An Introduction To Various Types Of Investments

Before entering the Stock Market let us know the various types of Investment patterns and the returns obtained as follows :

Have you ever wondered how the rich got their wealth and then kept it growing? Do you dream of retiring early (or of being able to retire at all )? Do you know that you should invest, but don't know where to start?

If your answer is "yes" to any of the above questions, you've come to the right place. In this blog we will cover the practice of investing from the ground up.

The world of finance can be extremely intimidating, but we firmly believe that the stock market and greater financial world won't seem so complicated once you learn some of the lingo and major concepts.

We should emphasize, however, that investing isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. Taking control of your personal finances will take work, and, yes, there will be a learning curve. But the rewards will far outweigh the required effort.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to let banks, bosses or investment professionals push your money in directions that you don't understand. After all, no one is in a better position than you are to know what is best for you and your money.

Regardless of your personality type, lifestyle or interests, this blog will help you to some extent to understand what investing is, what it means and how time earns money through compounding. But it doesn't stop there.

This blog will also teach you about the building blocks of the investing world and the markets, give you some insight into techniques and strategies and help you think about which investing strategies suit you best. So do yourself a lifelong favor and keep reading.

It's actually pretty simple: investing means putting your money to work for you. Essentially, it's a different way to think about how to make money.

Growing up, most of us were taught that you can earn an income only by getting a job and working. And that's exactly what most of us do. There's one big problem with this: if you want more money, you have to work more hours.

However, there is a limit to how many hours a day we can work, not to mention the fact that having a bunch of money is no fun if we don't have the leisure time to enjoy it .You can't create a duplicate of yourself to increase your working time, so instead, you need to send an extension of yourself - your money - to work.

That way, while you are putting in hours for your employer, or even mowing your lawn, sleeping, reading the paper or socializing with friends, you can also be earning money elsewhere.

Quite simply, making your money work for you maximizes your earning potential whether or not you receive a raise, decide to work overtime or look for a higher-paying job.

There are many different ways you can go about making an investment. This includes putting money into stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or real estate (among many other things), or starting your own business.

Sometimes people refer to these options as "investment vehicles," which is just another way of saying "a way to invest." Each of these vehicles has positives and negatives, which we'll discuss in detail. The point is that it doesn't matter which method you choose for investing your money, the goal is always to put your money to work so it earns you an additional profit. Even though this is a simple idea, it's the most important concept for you to understand.

What Investing Is Not !

Investing is not gambling. Gambling is putting money at risk by betting on an uncertain outcome with the hope that you might win money.

Part of the confusion between investing and gambling, however, may come from the way some people use investment vehicles.

For example, it could be argued that buying a stock based on a " hot tip " you heard at the water cooler is essentially the same as placing a bet at a casino.

True investing doesn't happen without some action on your part. A "real" investor does not simply throw his or her money at any random investment; he or she performs thorough analysis and commits capital only when there is a reasonable expectation of profit.

Yes, there still is risk, and there are no guarantees, but investing is more than simply hoping Lady Luck is on your side.

Why Bother Investing ?

Obviously, everybody wants more money. It's pretty easy to understand that people invest because they want to increase their personal freedom, sense of security and ability to afford the things they want in life.

However, investing is becoming more of a necessity. The days when everyone worked the same job for 30 years and then retired to a nice fat pension are gone.

For average people, investing is not so much a helpful tool as the only way they can retire and maintain their present lifestyle.

Whether you live in the U.S., Canada, or pretty much any other country in the industrialized Western world, governments are tightening their belts. Almost without exception, the responsibility of planning for retirement is shifting away from the state and towards the individual.

There is much debate over how safe our old-age pension programs will be over the next 20, 30 and 50 years.

But why leave it to chance? By planning ahead you can ensure financial stability during your retirement.

Now that you have a general idea of what investing is and why you should do it, it's time to learn about how investing lets you take advantage of one of the miracles of mathematics: compound interest.

There are abun­dant invest­ment options like real estate, Gold Deposit Schemes and pri­vate equity avail­able besides the ones above. One needs to make sure of the authen­tic­ity of the orga­ni­za­tion, inter­est rates and any other ben­e­fits or con­di­tions before invest­ing. Invest­ing right can yield pleas­antly sur­pris­ingly results.

You have var­i­ous types of invest­ment options avail­able in India how­ever investing in those instru­ments may suits you in terms of invest­ment amount and risk.

