Want to earn like Warren Buffett? ...24 tips

"An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes. " Warren Buffett

One of the world's most successful investors, Warren Buffett is the richest man on earth. Chairman of the Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's wealth jumped by $10 billion to hit $62 billion during 2007. Buffett's life is an inspiration for investors across the globe.

So what makes the world's wealthiest man so rich? Buffett believes that successful investing is about having common sense, patience and independent research.

'How Buffett Does It', by James Pardoe is a great guide for investing in any market. A look into Buffett's simple, yet intelligent mantras for investing and minting millions.

1. A frugal billionaire Buffett believes in simplicity. He advises investors to take easy decisions. Never buy when you are doubtful. Invest only if you understand the businesses well.

2. Focus on not losing money rather than making it. Don't own any stock for 10 minutes that you wouldn't own for 10 years.


3. A proponent of value investing, he believes that one must take decisions on his own. He doesn't believe in listening to analysts or brokers. The best investing decisions come from oneself.

"It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results."

4. Buffett advises to invest in 'old economy' businesses, companies, which have been around for fifty years and will continue to have a long innings.

5. We have often heard of people suffering heart attacks when markets crash. Well, Buffett advocates a sound temperament for stock market success.

6. You don't need to be a genius to succeed in the stock markets. People who can stay cool will succeed in the long run. Always keep in mind the hidden costs, from commissions on active stock trading to high mutual fund fees.

7. Buffett always looks at businesses he can understand, look at the profits in the past, long-term potential of the company, good top level management of the company and companies that have a good value proposition. The strategy is to think about the business in the long term.

"You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right."

8. Invest in businesses with great management. Always keep a track of the management of the company. The top decision makers have a lot to do with the company's performance.

9. One of Buffet's biggest strengths is independent thinking. Many people go by what the experts says or what others do but belief in one's own judgement is the key to stock market success.

10. Patience pays, says Buffet. He says one must not worry too much about the price of the stocks. What's more important is the nature of business of the company, earnings capability and its future potential.

11. Don't target just stocks, look at businesses. How a company performs is key to its stock market performance. You must know the track record of a company before you invest in it.

"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."

12. Prices keep changing. Don't get worried by the ups and downs. Investing is all about creating wealth. It's important to understand the value of a stock than its price.

13. He believes that franchisee businesses are good opportunities to invest in. Avoid hi-tech, complex businesses. Look for businesses that are set to diversify and grow.

14. Never be disappointed when markets fall. Take it as a buying opportunity. Buffet says one must have lesser number of investments with more money in each lot.

15. He advises to avoid diversification. Invest in companies with sound business models. Choose a few good ones and stay invested, it will give you the benefits.

"I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars; I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over."

16. Doing nothing pays at times! One must not jump at price fluctuations and take impulsive decisions.

17. Don't get carried away by market forecasts. Ignore market swings and remain an investor with a good business sense.

18. Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Buy when people are selling and sell when people are buying.

19. Make a list of companies, sectors that you find safe to invest in and try to stick to the list.

20. A sound business, strong management, good fundamental and low stock price should be a must-buy.

"Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well."

21. Try to ignore stock charts, says Buffett. They may not give the right indicators. A stock which may have done well earlier may not do so in future.

22. Buffet spends a lot of time on reading and more importantly thinking. Reading helps investors, so spend a lot of time reading about the stocks, companies and markets. A good investor must have a good knowledge base.

23. A good investor also needs to be efficient. Investors may have great capabilities but many do not make use of it. One needs to hone skills to meet the targets.

24. Good investors never rush to make money. They give time, thought and work on investment decisions. The mistakes that others make should be a lesson for you.

Investors may sweat in May

While you may escape the sweltering May heat by flying to cooler climes, there may not be any escape for investors in the month of May since, after October, this is the worst month for stocks.

A study of the last 18 years demonstrates that March (-0.39 per cent), May (-0.74 per cent) and October (-1.63 per cent) are the months in which stocks have given negative returns.

But if you were to consider the last five years only, then October slips out of the list and you are left with March and May which have seen average declines of 1.17 per cent and 1.61 per cent respectively.

Let's concentrate on May alone. The month has turned negative returns in eight out of the last 18 years under study. And how can investors forget the sell-offs seen in May 2004 and May 2006?

There is another peculiarity to May. Since 1998, it has given negative returns in alternate years. We saw declines in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. This is 2008, which makes it a contender for yet another fall.

Besides the dubious track record of the month, let's see whether we have other triggers that could lead to potential losses in the month.

May is the month in which the atomic energy treaty is likely to be taken out of the cupboard, dusted and given another look. The International Atomic Energy Agency meets on May 5 and 6, and the Left and the UPA will meet to take stock of where they stand on the issue.

The parliamentary session should also end by then. If the UPA wants the Left to pull the rug and force an election, then this is their chance now.

