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Buffett Is Bullish

17 October 2008 05:44pm
Warren Buffett is now buying shares in his personal account. Read his article in the New York Times for the full lowdown.

Let me stress, we're not talking about Berkshire Hathaway here. Buffett says:

'This is my personal account I'm talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds.'

And Buffett isn't the only one. Anthony Bolton, perhaps the UK's most successful living investor, is buying too.

Neil Woodford, another superstar UK manager, also thinks it's a good time to buy equities

None of these men are suggesting that shares are a sure thing over the next six months - although they might do well over that period. But they all recognise that if you buy now, there's a very strong chance that you'll prosper over the next few years. If it was just me saying that, I'd understand any scepticism you might have. But these guys have fanatastic track records. They're worth listening to. Edited at 2008-10-18 11:14:44
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sammysambrook 17 Oct 2008, 9:40pm
Surely 'Buffett' feeling bullish is not so much food for thought as just simple contrarian investing. Basically good quality shares are being offered at a discount at present, like a high street sale.
gordonbanks42 21 Oct 2008, 9:12am
Timing is everything. We need to understand how long these three are prepared to have money in a falling/flat market before seeing returns, and whether that matches our needs / aspirations before we decide whether to copy them. I would guess that Buffet is a bit more long-termish than the other two.
gordonbanks42 21 Oct 2008, 9:16am
Just read Buffet's NY Times article. Rather tickled by his reference to "the early days of WWII". I think he meant "the early days of the USA's participation in WWII". Perspective is a wonderful thing, n'est-ce pas?
Paullypips 22 Oct 2008, 12:56am
Well I tend to agree with these gentlemen. I invested my full ISA allowance for this tax year in a European Index Tracker (accumulation) today. I hope to retire in 5 years and I have a feeling that this investment will help provide me with a secure standard of living in my senior years.
I was going to go for a FTSE 100 Index Tracker but got cold feet over the weak state of sterling and the fact that the government has empty coffers (not to mention a lack of gold - thanks Gordon!).
If I had read Mr Buffet's comments before I made my investment this morning, I think that I might have considered a US stock tracker.
Does anyone agree with my thinking or am I a "lone contrarian"?
sammysambrook 22 Oct 2008, 11:17pm
Paullypips Buffett generally expects to double his money every 5 years equating to about a 14% growth rate, this may be a bit optimistic in the current climate. Hopefully low interest rates will help the markets recover as people realise how low the real returns are in most cash accounts.
Good Luck

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I'm the Editor at Fool.co.uk. I've been a member of the Foolish community since 1998 and it's a real privilege to work here. Read more...