An investor has many invest­ment options in India to choose from. But it is very dif­fi­cult to select the type of invest­ment among the invest­ment options avail­able. Before final­iz­ing on any of the invest­ment option, you should have a proper finan­cial plan­ning in place.

Investment Options in India -

Fixed Deposits
Life Insur­ance
Post Office Sav­ing Schemes
Real Estate
Stock Mar­ket
Gold
Sil­ver
Pub­lic Prov­i­dent Fund (PPF)
Public Sector Bonds
Finance Company Bonds
Treasury Bills
Debentures
Mutual Funds
Futures
Options
For­eign Exchange …etc…

Where you can invest is purely based ,depending on your sav­ings and your future cash inflows  ( based upon the Risk Involved and taken ). Ide­ally every indi­vid­ual should have an insur­ance cover (Many experts does not con­sider it as an invest­ment) to take care of any future uncer­tain­ities. Based on your risk appetite, invest­ment amount, invest­ment hori­zon you should make an invest­ment decision.

There are plenty of invest­ment options in India, but to choose a best invest­ment Option which suits you is a daunt­ing task. It is always advis­able to take help of a finan­cial advi­sor before mak­ing any decision.

The Indian cap­i­tal mar­ket offers both NRIs and res­i­dents a plethora ( an excessive amount of something ) of invest­ment options. Abun­dant choices often leave poten­tial investors in a dilemma.(choose an option between two).

Invest­ment schemes backed by the gov­ern­ment are always a safer and fool­proof option. As an investor has the lib­erty to choose, here are some of the top invest­ment options.

1.Fixed Deposits as an investment

Fixed Deposit (FD) is basi­cally an invest­ment made for a fixed period of time result­ing in a higher rate of inter­est in return. This is best suited for investors with a low risk appetite and who wants to invest a large sum of money to earn a fixed rate of interest.

Types of Fixed Deposits
There are two types of Fixed Deposits

a) Bank Fixed Deposits
b) Com­pany Fixed Deposits and
c) Fixed Matu­rity Plans

BANK FIXED DEPOSITS

Oper­ated under the guide­lines of The Reserve Bank of India, this option is one of the most sought after invest­ment schemes due to its reli­a­bil­ity.

A Fixed Deposit or an FD yields 8.5% of yearly prof­its depend­ing on the bank and tenure. The min­i­mum period is 15 days and the max­i­mum is ten years. Senior cit­i­zens can avail of spe­cial rates.

These are kind of fixed deposits which are made with a bank. The tenure can vary from 7,15, 30, 45 days to 3,6 months, 1 year, 1.5 years 5 and 10 years. The min­i­mum deposit amount and the rate of inter­est will vary from bank to bank. These are con­sid­ered as safe invest­ments as they are insured under the Deposit Insur­ance and Credit Guar­an­tee Scheme of India and pro­vide an assured rate of return.

Investors also have the flex­i­bil­ity to take the inter­est income as a lump sum amount on its matu­rity, monthly & quar­terly. One point to remem­ber is the inter­est income earned on fixed deposit is tax­able.

Ide­ally there are no charges / expenses charged for fixed deposits, how­ever pre­ma­ture with­drawal will attract a charge.

It is also pos­si­ble to get loans upto 75–90% of the deposit amount. In order to invest in a bank FD, one has to open a FD account with the bank (nation­al­ized, pri­vate or for­eign) and make the deposit.

BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS :

Flexibility of tenure - 7 days to 10 years
Liquidity
Premature / Partial withdrawal permitted (subject to applicable charges)
Loan / Overdraft upto 90% of FD amount
Option of monthly / quarterly payout available
Competitive interest rate known interest rates for various tenures
Convenient ways to open a FD
Internet Banking
Phone banking
ICICI Bank Branch

COMPANY FIXED DEPOSITS

Fixed Deposits in companies that earn a fixed rate of return over a period of time are called Company Fixed Deposits

These are kind of fixed deposits which are made with a Company / Financial Institutions / 

Non Bank­ing Finan­cial Insti­tu­tions (NBFC). Deposits thus mobilized are governed by the Companies Act under Section 58A. The min­i­mum deposit amount and rate of inter­est will vary from com­pany to com­pany.

The ben­e­fits of invest­ing in Com­pany Fixed Deposits are higher inter­est rate as against bank FD and no income tax is deducted at source if the inter­est income is upto Rs 5000 in 
one financial year. 

