Legendary value investors' secrets
December 22, 2024
In his letter (dated February 28, 1992 for FY1991) to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett gave an insight into his Rip Van Winkle approach to investing. Referring to a list of Berkshire Hathaway’s common stock holdings – comprising Capital Cities/ABC Inc, The Coca-Cola Company, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp, GEICO Corp, The Gillette Company, Guinness PLC, The Washington…
Read More about Warren Buffett’s Rip Van Winkle approachOne of the best gems on investment success from Warren Buffett came in his letter (dated Feb 28, 1997 for FY1996) to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Warren Buffett said: “Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following…
Read More about Warren Buffett on intelligent investingIn Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Report 1996, Warren Buffett said in a section under the heading of Acquisition Criteria: “Charlie and I frequently get approached about acquisitions that don’t come close to meeting our tests: We’ve found that if you advertise an interest in buying collies, a lot of people will call hoping to sell you their cocker spaniels….
Read More about Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition criteriaIn his letter (dated February 29, 1988 for FY1987) to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett said: “Ben Graham, my friend and teacher, long ago described the mental attitude toward market fluctuations that I believe to be most conducive to investment success. He said that you should imagine market quotations as coming from a remarkably accommodating fellow named Mr. Market…
Read More about Mr Market’s incurable emotional problemsIn his letter to Berkshire Hathaway dated March 1, 1993, for FY1992, Warren Buffett said: “Our equity-investing strategy remains little changed from what it was fifteen years ago, when we said in the 1977 annual report: “We select our marketable equity securities in much the way we would evaluate a business for acquisition in its entirety….
Read More about Berkshire Hathaway equity-investing strategyIn his Feb 25, 2012, letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders for FY2011, Warren Buffett listed three categories of investments under the headline of “The Basic Choices for Investors and the One We Strongly Prefer”: (i) Investments that are denominated in a given currency, including money-market funds, bonds, mortgages, bank deposits, and other instruments. (ii) Investments…
Read More about Warren Buffett’s investment choice: productive assetsBerkshire Hathaway’s common stock investments include IBM or International Business Machines Corp. Based on Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders dated February 25, 2012, for FY2011, Berkshire Hathaway has a stake of 5.5% in IBM. Given this 5.5% IBM stake, why did Warren Buffett said this in his annual letter: “We should wish for IBM’s…
Read More about Why Warren Buffett wants IBM shares to languish…In 2011, in what appeared to be another sign of Warren Buffett triggering his elephant gun, reports said the Berkshire Hathaway chairman had invested over US$10 billion in IBM. A Reuters report (Nov 24, 2011) headlined “Buffett sheds tech aversion with big IBM investment” said: “Warren Buffett has always made his distaste for technology investments…
Read More about Warren Buffett invests in IBMWarren Buffett’s views on Berkshire Hathaway’s Big Four marketable securities can be seen in his annual letter (dated February 25, 2012 for FY2011) to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: “…we now have large ownership interests in four exceptional companies: 13.0% of American Express, 8.8% of Coca-Cola, 5.5% of IBM and 7.6% of Wells Fargo. (We also, of…
Read More about Berkshire Hathaway’s Big Four marketable securitiesThis paragraph in “How Buffett Does It” by James Pardoe is worth noting: “Warren Buffett, the classic value investor, simply does not care what happens to price deviations in the short run. If one owns shares in great businesses, then the short term doesn’t matter, and the long term will take care of itself. The…
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