Quotes from Warren Buffet

 Are you a participant in a 401K, 403B, Pensions Plan, Profit Sharing Plan, or other similar plan? If yes, do you expect to roll over your plan assets to an IRA some day? If yes, are you prepared to choose investments yourself? Most of us are not. We may have some knowledge about investing, but may not be comfortable with our decision making.
Whether you make your own investment decisions or use an investment advisor, it is a good idea to upgrade what you know each year, so that you can build upon your knowledge base. Warren Buffet (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.), one of the wealthiest and most successful investors, is known for his interesting comments. We can all learn something from him. Below are a few them.
1. “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
2. “Rule number one: never lose money; rule number two: don’t forget rule number one.”
3. “I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.”
4. “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!’”
5. “Price is what you pay; value is what you get. Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.”
6. “Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results.”
7. “If you understood a business perfectly and the future of the business, you would need very little in the way of a margin of safety. So, the more vulnerable the business is, assuming you still want to invest in it, the larger margin of safety you’d need. If you’re driving a truck across a bridge that says it holds 10,000 pounds and you’ve got a 9,800 pound vehicle, if the bridge is six inches above the crevice it covers, you may feel okay, but if it’s over the Grand Canyon, you may feel you want a little larger margin of safety.”
8. “We’ve long felt that the only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune tellers look good. Even now, Charlie [Munger] and I continue to believe that short-term market forecasts are poison and should be kept locked up in a safe place, away from children and also from grown-ups who behave in the market like children.”
9. “We don’t get paid for activity, just for being right. As to how long we’ll wait, we’ll wait indefinitely.”
Jerald Schneider is a Certified Public Accountant providing tax, accounting and financial advice for more than 30 years. He can be reached at 661-297-1072 or by e-mail at jerald@jeraldschneider.com.