Last month, as a reader service, I published one of the most important financial statements made in recent years, but it wasn’t made by the Treasury, the Feds, or even the Banks (!) …
… it was made by Warren Buffett – to give the average US investor confidence by sharing his personal financial strategies for today’s ‘crisis’ market.
Naturally, there were cynics: isn’t it amazing that people who usually have nothing (like one particular financial journalist) like nothing better than to criticize those who have everything (like one particular multi-billionaire investor)?
It’s the same counter-intuitive, yet all-too-human, failing that sees us buy when the market is high and panic/sell when it is low. Sad … but, true.
Here are some comments by Marketwatch.com, where “David Weidner penned an article about Warren Buffett” that Motley Fool thinks is “equal parts sad and stupid”; Motley Fool says:
Weidner responded to Buffett’s article by making the following points/accusations:
- That because Buffett can get better terms than you, his advice does not apply to you.
- That Buffett wrote the Times article to talk up shares because his recent investments in General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) preferred shares were underwater, and he needed to “stir up some buying” to get their prices back up.
That the stocks Buffett’s buying for his personal account are irrelevant, since he made his fame with his gains at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B).
I am not going to report here all the reasons why this is short-sighted bunkum, when Motley Fool have already done such a good job for me 🙂
