Month: September 2023

For the vast majority of investors, their holdings represent mere fragments of the corporate landscape, small pieces in a sprawling puzzle. In this realm of small-scale participation, there exists a source of solace. As Warren Buffett sagely observes, take heed that even though your stake may be modest, it has the potential to bear a favorable price tag, one that might surpass the acquisition cost borne by those wielding the means to claim entire companies. So, in this world of fractional ownership, the discerning small investor, with an eye for value, can often secure a more advantageous entry point, savoring a unique advantage amidst the grand tapestry of the market.

“You will never make the kind of buy in a negotiated purchase that you can make via stocks in a weak stock market. It just isn’t going to happen,” Buffett said at the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “The person on the other side cares too much. Whereas, in the stock market, in a 1973 or 1974, you were dealing with the marginal seller. And whatever price they establish for the business, you could buy it. I couldn’t have bought the entire Washington Post Company for $80 million in 1974. But I could buy 10 percent of it from a bunch of people who were just operating, you know, based on calculating betas or doing something of the sort. And they were in a terrible market. And it was possible to buy a piece of it on that valuation. You never get that kind of buy in a negotiated purchase.”

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

In the swirling sea of investment advice, a cacophony of opinions echoes from every corner of the financial world—investors, hedge fund maestros, astute analysts, and the clamorous financial media all clamor for your attention. Amidst this tumult, Warren Buffett offers a remarkably simple yet profound prescription: pay heed to none. Instead, he exhorts the discerning investor to embark on their own voyage of financial discovery, to meticulously undertake their own due diligence. In the end, it is not the cacophony of external counsel, but the whispered wisdom of one’s own research that may prove to be the most reliable guide in the labyrinthine realm of stock markets.

“On any given day, two million shares of Coca-Cola may trade. That’s a lot of people selling, a lot of people buying. If you talk to one person, you’d hear one thing, and you’d talk to another — you really should not make decisions in securities based on what other people think,” Warren Buffett said at the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “A public opinion poll will not get you rich on Wall Street. So you really want to stick with businesses that you feel you can somehow evaluate yourself.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

In the throes of speculative mania, when even the most unprofitable stocks are propelled skyward, it’s all too tempting to lose sight of a fundamental truth: enduring triumph in the realm of investment hinges not on the capricious dance of stock prices but on the bedrock of a company’s profitability. Amidst the frenzy,Warren Buffett points out that the enduring value of an investment is inexorably bound to the prosperity of the underlying business, not the ephemeral whims of the market.

“The only money investors are going to make, in the long run, are what the businesses make,” Buffett said at the 1999 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “I mean, there is nothing added. The government doesn’t throw in anything. You know, nobody’s adding to the pot. People are taking out from the pot, in terms of frictional cost, investment management fees, brokerage commissions and all of that.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.