Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Does Warren Buffett Make Money on the Stock Market?

Picture Shows Electronic Display Board of the New York Stock Exchange
Picture Shows Electronic Display Board of the New York Stock Exchange

"I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years"
Warren Buffett


These beautiful words from Warren Buffett, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway, are worth setting on stone are the guide post to aspiring value-investors.

Legendary investors do not invest in a hundred stocks with an objective of making a short/ medium term gain from the price the price rise. They make lifetime investment in best businesses like Gillette and Coca-Cola and simply forget the investments.

On the contrary ordinary mortals like me are tempted to sell the investments from the prise rise. Today, after a month I opened the online stock broking account to prepare for February 2017 investment, and found that our academic collection 'Portfolio 2K15' had appreciated 40% in less than two years. There is an irresistible temptation to liquidate the portfolio and en-cash the clear profit of Rs.200,000 on the cost of investment of Rs.480,000. 

Why should the portfolio be not liquidated? Why not make the significant profit and put the proceeds in a bank fixed deposit?

The answer is that this portfolio if  left untouched for the next 30 years and continue the self developed systematic investment plan (SIP) of Rs.10,000 every month, the portfolio could grow to the size of Rs.80 millions (Rs.8 Crores or US$ 1.20 millions).

Therefore, like Warren Buffett's Bershire Hathaway, budding value-investors everywhere should make investments considering that the stock markets are going to close tomorrow and remain closed for the next five or ten years - not to en-cash the handsome but in reality tiny gains made in two to three years.

Picture shows Warren Buffett and conceptualises his Inspirational Quotes
Picture shows Warren Buffett and conceptualises his Inspirational Quotes


Tuesday, January 31, 2017

How Warren Buffett Trades in Stocks?

Picture shows a person engaged in day-trading in stocks
Picture shows a person engaged in trading in stocks

Actual Question:

How does Warren buffet analyse companies for trading?

Answer

Dear Friend
Thank you for an insightful question.
Your question has two distinct parts:
1.     How Warren Buffett, Chairman Berkshire Hathaway, analyses companies
2.     How does he employ the findings for trading.

The factual answer is that Warren Buffett does not indulge in trading in stocks and he analyses companies based on value-investing principles, propounded by Benjamin Graham in two books:
1.     The Intelligent Investor
2.     Securities Analysis

In a nutshell value-investing is about:
  • Identifying wonderful companies that have strong and unshakable franchise like brand and product excellence - examples Gillette and Coca-Cola;
  • Determining the intrinsic values of shares of such companies;
  • Buying those stocks below their intrinsic value or maximum at par - ideally during unjustifiable market lows like the post Lehman Brothers collapse;
  • Holding the investments intact for decades, reaping regular dividends and letting the original capital appreciate significantly;
  • Maybe, sell those highly capital appreciated investments during unjustifiable market highs like during the period just before the Lehman Brothers collapse, investing the proceeds in regular income generating instruments like bonds, which again are bought at a discount, till the time again the markets turn unreasonably pessimistic.


Picture of the book "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham
Picture of the book "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham

Coming back to the second part of your question, you might have already realised by now, from the above explanations, that Warren Buffett, Chairman Berkshire Hathaway,  does not indulge in trading - meaning intra-day or short-term trading - which is based purely on expectations of short-term price rises and slides. In fact day-trading and margin trading
Suggested further reading:

Thank you,
With best regards,
Anand