LET’S learn some tips from the greatest investor of all time – Warren Buffet, the Oracle of Omaha.
1. Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.
• Buffett offered this advice during the recession in 2008.
• At that time, stocks were plummeting which he said was the best time to buy.
• His success can be linked to buying quality stocks when markets are crashing.
• Stocks are cheapest when fear is running high.
• Market downturns and sell-offs present buying opportunities.
2. Stick with what you are comfortable with:
• If you learn and become comfortable with trading equities, stick with stocks.
• If you like options, stick with puts and calls.
• But don’t complicate things with cryptocurrencies, derivatives, and other exotic instruments.
• It is more profitable to simply stick with the easy than it is to resolve the difficult.
3. Buy into a company because you want to own it, not because you want the stock to go up.
• Owning stock is like owning the company itself, so treat it as owning part of the business.
• If you own a real estate rental, you wouldn’t sell it based on emotions.
• Treat stocks the same way – buy them only after diligent research.
• You don’t buy a rental from hearsay or noise from social media.
• Research at CNBC, Yahoo finance, MSN Money, Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool, or Zacks.
4. Be patient.
• Buffett describes the stock market as a device for transferring money from impatient to the patient.
• Good investors have boring things in common – patience.
• After you find companies with good fundamentals and attractive growth, wait for them to grow.
• Don’t be bothered by volatility as stocks move up and down. Stay the course.
5. You don’t need to know much about stocks:
• Most investors don’t have business degrees. Most don’t have training in charts or ratios.
• They don’t have enough information about companies to predict their future earning power.
• The typical investor doesn’t need all these skills.
• But successful investors have patience. They research before entering positions.
• If you are new or don’t have the time to track the market, invest in low-fee index funds.
• Try ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) that hold a pool of stocks for a pool of investors.
• Instead of buying FMC or ALB stocks, buy lithium ETF LIT.
• Instead of buying CGC or STZ stocks, buy cannabis ETF MJ.
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Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV – Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in Pasadena, California.
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He has 50 years of experience in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He is publishing a book on his expertise – “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire about the book or email tax questions at [email protected].