Invest­ment in Com­pany FD is riskier than Bank FD’s. These deposits are unsecured, i.e., if the company defaults, the investor cannot sell the documents to recover his capital, thus making them a risky investment option.

Benefits of investing in Company Fixed Deposits !

High interest.
Short-term deposits.
Lock-in period is only 6 months.

No Income Tax is deducted at source if the interest income is up to Rs 5,000 in one financial year Investment can be spread in more than one company, so that interest from one company does not exceed Rs. 5,000

Like most investment option, Company Fixed Deposits are a mixed bag. Company FD's can be an interesting investment option if you know how to select the right FD, and how to avoid the no-so-good ones. Here are some of the points that investors should keep in mind.

Spread your Risk
 
The deposits should be spread over a large number of companies engaged in different industries. This way, you'll be able to diversify your risk among various Industries / Companies. Try not to put more than 10% of your total investments in one particular company.

Choose the Right Period of Deposit
 
Ideally, the investment should be for 1 to 3 years depending upon the rate of interest.

Periodic Review
 
The performance of the companies should be reviewed at maturity. This will help you decide whether to renew or reshuffle the deposit.

It is also wise to keep a track of these companies by checking their share prices, annual reports and other details reported in newspapers.

FIXED MATU­RITY PLAN

This kind of invest­ment is sim­i­lar to fixed deposit in terms of tenure but varies in terms of assured returns.

This is a kind of mutual fund scheme offered by mutual fund com­pa­nies pro­vid­ing an indi­ca­tion of the returns an investor can expect but do not give assured returns.

These are closed ended schemes which means that an investor can only enter them when they are launched and exit them when their pre-stated term is over.

One can exit them ear­lier, but gen­er­ally after pay­ing an exit load that is high enough to be a seri­ous discouragement.

An Introduction To Investments

What is an Investment ?

An investment can be termed as an asset purchased for profit, whether via income, or capital appreciation ( estimate highly ), or some combination. The ( entity ) person making the investment is called an investor.

Investment has a (connotation ) meaning of a long-term holding period, in contrast ( set opposition and bring out the difference ) to speculation, which is the purchase of assets seeking profit from short-term price movements.

In practice, no precise definition distinguishes between investment and speculation. The expected return on investment, ( ROI ), is a measure of the attractiveness of an investment, whether anticipated ( foresee or expect ) or realized.

In economics, investment represents capital expenditure by companies in an economy or economic model. In this context, investment is distinct from consumer expenditure, government expenditure, and net exports.

The opposite of making an investment, or selling the asset, is termed as disinvestment.

Why to invest ?

Investing can be a good way to give your money a real chance to grow over the long term. If you put your money in a savings account, you’ll only earn the amount added by interest. With investing, you can put your money in a variety of assets, each with the potential to increase in value at a level higher than the current interest rate.

Remember the old saying “speculate to accumulate”? That’s very true of investing. You may need to take chances with your money to be in with a chance of getting a real return above the rate of inflation. You should be aware though, that investing does carry risks and you could lose some or all of your money.

But investments carry different levels of risk, so you can pitch your investment at a level that you’re comfortable with. Generally, the more you want to get back, the higher the risk to your original investment.

The key to investing is to make sure you spread the risk to your money by investing in a number of different assets. The chances are that if one asset isn’t performing all that well, another may be doing better than expected, which could offset the poor performance. If you’re not comfortable taking risks with your money, you might want to consider saving instead.
Unlike investing, with most savings accounts your money is generally safe, accessible and any interest added cannot be taken away.

Remember, investment values can go down as well as up and you might get back less than you paid in.

Popular Wordings Of Warren Bufett

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.

Americans are in a cycle of fear which leads to people not wanting to spend and not wanting to make investments, and that leads to more fear. We'll break out of it. It takes time.

Beware of geeks bearing formulas.

Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction.

Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recently been dispensed by the barrel. These once unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcome after-effects. Their precise nature is anyone's guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught of inflation.

I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.

I am a huge bull on this country. We will not have a double-dip recession at all. I see our businesses coming back almost across the board.

I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores as in these United States. No man can form an adequate idea of the real meaning of the word, without coming here.

I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.

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

I just think that - when a country needs more income and we do, we're only taking in 15 percent of GDP, I mean, that - that - when a country needs more income, they should get it from the people that have it.

I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.

