A Buffett buffet: The Oracle speaks

May 10, 2009 12:36 am

Warren Buffett says you should wait for investments that shout at you.

I WAS IN Omaha, Neb., last weekend for the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, which included four hours of questions to Warren Buffett and business partner Charlie Munger.

People came from all around the world to hear the two billionaires' thoughts about a wide variety of subjects regarding business, economics and investing. Here are some of the interesting lessons Buffett and Munger gave on investing and personal finance:

Focus on whether investments will make money in the long run, even if that means putting up with some short-term losses (and criticism about those).

Don't get in over your head in high-interest credit card debt. "There's no way you're going to come out ahead borrowing at 17 percent," Buffett said.

You shouldn't need a calculator or a computer to figure out whether an investment is attractive. "It should be so obvious that you don't have to carry it out to tenths of a percent," Buffett said. "Go on to something that shouts at you."

Buffett said the worst thing a business (or investment) manager can say to justify a mistake is "everyone else is doing it." The lesson: Think for yourself.

Emotional stability is more crucial for investment success than a high IQ. You must be able to keep your head when others are losing theirs, as Buffett often says.

The fact that stock prices are quoted so frequently gets people in trouble. For example, if you owned a farm, you wouldn't be checking its value every five minutes. In turn, don't do that with stocks either.

Buy stocks that you plan to own for a long time, and don't sell unless the fundamentals of the business change. "If we made the right decision upfront we like to ride that for a very long time," Buffett said.

The government's current fiscal and monetary policies are likely to create inflation. Long-term fixed investments will be hurt, as their purchasing power will diminish over time. Buffett says the best investment you can make is in yourself.

Pay no attention to theories on the efficient market, beta or modern portfolio management.

Falling prices aren't a bad thing for long-term investors. "The cheaper stocks get, the better I like it," Buffett said. "I would much rather pay half of X than X."

It's folly to try to pick market bottoms. And you shouldn't feel bad if the stock drops after you buy it, assuming you know how to correctly calculate business value. Eventually the price will rise (or fall) to the value of the underlying company.

Staff reporter Bill Freehling writes this weekly column on business, personal finance and investing. He can be reached at 540/374-5405 or bfreehling@freelance star.com.