By going ahead with the nuclear deal, the UPA can force the Left to finally bite after years of barking. But with the inflation inferno still on and no fire tenders in sight, the UPA may not want to take the gamble. So a rally in capital goods will also be ruled out.

Fundamentally speaking, it will be difficult to justify any further rise in the markets. As the April derivatives have expired comfortably at the 5,000 level in the Nifty, punters have been expecting a rise to the level of 5,350 and then 5,550.

My sense is that companies reporting quarterly numbers in the month of May may not bring good tidings for the markets. Margin pressures will continue. Secondly, companies that are late to report are usually the ones that spring a nasty surprise.

More importantly, stocks have seen a substantial bounce from their March lows. While the Sensex has seen a rise of 13.9 per cent, 89 per cent of the regularly traded stocks on the BSE have given returns in excess of that. I do not remember any period in which stocks have out-performed the Sensex by such a wide margin.

Look at the returns - 73 per cent of stocks have returned more than 25 per cent from their March lows and one out of every four stocks on the BSE has returned more than 50 per cent. With so much of a rise, it may be a good idea to book profits in May. One of the methodologies to adopt is trailing to stop loss. The Nifty has serious resistance at 5,550 and 5,368.

The Fed could cut rates further by 0.25 per cent at its next meeting. Any signal emanating from the Fed that it has got into the pause mode should strengthen the dollar. A strong dollar could dampen the sentiment for commodities.

Whether it will buoy our tech stocks will be a function of what affect the fire-fighting by Dr Reddy has on the rupee.

Keep your fingers crossed for the month of May.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/apr/30guest1.htm

Mutual fund ‘schemes’ of a different kind

For some time now, it is a common sight to find AMCs use miscellaneous means to increase their investor/asset base. By miscellaneous, we mean all methods and ‘schemes’ unrelated to performance/track record. Ideally, an AMC should not have to talk beyond its track record over various market cycles to make investors aware of what they can gain by investing in the AMC’s funds. Unfortunately, either because their track records weren’t impressive enough or because they weren’t able to communicate their performance effectively, AMCs have had to resort to other means to draw investors.

Of course, not all AMCs use such marketing schemes; certain AMCs have told us that they would have preferred to keep an arm’s length from these tactics, but their hand was forced by other AMCs. The bottom line is that investors/agents are regularly bombarded with rewards/incentives by AMCs and core factors like the fund’s investment proposition and track record are conveniently pushed to the background.

Listed below some of the most popular carrots dangled by AMCs to their investors/agents:

1) Waiver of entry load
This is the most common trick in the AMC’s marketing manual. AMCs usually have a marketing plan to mobilise assets in a particular mutual fund scheme. The easiest way to elicit interest in that scheme is to give investors an ‘entry load waiver’. This means that for investments made over a specified time period, investors will not incur an entry load (which is usually used towards the agent’s commission); so his entire money is invested in the scheme.

The entry load is waived off either on SIPs (systematic investment plans) or lumpsum investments. Until some time ago, it was usual for most AMCs to waive entry loads on SIPs. It took a few AMCs to start this trend and sure enough other AMCs followed suit. The principle advanced by AMCs for waiving off entry loads was to encourage mutual fund investing and financial planning. Over time the entry load waiver had garnered considerable assets for AMCs. On the flipside, the waiver was proving to be an expensive proposition (since in such a scenario, AMCs had to pay commissions from their own pockets); so they reversed the trend of waiving off entry loads.

2) Star fund manger
Another marketing ploy that usually does the trick with gullible investors is the ‘Star fund manager’ carrot. Most AMCs when they have a track record are happy to project it to investors. Some times, AMCs take the easy way out; more than their track record they like to talk about their Star fund manager and his past exploits. The message for investors is clear – invest in the AMC’s funds and benefit from the expertise of the Star fund manager.


3) Bundling other services/products
AMCs are quick to identify opportunities that could be potential areas of interest to their investors. And for most investors, getting insurance (health/life/child) is very important. Many AMCs bundle insurance with their offerings and are happy to make that a talking point rather than the scheme itself. While some of these features may be innovative, they nonetheless detract from the scheme and its performance, which should be the talking point, rather than the add-on benefit.


4) Incentives for mutual agents
You would have noticed that the persuasive tactics we have discussed so far are aimed at the investor. AMCs also employ indirect means to woo the investor. These indirect means use the agent as leverage. So the AMC woos the agent, who in turn pitches the AMC’s schemes to the investor. Some of the more common agent incentives include higher commissions on specific schemes or on specific targets or on specific initiatives (like getting US64 bondholders to invest the redemption proceeds of their investments in mutual fund schemes from the parent AMC). Of course, everyone knows about the offsite ‘training’ meets arranged for select agents in the most exotic locations.

In conclusion, there are a lot of distractions for investors looking to make an unbiased and informed investment decision. As always, our advice to investors is to ignore the persuasive tactics and invest in mutual funds based on track records over the long-term and across market cycles.