What's nice about investing is you don't have to swing at every pitch.
Interpretation
Investing allows you the freedom to choose your opportunities wisely rather than taking every chance available.
Warren Buffett's quote emphasizes the importance of selective investing, suggesting that not every opportunity needs to be pursued. Just as a batter in baseball doesn't have to hit every pitch thrown their way, investors should carefully evaluate which opportunities align with their strategy and risk tolerance. This approach encourages mindfulness and patience in investment decisions, promoting long-term success over impulsive actions.
In practice
In a financial seminar discussing investment strategies.
I have no views as to where it will be, but the one thing I can tell you is it won't do anything between now and then except look at you. Whereas, you know, Coca-Cola (KO) will be making money, and I think Wells Fargo (WFC) will be making a lot of money and there will be a lot - and it's a lot - it's a lot better to have a goose that keeps laying eggs than a goose that just sits there and eats insurance and storage and a few things like that.
If the world couldn't see your results, would you rather be thought of as the world's greatest investor but in reality have the world's worst record? Or be thought of as the world's worst investor when you were actually the best?
Cash never makes us happy, but it's better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire's pocket than resting comfortably in someone else's.
I think you should read everything you can. In my case, by the age of 10, I'd read every book in the Omaha public library about investing, some twice. _x000D_ You need to fill your mind with various competing thoughts and decide which make sense.
The most common cause of low prices is pessimism - some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It's optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.
Oneβs objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out and get it over. Your problem wonβt improve with age.
Investors repeatedly jump ship on a good strategy just because it hasn't worked so well lately, and, almost invariably, abandon it at precisely the wrong time.
Everyone has the idea of owning good companies. The problem is that they have high prices in relations to assets and earnings, and that takes all of the fun out of the game.
Whenever you hear a discussion about the short-term swings in any given stock's price, your immediate thought should be whether it matters to why you are investing.
It seems to me - particularly for these retirement-plan investors, the vast majority of whom are not particularly financially sophisticated - by far the best way is to invest in index funds.
The worst thing you can do is invest in companies you know nothing about. Unfortunately, buying stocks on ignorance is still a popular American pastime.
To be an investor you must be a believer in a better tomorrow.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.