I think the most important factor in getting out of the recession actually is just the regenerative capacity of - of American capitalism.

If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.

If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should even probably be cut further. But I think that people at the high end - people like myself - should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it.

If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.

In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.

In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.

It's bad to go to bed at night thinking about the price of a stock. We think about the value and company results; the stock market is there to serve you, not instruct you.

It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.

It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.

It's never paid to bet against America. We come through things, but its not always a smooth ride.

Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.

Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.

Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.

Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.

Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.

Our favorite holding period is forever.

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

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.

Risk is a part of God's game, alike for men and nations.

Rule No.1: Never lose money. 
Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.

Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

Success in investing doesn't correlate with I.Q. once you're above the level of 25.

Take advantage of the market's temporary insanity to load up on quality stocks at bargain prices.

The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.

The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule.

The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.

The only time to buy these is on a day with no "y" in it.

The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.

The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is. For to a degree, people read the press to inform themselves-and the better the teacher, the better the student body.

There are 309 million people out there that are trying to improve their lot in life. And we've got a system that allows them to do it.

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.

Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn't. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value.

Value is what you get.

Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.

We always live in an uncertain world. What is certain is that the United States will go forward over time.

We believe that according the name 'investors' to institutions that trade actively is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a 'romantic.'

We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds.

We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.

We're still in a recession. We're not going to be out of it for a while, but we will get out.

We've used up a lot of bullets. And we talk about stimulus. But the truth is, we're running a federal deficit that's 9 percent of GDP. That is stimulative as all get out. It's more stimulative than any policy we've followed since World War II.

When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.

When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.

Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful".

Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.

You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing.

You know, people talk about this being an uncertain time. You know, all time is uncertain. I mean, it was uncertain back in - in 2007, we just didn't know it was uncertain. It was - uncertain on September 10th, 2001. It was uncertain on October 18th, 1987, you just didn't know it.

You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.

Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business.

Successful Proverbs Of Warren Buffett

Here, we are going to talk about Warren E Buffett, the Universal Stock Market Superstar, born on August – 30, 1930, at 95.58 W, 41.16 N, by about 02.48 P.M. residing at Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America., who has supplied a series of quotes that throughout his 71 year investing lifetime, has utilized to become one of the richest men in the word, and the absolute richest based strictly on investments. If you have followed Warren Buffett’s thinking through the years than you are aware that he uses common sense more than anything  else to explain what others would call esoteric investing concepts. He’s really a down to earth guy, who prefers cherry coke to a glass of French wine. 

You will also find is that when Buffett talks about a topic, in a sentence or two, he will say more than most so called Wall Street pros can say in an entire page. This is what really makes Buffett stand apart from others in the investment world.

I’VE NEVER SWUNG AT A BALL WHILE IT’S STILL IN THE PITCHER’S GLOVE.

Translation: Warren Buffett has always loved baseball., being admired by the well known player “ TED WILLIAMS ”. Generally throughout the World Everyone knows popularly “ CRICKET “. But, He has used analogies from baseball to explain difficult investment concepts., his favorite one. In this case Warren Buffett is talking about staying away from untested companies, or what we would call “ground floor situations”. A company without earnings would be one. A startup is like swinging at a ball while it is still in the pitcher’s glove.

Warren Buffett only wants companies that are already succeeding, companies that have been real world tested. These would be well known brands with superb balance sheets, and a fairly low entry price. Only then would this be the same as swinging just as the ball is passing the plate and you know exactly how it’s going to move. He likes SURE THINGS and you should like sure things too.

NEVER ASK A BARBER IF YOU NEED A HAIRCUT.

Translation: We love this saying. In Wall Street years ago, we would say, never ask your wife if your girl friend is pretty. There’s an old Wall Street saying that goes, “Ask a surgeon if you need an operation, the answer is ALWAYS yes. Ask a dentist if you need a cleaning and the answer is always yes again. Ask a financial advisor if you need to make changes to your portfolio and the answer is yes.” Many mergers and acquisitions are done on Wall Street because the deal takes on a life of its own. There’s a need to get deals done because that’s where Wall Street profits come from.

We have all heard the line, “Never fix a problem that doesn’t need fixing”. Warren Buffett doesn’t trade, as you may be aware. He always gives his investments time to work out. The key is always to try to get the initial investment right. If you don’t get the initial investment right, you always have a problem down the road. If you can get the initial investment right, and Buffett is very get at that, then TIME will give you the expected profits.

