Notes on WB meeting with students 2012

[UK]

http://www.bengrahaminvesting.ca/Outreach/2012%20Conference/2012_Buffett_Notes.pdf

 

 

[Liberty]

Thank you!

[PlanMaestro]

I thought American Express was only 30-40% of his fund at one time.

 

Invest in equities slowly over time. And invest in yourself. Enhance your own talents and weaknesses. Specifically oral and written communication skills. And look to buy companies that will go on forever, like CocaCola. But the key is to buy equities slowly over time, and don’t try to time the market.

 

For the more serious investor, buy equities strategically, opportunistically. And go all in when you can, and when there is a good deal. I had a limit in my fund on the amount I could put in to one investment. There was a fantastic opportunity so I approached my investors and told them I wanted to increase that amount. I ended up putting 75% of the fund in that investment and it worked out well. And I’m sure I will do it again. Don’t use leverage, and sit on cash if there are no good investment opportunities.

 

PS: I continued reading and he mentions AMEX later. Maybe a question of notes or is there another big Buffett bet?

 

When I started my partnership, I chose not to have constraints, but I did inform the partners that I won’t invest more than 25% in a single security. In 1961, I wanted to overrule this constraint to invest heavily on American Express and communicated this to the partners, without informing them about which security. I invested almost 40% of the entire portfolio.

[alpha231616967560]

I believe that the 75% investment must be referring to Geico.

[Mephistopheles]

I might be wrong but I think I've read elsewhere as well that he invested 75% into AXP.

[Shane]

In the Snowball it explains that he put 75% of his money into 340 some odd shares of geico.  I think this was before his partnerships.

[PlanMaestro]

Thank you all.