I've read other books in the past about Buffett's methodology and I must say this book has surprised me, it's an easy read and very enjoyable. Even though it doesn't delve deep into technical aspects, it's excellent for opening one's eyes to stock market investing. The following concepts are things that called my atention and which I would like to share.
Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT):
Emphasizes diversification to reduce risk.
The relationship between risk and expected return.
Efficient Frontier: Set of portfolios offering the highest return for a given level of risk.
Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): A model to estimate the expected return of an asset based on its systematic risk.
Kelly Criterion: A formula to optimize the size of bets/investments using the probability of success and the reward-to-risk ratio.
Myopic Loss Aversion: Excessive sensitivity to short-term losses leading to conservative and potentially suboptimal investment decisions.
Buffett's Concept of Risk: Long-term investment in a solid company minimizes the risk of transactions.
Mental Accounting: The subjective division of money into different mental "accounts" that can result in inefficient financial decisions.
Fungibility and Holistic Approach: Treating money as interchangeable and assessing finances in an integrated manner.
Overconfidence as per Kahneman: The tendency to overestimate our abilities and knowledge, influencing decision-making.
System 1 and System 2 by Kahneman: Preference for quick, intuitive thinking over detailed and rational analysis.
Warren Buffett's Investment Principles:
Seeking a consistent operational history.
Analyzing favorable long-term prospects.
Assessing the rationality and candor of management.
Considering management's resistance to institutional imperative.
Focus on return on equity (ROE), not earnings per share (EPS).
The importance of calculating owner earnings to value a company.
Preference for companies with high profit margins and efficiency in reinvesting earnings.
Valuation based on intrinsic value and seeking purchase opportunities at a discount.
Buffett's Educational Focus on Investing:
"Investment students need only two well-taught courses: how to value a business, and how to think about market prices."