I realize now this inquiry was more suitable for a butcher, but Mr. Keller
was equal to it. He suggested several "safe stocks." He also gave me the
fundamental reasons why these stocks were "safe." While I did not
understand, I listened intently to such explanations as dividend increase, stock-splits, improved earnings. Now this to me was the
highest professional advice. This man earned his living on Wall Street,
so obviously he knew. Besides, he only "suggested." He emphasized
that the decision was "up to me." This made me feel important and in
command.
When one or two of the stocks he gave me rose a few points almost
immediately, I had no doubt of the excellence of the information I was
receiving and my natural ability as a stock market operator to act on it.
What I did not know was that I was practically smack in the middle of
the biggest bull market the world had ever seen and it was quite
difficult, unless you were extremely unlucky, not to show a little
paper profit from time to time.
Here are three typical consecutive deals I concluded in the early part
of 1954—deals which convinced me I was a natural in Wall Street. In
this table as in all the following tables in this book, I have included
commissions and taxes.