IT’S ONLY WHEN THE TIDE GOES OUT THAT YOU LEARN WHO’S BEEN SWIMMING NAKED.

Translation: Warren Buffett would tell you that the perfect example of the above statement is Enron, the company that collapsed after assorted frauds, embezzlements, and accounting practices that you wouldn’t believe took place.

World Com, the cell phone company is another example of this quote in action. While these stocks were flying, no one had a clue that there was a problem. We remember the CFO’s of both companies being on the cover of CFO Magazine in different years after being selected CFO of the Year. Both individuals wound up in jail. We had to wait until the TIDE went out, or the schemes were uncovered to know what was going on. Warren Buffett is right.

SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE SHADE TODAY BECAUSE SOMEONE PLANTED A TREE A LONG TIME AGO.

Translation: Isaac Newton, the greatest mind of the last five hundred years is quoted as saying, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing On The Shoulders Of Giants (OTSOG). Others have used this quote as well, including Albert Einstein in the early 20th century.

Warren Buffett believes the same thing as other giants in the mentoring concept. In his case he was fortunate to have been mentored by Benjamin Graham, the father of security analysis who taught at Columbia University in NYC where Buffett got his MBA after being rebuffed by Harvard Business School. Without Graham there probably would have been no Warren Buffett .

We all need someone to help us learn the wisdom of our chosen professions. The carpenter teaches, measure twice, cut once. Ross Perot is fond of stating that one. Yes, there is the concept that cream always rises to the top, but does it? We all need a helping hand, and just the right touch at the right time, is sometimes all one needs to completely fulfill themselves in this life.

IF WE CAN’T FIND THINGS WITHIN OUR CIRCLE OF COMPETENCE, WE DON’T EXPAND THE CIRCLE. WE’LL WAIT.

Translation: This is another one of the statements that proves Warren Buffett is a genius, perhaps without equal. Buffett took the idea of the Circle of Competence directly from Benjamin Graham who was Buffett’s mentor and finance professor while Buffett was a student at Columbia University. Graham always talked about doing what only what you know. If you are good at something, that’s what you do, that’s what you become the expert at.

Why would a brilliant research doctor who probably knows more about drug creation than 99% of the people on earth go and buy software companies in his own portfolio. Companies that he knows basically nothing about. You stick to what you know. That’s where the money is.

Warren Buffett would demand that you buy only what you know about. If the companies that you know about are not available at the right price now, just don’t invest right now. Buffett would tell you that you do not have to be constantly invested.

You must Invest only in what you understand thoroughly, and the emphasis is on YOU. Warren Buffett and you the investor should never go outside your Circle of Competence. You might remember in the late 1990’s, there was a period when just about every investor was trading in the world of the Internet stocks. For a period of a year they were going straight up. Would you believe that Buffett never invested in one Internet stock during the entire cycle. He was one of the few big investors not to get taken in. Learn from the Master. Meanwhile in Texas the Bass Brothers who made billions in the stock market, were insisting that their investment advisors allocate funds into the Internet stocks. The Basses during this period lost several billion dollars.

NO MATTER HOW GREAT THE TALENT OR EFFORTS, SOME THINGS JUST TAKE TIME. YOU CAN’T PRODUCE A BABY IN ONE MONTH BY GETTING NINE WOMEN PREGNANT.

Translation: Buffett is the master of compounding. It’s probably hardwired into his brain. In this quote he is talking about compounding, and the time it takes for compounding to KICK IN. This is a vital point that most investors never pick up on. Investors are always looking for stocks that are going to double in a year or two years – that’s why they want tips. Instead, they should be looking for stocks that are going to go up a more reasonable amount, such as 20% or 25% a year for the next 20 years. That’s where the fortunes are made.

Decades ago, Warren Buffett invested only a couple million dollars in the Washington Post newspaper. That couple of million dollars became worth a billion dollars over a period of several years. Buffett always believed that you can’t produce big results in months, or even a couple of years. If however, you buy at the right price, and the right stock, you will make a fortune in time. You need COMPOUNDING to do achieve these kinds of returns.

IF CALCULAS OR ALGEBRA WERE REQUIRED TO BE A GREAT INVESTOR, I’D HAVE TO GO BACK TO DELIVERING NEWSPAPERS.

Translation: We have seen detailed financial projections based on estimates carried to the third decimal place. Investments based on such projections aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. They are ludicrous as well. Sir John Templeton was the finest mutual fund manager of the 20th century, (Peter Lynch is his superb rival) once told me that investments are mostly common sense.

