Twister,
Give me a break. If you really knew what a Buffett-like stock was,
I'd expect to see your real name and a record to prove it. Buffett-like investing as defined by people like you has been reduced to a set model by people such as yourself. To me, a lot of the thought and intelligence has been taken out of it.
I wrote about this on my web site under "Buffett Revisited." To me, his spirit of investing with intelligence has been lost in a sea of those simply trying to be pure imitators.
When he bought GEICO, AMEX, the Buffalo News, any number of his investments he was being as much contrarian as anything. He saw value in a a market dominance or a brand that others didn't. And the 10-year record of high ROE with earnings not skipping a beat wasn't necessarily there to prove it when he bought. But there was nonetheless a margin of safety.
IMO, the biggest impediment to investing in the spirit of Buffett is the idea that somehow we can be a 100% imitator of him and see the same success. That anyone could be a perfect imitator of his approach strikes me as ridiculous. Try compounding the 10% difference between even your best imitator and Buffett over 30 years.
I don't have it down yet. But in terms of investing in the spirit of Buffett (rather than in his mirror image), neither does anyone else here that I can see. I'm young. I'm reading a lot and continuously reviewing and updating my approach as new revelations occur. Remember I said "Buffett-like stock for me," not you. If it was that easy for you to see, I'd be disappointed. I'm certainly glad I can't find anyone to agree with me on this. If anything, it indicates I'm headed in the right direction.
Mike |
