Author: Mr Hagstrom is one of the best-known authors of investment books for general audiences. He has written nine books, including “The Warren Buffett Portfolio” and “Investing: The Last Liberal Art”. Book: This is one of the most popular readings about Warren Buffett in the market. It starts with a look at Buffett’s personal and professional history introducing key individuals in his development as Graham, Munger or Fisher. From there, he begins to break down his approach to investing exposing his twelve immutable tenets for buying a business. In addition, nine of his most popular investments are analysed (Geico, Coca-Cola, Heinz, etc.). Finally, other relevant aspects of Buffets approach are discussed such as the psychology, portfolio management policies, patience, etc. Opinion: This is by far my favourite book about Buffett. It’s an easy read and it can provide plenty of insights if you don’t know his investing approach in depth. There is a thing I don’t like about this, and other similar books: It creates Buffett fanboys and that’s very dangerous because:
1. His peculiar style worked for him/others at that time, not necessarily for you today.
2. You cannot compare Buffett´s performance vs the S&P 500 to justify his stock-picking abilities! Buffett is a genius, but his performance is not only attributable to his security selection skills. The cheap financing of his insurance business has had a huge effect. Copying Buffett requires replicating the insurance float, the ability to attract sellers of private businesses and willingness to not charge fees. Don’t try this at home.
Key Stats:
- Pages: 252
-Level: Beginner
-Mark: 8/10
Comments