William O'Neil was born in 1933 in Oklahoma City. He is an American entrepreneur, stockbroker and writer. His books: How to Make Money in Stocks and 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success are among the most popular books about the stock market. According to him, The Battle for Investment Survival is the best book he has ever read.
Excerpt for The Financial edge by Investopedia. com
William O’Neil became famous for his growth stock investment strategy and proprietary CANSLIM methodology that his newspaper, Investor’s Business Daily, went on to popularize.
O’Neil was a pioneer in the use of computers to assess the potential of stocks. As a broker with Hayden, Stone and Co. in the late 1950s he made use of the technology, along with his own CANSLIM set of valuation parameters, to become the firm’s most successful employee.
At age 30 he went on to become the youngest man ever to purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
O’Neil’s investment approach is focused on buying strong stocks that are currently appreciating in price and selling those that run out of steam. The CANSLIM method assists him to identify where a stock is currently situated on that spectrum.
In 1983, O’Neil launched his newspaper to compete directly with the Wall Street Journal and promote his performance-based stock selection methodology. (To learn more about O'Neil's investment strategy, check out Stock-Picking Strategies: CANSLIM.)
