Trade Like Warren Buffett

I have read several books about Warren Buffet and this was the best. The way the author drilled downed on many actual investments and investing techniques that Warren uses was very helpful to this investor. I read this book in one weekend, couldn’t put it down. I have been managing money for more than a decade and found this book very educational and a breeze to read. I highly recomend it any investor or anyone who wants a better understanding of one of the greatest investors of all time.

Most people think of Buffett as the owner for life, but what people don’t realize is that he’s only recently become that because of his large cash base. This shows how even a small investor can create superior returns by following strategies that Warren used most when he was much younger and had much less capital to deploy.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. I have read many of the books about Buffett and this is definitley one I would recommend to anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Buffett’s investment philosophy. Too many people believe Buffett just “buys and holds” companies like Coke and Gillette, but that is a long way from the whole story. This book details many of the strategies Buffett employed through out the years. The author does an excellent job discussing why Buffett used the startegies and about where Buffet was in his career that made him able to do those sorts of trades. I also think it was good how the author was able to point out certain principals Buffett maintains regardless of what kind of trade he is making.

“Trade Like Warren Buffett,” is an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

As a professional money-manager based in the midwestern U.S., I am always seeking to improve my methodologies and improve my chances at producing strong performance. An essential part of my intellectual journey is to read as much as I can about those who have been successful in the investment realm. To put a point on it – I have read a lot of investment books over the past decade.

This one is the best I have read in a long time. It reads easy, but it covers several rather complex topics. On the surface, it is yet another book about the over-exposed genius Warren Buffett, and yet it places him and his strategies in an entirely new light.

In short, this book taught me new stuff, and it entertained me. I think my investment psyche is the better for having read it. If you are a serious investor (either an individual or a professional), I most strongly recommend you read this book.

pg 47 “If the earnings yield of a given stock is much higher than Treasury bill interest rates (that is, if the P/E ratio is low), then many investoirs think that the stock constitutes a good investment”. hmm… actually NO. This is incorrect. Two stocks with identical E’s, but on has a lower P (and therefore lower P/E) means investors view a higher degree of risk in that E being deliverd = they don’t think its as good/safe as an investment as the high P/E stock. I stopped after reading this sentence, since this guy doesn’t know what he is talking about. He also refers to depreciation as “depreciations” throughout the book!?!?

I was first exposed to James Altucher’s work on theStreet.com and have always found his articles to be worthwhile. “Trade Like Warren Buffett” is no different. Mr. Altucher’s concise observations and comfortable writing style make this book a fun, fast read.

People who have had little exposure to Buffett literature beyond the endless magazine cover stories will see that he is at heart an extremely ambitious and competitive investor who is not above making a quick trade, timing the market or relying at least in part on anecdotal evidence when buying a stock. But even though Mr. Altucher makes short work of the “buy and hold forever” myth that surrounds Buffett, he clearly respects Buffett’s prowess and accomplishments. I particularly liked the examination of Buffett’s current stock holdings and the stories from his early investing career. And there are a couple of interviews with money managers that provide good perspective.

It was a little frustrating to read about all the investing opportunities that Buffett has taken advantage of over the years but that no longer exist. However, it was also nice to learn that Buffett has made mistakes too.

I don’t think that many people see Buffett as a trader. Most view him as a long-term investor who buys companies that possess competitive advantages and holds them forever. However, the author points out that Buffett has used many different investment strategies such as cigar butt, value investing, special arbitrage situations, workouts, distressed debt, merger arbitrage, and spin-offs. This book covers all of these strategies. So those who are looking for the classic Warren Buffett buy-and-hold strategy might find it disappointing.

He made pretty good money using other strategies, but unfortunately many of these opportunities do not exist in the same way as they did years ago. The reason for this is the Internet and the growing number of hedge funds exploiting these same opportunities. I found it interesting to learn how Buffett evolved as the financial environment was changing. I think that Buffett’s experience with so many investment strategies gives him an edge over other money managers because it makes him well-rounded.

Excellent book

James continues to talk about how he is going to touch on things that warren has done but overall I wasn’t really impressed with this book. That said, reading this was useful for building out my mental framework and I do like james altucher.. so buy this book and support him.. just wasn’t up to my expectations, that said it wasn’t useless like most of the books i read who claim to know things but dont…. so at least there was content here… just not what i expected… i was kind of expecting an in depth analysis of the history of warren buffett and yada yada, but nope… more like a bunch of sideline analysis and parting notes.. but what should have i expected… i guess in retrospect this is what i should have expected.

An interesting book which feels like it needed a bit longer in editing. Some chapters speak directly to Buffett’s investing, and these are good, but others are left as raw interviews or as a brain dump of unrelated strategies the author favors.