I don't see that Warren Buffett is a guide to all that is right and proper in investing behavior.
Certainly, he has a steady hand and a good track record, but that doesn't make him flawless. He's taken a beating several times, and has been upfront about it. As I mentioned elsewhere, his foray into silver hasn't been too kind to him.
Somebody replied that it was a mere fraction of a percentage of his holdings. Perhaps. But that doesn't mean anything. What was important was that he did it with HIGH VISIBILITY. When he bought the silver, he was sure that he got alot of PR in the process, trumpeting how he was playing the silver cycle, that it had bottomed, but always rose dramatically in a seasonal fashion...yada...
Anyway, he was trying to pump it. It didn't matter. The cost of storing the silver was huge, and the price has never achieved the levels it did when he purchased.
There were several other companies he purchased that were mistakes, too.
The nice thing about Buffett is that he is always upfront about his mistakes. He's quick to note them, take care of them, and move on. But flawless, he isn't. So, to wit, it doesn't really matter if he would purchase them or not. |
