[1][2][3][4][5] In 1955, Robert "Bob" J. Farrell graduated from Columbia University with a master's in investment finance, where his teachers included Benjamin Graham.
[9][10] For the 16 of his last 17 years as CMA at Merrill Lynch, Institutional Investor voted Farrell as America's best analyst in forecasting equity market direction,[9][8][10] and he was inducted into the "Hall of Fame".
[9] In September 1998, as the dot-com bubble was nearing its peak, Farrell published a list of ten "Market Rules to Remember" on the back of one of his reports.
[2][3] Merrill Lynch chief North American economist David Rosenberg re-published the rules in 2003, after the dot-com bubble burst, and they have been quoted by financial advisors ever since.
[3] In 2022, Bank of America wrote to their clients saying: "You can't change human nature and Mr. Farrell's rules seem as relevant today as when he retired from Merrill Lynch 20 years ago".