Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Watch Video Donate Shop PBS Search PBS
Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE

Search

TV Program
» Schedule
» Summaries
» Submit a Question



border
TV Program Opinion & Analysis Resources spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
Being like Buffett


spacer Print this Print this spacer Email this Email this spacer Submit a Question Submit a Question


Warren Buffett might be one of the best value investors ever. So how do you replicate his success? You can't talk to management one-on-one the way he does. You don't have the leverage to buy whole companies outright, a major part of Berkshire Hathaway's strategy over the last 20 years. And if you have the capital reserve to withstand the occasional heavy mistakes that can happen with big, concentrated bets, you're already rich enough not to have to worry about emulating the Sage of Omaha.

But you can still absorb his philosophy and read financial tea leaves the way he does. Start with the man himself: Berkshire Hathaway's always witty and engaging annual reports are available online at the company's Web site,. To give you a head start, Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE co-anchor Karen Gibbs parsed the 2003 report in her column this week.

Buffett also writes individual pieces of his own, including articles for FORTUNE magazine on rare occasions. A few months ago he explained his recent currency bets against the U.S. dollar; FORTUNE's Andy Serwer went further and showed how individuals can make a play in the same direction.

If you don't have the time to do your own Buffett-style research, you can always try a mutual fund run by someone who shares the same value investing philosophy as Buffett. A year and a half ago, FORTUNE published a short list of Warren Wannabe fund managers with solid track records.

Finally, there are plenty of books you can try, though none are guaranteed to fully encompass the master's methods -- only Buffett knows that for sure, and he's not saying. Consider beginning with one of Buffett's favorites, The Intelligent Investor, written by his mentor, Benjamin Graham, the high priest of value investing. Afterwards you have many choices among volumes written about or by Buffett himself. The following books are among the top 10 sellers among Buffett-themed books on both Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com:

Title Author
The Warren Buffett Way: Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor Robert G. Hagstrom
How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett: Profiting from the Bargain Hunting Strategies of the World's Greatest Value Investor Timothy P. Vick
The New Buffettology: The Proven Techniques for Investing Successfully in Changing Markets That Have Made Warren Buffett the World's Most Famous Investor Mary Buffett
Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor Janet Lowe

spacer spacer

Home | Contact Us | About Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Help | ORDER Weekly Transcripts

© Copyright 2002 - 2004 Maryland Public Television and FORTUNE. All rights reserved. FORTUNE is a registered trademark of Time, Inc. used under license.

spacer


COMMENTARY
» Colvin: Tackling tough ones
» Gibbs: Betting on boomers



Weekly Poll
border border border Describe the current state of real estate investing?
border
border border
border border



Program Underwriters Nuveen Investments
ETFConnect, Where knowledge, power and success converge




spacer
spacer
border