The Warren Buffett Way, 30th Anniversary Edition

by Robert G. Hagstrom, Peter Lynch (foreword), Bill Miller (foreword)

An insightful new take on the life and work of one of the world's most remarkable Warren Buffett

In the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Warren Buffett Way, celebrated author and investor Robert Hagstrom delivers the definitive version of his bestselling compendium of the investment strategies made famous by Warren Buffett. The Warren Buffett Way describes the twelve investment tenets of Warren Buffett's strategy called business-driven investing and his distinct approach to managing a portfolio of businesses. You'll learn how you can apply these same principles to building your own portfolio and find discussions on the psychology of long-term investing, its optimal benefits, and how to avoid the most common pitfalls and mistakes encountered by investors.

This latest edition

A new author preface to complement the existing forewords from Peter Lynch, Bill Miller, and Howard Marks. Insights on how to achieve worldly wisdom advanced by Warren Buffett's longtime business partner Charlie Munger. Footnotes and references to academic work that supports and expands on Warren Buffett's investment approach and portfolio management. The complete Berkshire Hathaway common stocks portfolios from 1977-2021.
An indispensable guide to the remarkable work and accomplishments of Warren Buffett, The Warren Buffett Way is a can't-miss resource for professional and individual investors who want to learn from the world's greatest investor.

Genres: Finance, Business, Nonfiction

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2024

About the author

Robert G. Hagstrom is Senior Vice President and Director of Legg Mason Focus Capital. He has authored the New York Times best-selling The Warren Buffett Way and The Warren Buffett Portfolio, as well as The Nascar Way. He lives with his family in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Josh King · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good layout of Warren Buffet’s methodologies, with typical case studies you’ve probably heard of if you went to finance school. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this one if you already have an understanding of value investing. But…it’s Warren Buffet.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

We should all be so lucky in life to enjoy what we do half as much as Warren Buffet does. This book effectively describes the genius behind Warren Buffet that has made his name synonymous with excellence. You can go to anyone in any profession and tell them you are the ‘Warren Buffet of’ and they will understand what you mean.

My only issue with the book is that it frequently uses financial terms and concepts without explaining them, which can be confusing for those without the proper background.

[Jerry Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome review of Buffetts philosophy. I liked the part of the book where the author applies Buffetts philosophy into 5 companies Berkshire purchased. Very in depth and long chapter. Learned a lot. Felt optimistic when I finished the book.

[Marek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book after reading all of Buffett’s shareholder letters and watching many of his interviews and lectures. Overall, I think it’s a very good book and a solid complement to Buffett’s own words.

I especially enjoyed the parts where Hagstrom lays out the history of the Buffett Partnerships and provides a timeline of key events in Buffett’s investment journey. Those sections give a clear, structured picture of how Buffett evolved as an investor, where he took inspiration, and who influenced him. I also appreciated the author’s willingness to venture beyond investing into philosophy, drawing parallels between investment styles and the ideas of Kant, Hume, Bacon, and Descartes, etc.

As someone who has gone through academia and studied concepts like Modern Portfolio Theory, valuations, and other concepts quite in detail, I found those sections of the book relatively imprecise and at times technically incorrect. The treatment of CAPM, risk definitions, and discount rates in particular felt simplified to the point of being misleading.

I also struggled with the chapter where Hagstrom applies Buffett’s “tenets” to five case studies. At times, it felt like he was forcing the narrative, retrofitting Buffett’s investments into a framework that is not well suited.

Still, the book succeeds in distilling Buffett’s philosophy in a way that is accessible and often insightful. If you’ve never read the shareholder letters, it’s a great introduction. If you have, it’s still worthwhile for the historical context and some of the philosophical reflections.

[My · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only did I learn a lot from this book but it was also entertaining and digestible too. I do have a deep interest in value investing which is probably why I was engaged throughout. One of my favorite parts of the book delves into portfolio management where the book uses statistics regarding portfolio turnover and its effect on performance. The discussion came at the perfect time as I have been contemplating what moves, if any, I need to make with my own portfolio at the moment. There are definitely plenty more useful pointers on Buffett’s investing philosophy contained in this book. A no brainer investment book that is easily worth the time and money!

[Russell Yarnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the Berkshire Hathaway letters to shareholders. Hagstrom does a great job of abstracting all of the information from those letters into themes. He also added information from other sources that I did not know. It was a great way to summarize the letters in a way that I had not thought. I only digested the letters from a year by year perspective.

[Miranda Fogel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.85. I thought the book would have shed more light on to Warren Buffett himself as a person, but instead it speaks more to his investing techniques and his failures/successes over the years. I was absolutely able to gain a few takeaways and will apply them to how I invest.

[Parsam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve ever red on investing and non only. If you think you have watched and read enough about Buffet, this book will surprise you with clean and very comprehensive analysis of what Buffet has been doing, and how he got there being the most respected name in the industry.

[Harshit Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all Warren Buffett fans and to learn a lot about investing