It would seem that many investors want to make more out of an investment than common sense. They want to use the most advanced formulas, or mathematical models that simply don’t stand up to the test of time. Warren Buffett would tell you that simple mathematics is what you need, and a logical brain that can withstand the emotions, because emotions can get in the way of investing.

YOU CAN’T MAKE A GOOD DEAL WITH A BAD PERSON

Translation: This one is absolutely brilliant. You simply can’t do business with bad people. If you are dealing with a bad person then there isn’t a contract that’s strong enough to protect you and your company from that person. Spend some time thinking about it. Why would you want to do a deal with a bad person? There are plenty of GOOD people in the world who will try to do the right thing, and you will not have to look over your shoulder waiting constantly for them to take advantage of you. You need to deal with straight people, and they are out there to deal with.

When Warren Buffett does a deal with an owner of another company, it’s always done via a handshake. The attorneys get involve to simply memorialize the handshake understanding. Buffett is always adamant that he only wants to deal with very GOOD people. If he can’t handshake a deal, how good can the deal be?

Here’s another example of this type of thinking that took place, many years ago, back in the late 1970’s. It was the original IPO of Home Depot. Prior to Home Depot’s IPO, there was a private placement done at five cents a share. A gentleman in Boston was considering putting up several million dollars. Actually, as the deal was being done, he did a handshake and agreed to terms, and then he came back and said, he didn’t want the company to pay for 2 cars that the founders were driving.

It wasn’t a week later that he came back and said he didn’t want the company to pay for health insurance for the 2 founders. The deal died right then and there. This fellow was going to put in a couple of million and it would have become at least $10 billion but he wanted to keep haggling, and change the deal. Keep in mind that you need to get the big things right in a deal. If you want to spend hours haggling over the small things, the movers and the shakers will never deal with you.

I NEVER ATTEMPT TO MAKE MONEY ON THE STOCK MARKET. I BUY ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THEY COULD CLOSE THE MARKET THE NEXT DAY AND NOT REOPEN IT FOR FIVE YEARS.

Translation: This is Warren Buffett at his best. Buffett is telling you to ignore trading, because trading is for gamblers. Buffett tries to imagine what the balance sheet of the company he is interested in, is going to look like in 10 years. If he can’t imagine it, he won’t invest. This is why he never touch Lehman Brothers as an investment. He could not understand the balance sheet, and if the master can’t read the balance sheet, he runs away from the investment. This is why he never ever buys a technology company as well. He can’t imagine what the balance sheet looks like years out. Buffett the investor would be leaving too much to chance. Buffett deals with probabilities he can understand.

Buffett has also publicly stated that an investor should never confuse short-term quotational losses with permanent erosion of capital. It is only in the stock market of publicly traded ideas that one can acquire a piece of a company for a price that one would never ever be able to negotiate in a private transaction.

THE STOCK MARKET IS A NO-CALLED-STRIKE GAME. YOU DON’T HAVE TO SWING AT EVERYTHING – YOU CAN WAIT FOR YOUR PITCH. THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU’RE A MONEY MANAGER IS THAT YOUR FANS KEEP YELLING, ‘SWING, YOU BUM!’”

Translation: Many years ago, I saw Sandy Koufax, one of the two best pitchers I have even seen (Bob Gibson was the other) pitching against Henry Aaron, the man who broke Babe Ruth’s record. It was getting near midnight and it was the end of the game, 9th inning two out. Aaron had fouled off twelve consecutive pitches.

Koufax approached the plate and said, “Hank, I’m tired, you’re tired, the next pitch is going to be a fast ball down the middle, either you strike out or hit a home run, we’re out of here.” Aaron went down on strikes.

The point is that in the baseball game that Warren Buffett plays in, you get to stand at the plate all day, and you never have to hit if you don’t want to. You get to see every pitch. You learn the pitcher, his moves, his technique, his faults, and then only when you want to, if you want to at all, you get to swing the bat. Only in the stock market can you use this technique. You can wait a year or two for the perfect situation to come along, and only then, you play, or you can trade every day as a momentum investor, and see where you wind up.

Conclusion

Learn from the wisdom of the greatest investor of the 20th century. Some may disagree, but nobody would argue that everybody else would have to be compared to Warren Buffettt.

Good luck to you.