Warren Buffett’s thoughts – Page 5

“Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike.”

December 17, 2014

“Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike.” – The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham Warren Buffett kicked off with this quote when he shared “Some Thoughts About Investing” in a section of his letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on February 28, 2014 for FY2013. Under a sub-section, he shared more about Benjamin Graham, his teacher…

Warren Buffett’s Rip Van Winkle approach

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…

Warren Buffett on intelligent investing

December 16, 2014

One 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…

Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition criteria

December 12, 2014

In 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….

Marketable securities: operating results count

December 11, 2014

In his letter (dated February 29, 1988 for FY1987) to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett talked about Mr Market, the character used by his teacher and friend Benjamin Graham to personify the behavior of the market. Mr Market has uncontrollable emotional problems. Then Warren Buffett went on to say: “Following Ben’s teachings, Charlie and I let…

Mr Market’s incurable emotional problems

In 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…

Berkshire Hathaway equity-investing strategy

December 9, 2014

In 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….

Warren Buffett’s investment choice: productive assets

December 6, 2014

In 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…

Berkshire Hathaway repurchase program

In a September 26, 2011, news release, Berkshire Hathaway announced, to the surprise of many, a program to repurchase Class A and Class B shares of Berkshire. Here is an insight into Warren Buffett’s thinking about share repurchase. In his annual letter (March 1, 2000) to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders for Year 1999, he said, among…

Why Warren Buffett wants IBM shares to languish…

Berkshire 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…