Warren Buffett Rules - Warren Buffett Investment Strategy [2021] (2024)

Lesson 17: Warren Buffett’s 4 RulesCamille Alcera2021-10-04T09:50:30-04:00

TIP Academy

LESSON SUMMARY

This very short lesson outlines the 4 rules that Warren Buffett uses when he selects stocks. The video emphasizes the following points that all rules with no exception have to be met. The rules are:

  • Stock must be managed by vigilant leaders
    • Find a stock/business that has great management. This goes without saying, but leadership has a compounding impact on a business. Without selecting a great manager, the company will likely suffer over time. We have made an entire video to help you find and select a great CEO.
  • Stock must have long term prospects
    • Next, Buffett tries to find a business/stock he can own forever. Now that might sound counter-intuitive to many day traders, but the purpose is very simple. Stock is nothing more than owning a business. Think of a stock like a mini-business. Owning 1 share is no different than owning every share because each share is proportional. As a result, you wouldn’t want to buy a business on the main street, only to sell it to another person the next day. That doesn’t make any sense. Even if you were able to make a quick profit, you’ll pay enormous capital gains for the sale. Investors who don’t understand the essence of what a stock is – a real business – have a tendency to trade from day to day. Warren Buffett tries to buy companies he can hold forever because he doesn’t want to pay capital gains tax – not to mention he wants to collect all the profits the business is making.
  • Stock must be stable and understandable
    • Buffett tries to find stocks that are stable and understandable. By implementing this rule, Buffett can generally assess the value of a stock because he can somewhat predict its cash flow and earnings power. For example, if you were going to buy a company on Main Street, would you consider buying a company that made unpredictable profits, or would you find the company that generally produces similar results from month to month? Seems like a simple question when you look at it from that perspective. When a company makes similar profits from month to month, you can assess how much money it will make in the long-run, and properly assess a price or value. This is why Buffett tries to find businesses that are stable and predictable.
  • Stock must be undervalued
    • You guessed it, Buffett determines a price that he thinks the stock is worth. Think about it like this; would you go and buy a business on Main Street without determining a value that you thought it was worth? That sounds like a crazy idea – right? Well, every time a person purchases a stock on the stock market without determining a value for what THEY think it’s worth, they’re doing exactly that. Buying a business with no expectation for its value. In Course 3, lesson 35, we introduce the student to a method for determining the intrinsic value of a stock. We use a discount cash flow calculator– like Buffett. If you want to check it out (because you probably don’t believe it’s free) please do. With that said, we highly recommend you don’t start here. There are many other things you need to learn first before having fun with that calculator!

Title

Warren Buffett Rules - Warren Buffett Investment Strategy [2021] (2024)

FAQs

What are Warren Buffett's first 3 rules of investing money? ›

Some of his most important rules include:
  • Rule 1: Never lose money. This is considered by many to be Buffett's most important rule and is the foundation of his investment philosophy. ...
  • Rule 2: Focus on the long term. ...
  • Rule 3: Know what you're investing in.
Mar 6, 2024

What is the Warren Buffett investment strategy? ›

Buffett's approach prioritizes a "margin of safety," paying less than a company's intrinsic value to protect against losses. Quality over quantity: He avoids struggling businesses, preferring wonderful companies at fair prices.

What is Warren Buffett's 5 25 rule? ›

The rule's origin is reported as advice given by Buffet to his personal pilot, Mike Flint. Flint asked Buffet for career advice, leading to Buffet thinking of the 5/25 rule. Buffet asked Flint to list his top 25 career goals, pick the top five, and avoid the rest until the top five are achieved.

What is Warren Buffett's 90 10 rule? ›

Warren Buffet's 2013 letter explains the 90/10 rule—put 90% of assets in S&P 500 index funds and the other 10% in short-term government bonds.

What is Warren Buffett 70 30 rule? ›

A 70/30 portfolio is an investment portfolio where 70% of investment capital is allocated to stocks and 30% to fixed-income securities, primarily bonds.

What are Warren Buffett's 5 rules? ›

Here's Buffett's take on the five basic rules of investing.
  • Never lose money. ...
  • Never invest in businesses you cannot understand. ...
  • Our favorite holding period is forever. ...
  • Never invest with borrowed money. ...
  • Be fearful when others are greedy.
Jan 11, 2023

What is Warren Buffett's 2 list strategy? ›

Buffett's Two Lists is a productivity, prioritisation and focusing approach where you write down your top 25 goals; circle your 5 highest priorities; then focus on those 5 while 'avoiding at all costs' doing anything on the remaining 20.

What does Warren Buffett recommend now? ›

He owns a small bit of each in his portfolio for Berkshire, too. The two investments held in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio that Buffett recommends more than anything else are two S&P 500 index funds. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO).

What did Warren Buffett tell his wife to invest in? ›

“One bequest provides that cash will be delivered to a trustee for my wife's benefit,” he wrote. “My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund.” Buffett recommended using Vanguard's S&P 500 index fund.

What does Warren Buffet do all day? ›

Warren Buffett dedicates much of his workday to reading—approximately 80%. He believes in constant learning and attributes much of his success to this habit. Additionally, he spends time attending meetings and managing his company, Berkshire Hathaway.

What is Warren Buffett's weakness? ›

Unable to bear the bureaucracy. According to Warren's own confession, his key weakness is the lack of patience when it comes to bureaucratic issues.

What is a 70 30 investment strategy? ›

The old-school approach for many investors and financial advisors has traditionally been to structure an investment portfolio on a 70/30 basis (or similar figures). This strategy allocates 70% of an investor's funds to equities or equity-focused investments, and 30% to bonds, or fixed-income investments.

What is the 110 rule in investing? ›

A common asset allocation rule of thumb is the rule of 110. It is a simple way to figure out what percentage of your portfolio should be kept in stocks. To determine this number, you simply take 110 minus your age. So, if you are 40, then the rule states that 70% of your portfolio should be kept in stocks.

What is the 10 5 3 rule of investment? ›

1. Understanding the 10-5-3 Rule. The 10-5-3 rule is a simple rule of thumb in the world of investment that suggests average annual returns on different asset classes: stocks, bonds, and cash. According to this rule, stocks can potentially return 10% annually, bonds 5%, and cash 3%.

What is Buffett's first rule of investing? ›

Warren Buffett once said, “The first rule of an investment is don't lose [money]. And the second rule of an investment is don't forget the first rule. And that's all the rules there are.”

What are the three criteria of Warren Buffett? ›

Here's the classic Buffett quote: "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don't have the first, the other two will kill you."

What are the three golden rules for investors? ›

The golden rules of investing
  • Keep some money in an emergency fund with instant access. ...
  • Clear any debts you have, and never invest using a credit card. ...
  • The earlier you get day-to-day money in order, the sooner you can think about investing.

What are Warren Buffett's rules? ›

The first rule of investment is don't lose. The second rule of investment is don't forget the first rule.” Buffett famously said the above in a television interview. He went on to explain that you don't need to be a genius in the investment business, but you do need what he deems a “stable” personality.

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