Stocks

What happens when you patiently do nothing

The way to judge yourself is inertia analysis. Run your January 1 portfolio for the full year without any changes and compare it to your actual results. It's awful because some years you realize all you did was subtract value when you went into the office. Nicolai Tangen – Norwegian hedge fund manager, founder of AKO Capital (b. 1966)

Patience

The stock market is a no-called-strike game. You don’t have to swing at everything — you can wait for your pitch. The problem when you’re a money manager is that your fans keep yelling, "Swing, you bum!" Warren Buffett - American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting (May 3rd,...

Favorite holding period: Forever

When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever. Warren Buffett - American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), in his letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders (1988)

Moral responsibility

Without breaking any laws, the number of ways in which those in control can benefit themselves and their families at the expense of the ordinary shareholder is almost infinite. [...] There is only one real protection against abuses like these. This is to confine investments to companies the managements of which have a highly developed sense of trusteeship and moral responsibility to their...

Bringing capital to the best host

One of the questions we like to ask [the CEO particularly] is, how do you measure if you’ve been a success managing this business? As you might expect some say the price of the stocks goes up, or we hit our earnings target, or we delivered on all the things the board asked of us. It’s a rare occasion that the CEO articulates an idea that shows he understands the idea of compounding the...

Endure fat and lean years

Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market. Warren Buffett - American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2024

Knowledge increases like compound interest

Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), to students at the Columbia University (c. 2002), Quotations book 2023

Rational

I like Marty Zweig. He uses excellent risk control. Unlike some other gurus, he doesn’t believe he is predicting the future; he is simply observing what is happening and making rational bets. Bruce S. Kovner – American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist (b. 1945), on Martin "Marty" Zweig (American stock investor, investment adviser, and financial analyst, 1942-2013), from an...

Attractive prize

The secret to investing is to figure out the value of something – and then pay a lot less. Joel Greenblatt - American hedge fonds manager and honorary professor at Columbia University (b. 1957), from "The Big Secret for the Small Investor: A New Route to Long-Term Investment Success" (2011), Quotations book 2023

Contrary investment

I am particularly keen on investment theses that the market is reluctant to accept. These are usually the strongest. Remember the saying, "The market climbs a wall of worry." George Soros – American macro hedge fonds manager and philanthropist (b. 1930), from "Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve" (1995), Quotations book 2023

Bet heavily

The wise ones bet heavily when the world offers them that opportunity. They bet big when they have the odds. And the rest of the time, they don't. It's just that simple. Charlie Munger - Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (1924-2023), Quotations book 2023

Ability to wait for the big opportunities

It takes character to sit with all that cash and to do nothing. I didn't get to the top where I am by going after mediocre opportunities. Charlie Munger - Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (1924-2023), Quotations book 2023

Patience

I often compare the craft of a money manager with that of a gardener: To have a great garden takes decades, not a few months. To successfully grow great trees and flowers, you have to understand your environment and capabilities (you can't grow the same flowers in Quebec than in Florida). You have to know the soil, the temperatures, the orientation of the sun, etc. And to build a garden is a...

Patience pays off

The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2023

Take a good look

The naked eye sees ten good investments. The trained eye sees one. slogan by "State Street Global Advisors" - asset manager from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Quotations book 2022

Stock Picking

- First-class management with a proven record of keeping its word. - Does innovative research and uses technology to maximum advantage. - Operates abroad as well as at home. (Growth via overseas expansion) - Sells products and services that don’t become obsolete. - Insiders own a large chunk of shares and have a personal stake in the company’s success. - Company deliver strong returns on...

Understanding risk

The intelligent investor realizes that stocks become more risky, not less, as their prices rise, and less risky, not more, as their prices fall. The intelligent investor dreads a bull market, since it makes stocks more costly to buy. And conversely (so long as you keep enough cash on hand to meet your spending needs), you should welcome a bear market, since it puts stocks back on sale. Jason...

Stocks

Buy a stock if you wish the company to be yours - not if you wish the stock to go up. Warren Buffett - American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2022

Right investment choice

1. Pick winners by a research process that reflects your values and beliefs. 2. Back them with conviction. 3. Avoid behavioral biases that lead to poor selling like lazy trades (not thought through). 4. Make sure your long-term positions are not past their sell date. Rick di Mascio – British portfolio manager, CEO: Inalytics (b. 1957)