Warren Buffett quotes teach us lessons on rationality, market research and patience. His quotes are perhaps so desired because they are entertaining, succinct and easy to digest.
- The most important of the Warren Buffett quotes: “Rule No. 1 is never lose money. Rule No. 2 is never forget Rule No. 1.”
- “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
- “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”
- “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.”
- “Our favorite holding period is forever.”
- “The key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage.”
- “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”
- “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.”
- “The three most important words in investing are ‘margin of safety.’”
- “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
- “Beware the investment activity that produces applause; the great moves are usually greeted by yawns.”
- “The business schools reward difficult complex behaviour more than simple behaviour, but simple behaviour is more effective.”
- “The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect.”
- “Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.”
- “It is a terrible mistake for investors with long-term horizons — among them pension funds, college endowments, and savings-minded individuals — to measure their investment ‘risk’ by their portfolio’s ratio of bonds to stocks.”
- “Remember that the stock market is a manic depressive.”
- “Do not take yearly results too seriously. Instead, focus on four- or five-year averages.”
- “Never invest in a business you cannot understand.”
- “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”
- “Never depend on a single income. Make an investment to create a second source.”
- “I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow’s obligations. When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night’s sleep for the chance of extra profits.”
- “Don’t pass up something that’s attractive today because you think you will find something better tomorrow.”
- “Forecasts may tell you a great deal about the forecaster; they tell you nothing about the future.”
- “When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients.”
- “The best chance to deploy capital is when things are going down.”
- “Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble.”
- “Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”
