There’re always interesting tidbits of wisdom in Warren Buffet’s letters to his shareholders. I wish I could say I’m a shareholder in his company but luckily his letters are available to the public. Some of the stuff might be considered kind of homey, except that coming from one of the most successful investors they take on a feel of good advice. These are some things he wrote that I like.
“Don’t ask the barber whether you need a haircut.”
“If horses had controlled investment decisions, there would have been no auto industry.”
This is what he’s told by his partner, Charlie Munger, when they disagree “think it over and you’ll agree with me because you’re smart and I’m right.”
He seems pretty bullish about the US economy when he says, “Late in 2009, amidst the gloom of the Great Recession, we agreed to buy , the largest purchase in Berkshire’s history. At the time, I called the transaction an “all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.” That kind of commitment was nothing new for us. We’ve been making similar wagers ever since 1965. For good reason, too: Charlie and I have always considered a “bet” on ever-rising U.S. prosperity to be very close to a sure thing. Indeed, who has ever benefited during the past 238 years by betting against America? If you compare our country’s present condition to that existing in 1776, you have to rub your eyes in wonder. In my lifetime alone, real per-capita U.S. output has sextupled. …The dynamism embedded in our market economy will continue to work its magic. Gains won’t come in a smooth or uninterrupted manner; they never have. And we will regularly grumble about our government. But, most assuredly, America’s best days lie ahead.”