As both a lecturer at Columbia University and a fund manager, Graham played a formative role in Warren Buffett’s ascent as a value investor. Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer. Diversifying your portfolio involves spreading your investments across different asset classes, sectors, and regions. This approach minimizes risk because different investments often perform differently in response to market events.
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One of the world’s best fund managers rose up the ranks of Fidelity, a giant investment company, and became the head of the Fidelity Magellan Fund. David Tepper is among the few hedge fund managers who have delivered strong performance returns in the years since the worldwide financial crisis. In 1992, after leaving Goldman Sachs, he started his own hedge fund, Appaloosa Management. He continued making significant gains every year by “investing in the diciest of companies,” such as MCI and Mirant. Howard Marks, co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful letters to investors, which offer deep dives into investment philosophy, market understanding, and risk management.
The newest addition of the top five, Buffett aggressively invested in Chevron in the 2022 bear market. The stake has been trimmed a bit, and Berkshire now owns 6.8% of the energy giant, a stake valued at about $17 billion in mid-2025. Berkshire also owns several major energy subsidiaries, so this ties in well with Buffett’s affinity for the sector. A famous Warren Buffett quote from when he was asked about an investment he decided to sell at a loss is, “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.” One of the most important Warren Buffett quotes on investing that you can take in is, “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”
The fund outperformed the S&P 500 index in 11 of the 13 years under Lynch’s leadership, underscoring his ability to identify high-growth companies before they were recognized by the broader market. Recognized for his bold investment approach and keen focus on shareholder value, Carl Icahn successfully manages his private holding company, Icahn Enterprises, using a strategy often described as ‘activist investing’. Icahn is celebrated for his use of ‘proxy battles’, a tactic that emphasizes the acquisition of enough voting shares in a company to effect meaningful change in its operations or management.
Why Follow Carl Icahn:
His story highlights the power of communication, engaging storytelling, and fostering active participation in the financial world. Palihapitiya’s approach goes beyond mere numbers; he emphasizes identifying “transformational” companies with disruptive potential, often before they reach mainstream attention. His venture capital firm, Social Capital, actively supports portfolio companies and advocates Famous investors for social responsibility. Mayer, a journalist known for her book “The Money Game,” exposed unethical practices and conflicts of interest within Wall Street, sparking critical conversations and financial reforms.
How To Gift Funds In Retirement Like Warren Buffett
Among his vast holdings is the Russian industrial conglomerate, Metalloinvest, which owns a wide range of metal and mining businesses. Usmanov then invested in China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba through Yuri Miller’s global fund in 2011. Christopher Sacca, a lawyer turned investor, became a billionaire in 2007 after a series of highly successful angel investments. His lowercase Capital also owns non-tech related companies like Blue Bottle Coffee and high-end restaurant Truckee. Since 2015, Sacca has made a few appearances in popular business reality show Shark Tank. That’s the main reason you won’t find many high-growth technology companies or biotech stocks in Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio.
- Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
- His commitment to ethical practices, philanthropic endeavors, and shareholder value has earned him immense respect and admiration, solidifying his legacy as a role model for aspiring investors worldwide.
- Templeton’s philosophy emphasized patience, meticulous research, and understanding the unique dynamics of emerging markets, paving the way for future generations of global investors.
- Then he diverted his attention towards the insurance sector but kept the name, Berkshire Hathaway.
Jim Simons (born : The Enigma of Quantitative Trading
Swensen’s strategy involves diversifying investment portfolios beyond traditional stocks and bonds to include significant allocations to alternative assets. This approach seeks to reduce volatility and enhance returns over the long term. Marks’s strategy hinges on the belief that understanding and anticipating market cycles is key to successful investing. He advocates for a contrarian approach, investing in areas that others have shunned but where he sees value and potential for recovery. Simons’s strategy involves the use of quantitative analysis to make investment decisions.
It’s also worth noting that if you can’t get into a “forever” mentality with your stocks, Buffett argues one of the best investments most people can make is a set-it-and-forget-it investment such as an S&P 500 index fund. You typically won’t see Buffett buying struggling businesses, regardless of how cheap they become. One of the best Buffett quotes new investors can absorb is, “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
- This amounts to a gain of more than 53 times an initial investment made in 1964.
- Buffett’s writings are known for containing quotations from sources as varied as the Bible and Mae West,145 as well as advice in a folksy, Midwestern style and numerous jokes.
- He has invested in a diversified portfolio that includes major real estate and industrial companies.
In 1957, with his personal savings of over $174,000, he bought a five-bedroom stucco house for $31,000, where he still lives. In September 2016, Soros announced that his foundation would invest $500 million in companies founded by refugees and migrants, especially in Europe. Stephen Schwarzman rose through the ranks at investment bank Lehman Brothers, where he became the managing director at the age of 31. Then in 1985, Schwarzman and his friend and fellow billionaire Peter Peterson started the Blackstone Group, originally focused on mergers and acquisitions. Though a person of rich background, Mr. Finck made fame with his own peerless investment practices.
Berkshire owns 2% of Apple’s stock, which was worth more than $61 billion as of mid-2025. Buffett loves Apple not only for its “sticky” customers — it’s tough to imagine a company with a more loyal customer base — but also for its pricing power and top-notch leadership. In simple terms, a margin of safety refers to characteristics of an investment that help to protect investors from losing money. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting out, these resources can be instrumental in shaping your investment approach.
We will here compare the different approches of ten renowned value investors, providing a brief overview of their criteria for selecting companies to invest in. By examining their unique perspectives, we can gain valuable insights into the world of value investing and learn from the best in the field. Over time, and in particular since the 1920’s, the investment industry has professionalized and produced many different philosophies and investment styles. The technical and fundamental aspects of investment are now taught as academic subjects in further education, used as the basis for MBA’s in business schools and for professional qualifications.
Zuckerberg‘s early focus on user engagement and network effects fueled Facebook’s exponential growth, attracting billions of users worldwide. His strategic acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp further cemented Meta’s dominance in the social media space. Wood’s investment thesis hinges on identifying these disruptive trends early on, anticipating their exponential growth potential, and riding the wave of innovation. Her bold bets have yielded impressive returns but also faced criticism for volatility and overvaluation concerns.
