Street's pervasive use of inside information, leaving investors — even sophisticated professionals — cheated. The book ends with a series of important policy recommendations to clean up the investing business.

In the tradition of Liar's Poker and Den of Thieves, Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst is a no-holds-barred insider's account that will open the eyes of every investor.

Publishers Weekly

When retired telecommunications analyst Dan Reingold decided to write an account of what he'd seen while working for powerful Wall Street investment banks, he turned to his niece, a journalist at Fast Company and the author of Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arthur Anderson, for help. Together, they've created a solid structure for his recollections of life in the trenches, but because he's one of the good guys, Reingold doesn't have much to confess. Beyond detailing every step in his upward career mobility, Reingold does little but gripe about people like his main competitor, Jack Grubman, who spent years flaunting insider connections with executives who would float him advance info on major corporate deals. (Grubman is currently a defendant in several securities fraud cases.) Reingold does suggest that insider influence is so pervasive in the financial market that investors should avoid individual stocks completely, and he has a number of recommendations for industry-wide reform, but in the end, his story is basically that he worked in the same industry as a bunch of bad eggs. While the personal material is never less than engaging, it doesn't fundamentally alter our understanding of the recent market scandals. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Here is the true story of a top Wall Street player's transformation from a straight-arrow believer to a jaded cynic, who reveals how Wall Street's insider game is really played. Dan Reingold was a top Wall Street analyst for fourteen years and Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jack Grubman's chief competitor in the red-hot sector of telecom. Reingold was part of the "Street" and believed in it. But in this action-packed, highly personal memoir written with accomplished Fast Company senior writer Jennifer Reingold the author describes how his enthusiasm gave way to disgust as he learned how deeply corrupted Wall Street and much of corporate America had become during the roaring stock market bubble of the 1990s. Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst provides a front-row seat at one of the most dramatic -- and ultimately tragic -- periods in financial history. Reingold recounts his introduction to the world of Wall Street leaks and secret deal-making; his experiences with corporate fraud; and Wall Street's alarming penchant for lavish spending and multimillion-dollar pay packages. Reingold spars with arch rival Grubman; fends off intense pressures from Wall Street bankers and corporate CEOs; and is wooed by Morgan Stanley's CEO, John Mack, and CSFB's Uber-banker Frank Quattrone. Reingold describes instances in which confidential deals are whispered days before their official announcement. He recalls the moment he learns that Bernie Ebbers's WorldCom was massively cooking its books. And he is shocked to have been an unwitting catalyst for a series of sexually explicit e-mails that would rock Wall Street; bring Jack Grubman to his knees; and contribute to the stepping aside of Grubman's boss, Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill. Some of Reingold's stories are outrageous, others hilarious, and many are simply absurd. But, together, they provide a sobering exposE of Wall Street: a jungle of greed and ego, a place brimming with conflicts and inside information, and a business absurdly out of touch with the Main Street it claims to serve. He shows how government investigators, headlines notwithstanding, never got to the heart of the ethical and legal transgressions of the era. And how they completely overlooked Wall Street's pervasive use of inside information, leaving investors -- even sophisticated professionals -- cheated. The book ends with a series of important policy recommendations to clean up the investing business. In the tradition of Liar's Poker and Den of Thieves, Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst is a no-holds-barred insider's account that will open the eyes of every investor. "A well-documented, in-depth look at the Street that names heroes and villains and pulls no punches." — The Boston Globe Dan Reingold was a top analyst for fourteen years, chief competitor to Salomon Smith Barney's Jack Grubman in the red-hot telecom sector. He was part of the Street and believed in it. But in this action-packed, highly personal memoir Reingold describes how his enthusiasm gave way to disgust as he learned how deeply corrupted Wall Street and much of corporate America had become during the roaring stock market bubble of the 1990s. Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst provides a front-row seat at one of the most dramatic—and ultimately tragic—periods in financial history. Reingold recounts his introduction to a world of leaks and secret deal-making; his experiences with corporate fraud; and Wall Street's alarming penchant for lavish spending and multimillion-dollar pay packages. He spars with arch rival Grubman; fends off intense pressures from bankers and corporate CEOs; and is wooed by Morgan Stanley's John Mack and CSFB's Frank Quattrone. He tells of confidential deals whispered about days before their official announcement, and recalls the moment he learned that WorldCom was massively cooking its books. And he reveals his shock at being an unwitting catalyst for a series of sexually explicit e-mails that would rock Wall Street; bring Grubman to his knees; and contribute to the stepping aside of Grubman's boss, Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill. In addition, he shows how government investigators never got to the heart of the ethical and legal transgressions of the era, leaving investors—even sophisticated professionals—cheated. Reingold's stories range from outrageous to hilarious to simply absurd. But together they provide a sobering exposé of Wall Street: a jungle of greed and ego brimming with conflicts and inside information, and a business absurdly out of touch with the Main Street it claims to serve. "Shows us that much of what propelled the meteoric rise of the stock market in the late nineties was self-interested, sometimes criminal, hot air . . . a riveting and revealing account." —Michael K. Powell, former chairman, FCC Dan Reingold was one of the top analysts on Wall Street. Specializing in telecom companies like WorldCom and Qwest, Reingold believed in Wall Street, and was a part of it. But in this insiders memoir, Reingold describes how his enthusiasm gradually gave way to disgust when he saw how deeply corrupt Wall Street really was. Because big investors had the advantage of inside information, which companies shared with more accomodating analysts, Reingold saw how a straight arrow like himself was doomed to fail.Reingold is like an incredulous minister who mistakenly finds himself in a whore house. He struggles with temptation: for example, his employer, Credit Suisse First Boston, wants him to sign a contract that would give him huge incentives in return for essentially selling out his clients. He seethes with resentment at being continually trumped by his nemesis, Jack Grubman, who was viewed as a superstar and only later, fined and thrown out of the industry.Ultimately, Reingold comes to terms with the corrupted, insiders game that was his profession. In the tradition of Liar's Poker, this is a lively, insiders account of how things really work on Wall Street that will teach even Eliot Spitzer a few things. To complete his tale, Reingold even sat through the 2005 trial of one of the most spectacular losers of the 1990s, fallen WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers, who Reingold knew in his heyday. Presents a story of a top Wall Street player who chronicles his own transformation from a straight arrow believer in the markets, to a jaded critic who reveals how the insiders game is really played. This work looks at the investing business that is extremely relevant in post-scandal world.