tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798074091942701235.post1445681003737058820..comments2024-03-27T11:08:31.557-04:00Comments on Can Turtles Fly?: Geoff Gannon On Warren Buffett's Concentrated InvestmentsSivaram Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361276466660862882noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798074091942701235.post-50975711561015805712009-10-10T17:08:07.000-04:002009-10-10T17:08:07.000-04:00This is a great post. I hope you don't mind me...This is a great post. I hope you don't mind me quoting this in a standalone post and responding to it.Sivaram Velauthapillainoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798074091942701235.post-57698436282346180922009-10-09T13:06:49.000-04:002009-10-09T13:06:49.000-04:00Buffett - 'I am a better investor because I am...Buffett - 'I am a better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor'. This to me says it all. This is why Buffett is cannot be compared to other value investors and has done a lot better than others over the years. In an interview on 60 minutes a year ago, the reporter asked him what made a good business. He described the textile business that he acquired and how the 'economics of the business' was faltering. He said the long term economics of the business has to be good for him to invest in the business. This to me gives a good insight on Buffett that most people look over. Mainly, that he does NOT rely on the backtesting methodologies and blindly invests in companies without understanding them. From reading part of the Buffett:Snowball book, Schroder said that Buffett for example would spend hours reading about the insurance industry, understanding their models, talking with people in the industry, following market share data...etc. Simply, most investors do not have the time(if they work fulltime) to do this and those who are professional investors(the majority) are focused on diversification and not taking a real risk. Managers that really spend time to understand the business, competative advantage and so on...STILL make huge mistakes because the future is impossible to predict. Also, Buffett has characteristics that other people simply dont have: patience and willpower. Most people cannot sit and wait 5 years while everyone passes them by with better returns trading in a bubble and do nothing while in Feburary when Citigroup is going under and the market is going hitting new lows, few people had the courage to invest. To me, there is a logical part to investing (in doing dcf calcualtions,studying marketshare...etc) and a part that relies on 'instinct' to make the right decisions. sunnynoreply@blogger.com