The Buffettology Workbook

by Mary Buffett, David Clark

In the past eighteen months, investors have seen rapid, often intimidating changes in the stock market-tech stocks have soared and crashed and assets that shifted away from traditional blue chip companies have quickly shifted back again. In spite of this volatility however, there has been one Warren Buffet's value investing strategies make money.

In BUFFETOLOGY, Mary Buffet and David Clark unveiled the analysis

techniques that made Warren Buffet the billionaire and investment icon he is today. Now in this companion workbook, the authors explain Buffet's system of business perspective investing, focusing on specific mathematical ratios and calculations. Written in clear, easy-to-understand language, THE BUFFETTOLOGY WORKBOOK offers everyone with or without an Internet connection the tools they'll need to apply the same kind of value analysis to readily available financial data that Warren Buffet does.

Genres: Finance, Business, Money, Economics, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Mary Buffett is a best-selling author, international speaker, entrepreneur, political and environmental activist. Ms. Buffett’s first book Buffettology, co-written with David Clark in 1997, was an immediate New York Times and Business Week best-seller. Since that time, all seven of Ms. Buffett’s books have been best-sellers.
Ms. Buffett appears regularly on television as one of the top finance experts in America including CNN Business News, CNBC’s Squawk Box, Power Lunch with Bill Griffith, Bloomberg News, Fox Business News, MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends and BBC News.
She has appeared around the world as a principal speaker at some of the world’s most prestigious organizations including recent appearances with Laura Bush, Colin Powell and other prominent achievers filling arenas around the country as part of the Get Motivated seminar series.
Ms. Buffett has worked successfully in a wide range of businesses including extensive work as a consultant to a number of Fortune 500 companies including AOL Time Warner, as an executive at Columbia Records and as co-founder or her own music and editorial post-production companies, Independent Sound and Superior Assembly, working with many of the music industry’s biggest stars. She has also taught Business and Finance at several California State Universities, including UCLA.
Mary is the proud mother of three successful children and lives in California.

Reviews

[Ryotaro Nagasawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just skimmed through for the first time reading. Will dig into deeper next time. The "Buffet way" would help if you can pick up the next "Coke" like stock, but I'm not really sure that this type of screening really works as shown in the book. I'd say all the examples are hindsight of what Buffer did but none of the authors.

[Ciprian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Buffettology Workbook is an interesting book for people who would like to learn more about value investing. The book is well-written and organized, making it easy to understand the concepts being presented.

One of the strengths of the workbook is its practical approach to investing. The authors, Mary Buffett and David Clark, provide numerous case studies and exercises that allow readers to apply what they have learned to real-world scenarios.

Another feature of The Buffettology Workbook is the clear explanations of complex financial concepts. The authors have a talent for breaking down difficult topics into easy-to-understand language, making it accessible for readers with a medium level of financial literacy. However, the book can seem complex and technical to novices, requiring an understanding of financial statements and valuation methods.

However, there are limits to the methods described in the book. Even an experienced active investor might achieve only modest returns, and examining the use cases covered in the last chapter of the book makes that clear. While McDonald's did well, both Gannett Corp and Freddie Mac had major problems in the noughts:

* Freddie Mac suffered significant losses on its investments and its stock price dropped sharply. The company was put into conservatorship by the federal government in September 2008, along with Fannie Mae, to prevent its collapse. The government provided financial support to keep the company operating and helped to stabilize the housing market. In the years since the financial crisis, Freddie Mac has remained in conservatorship and has continued to operate under government oversight.

* Gannett Corporation faced significant challenges due to the digital disruption of the newspaper industry. As readership shifted from print to online, Gannett's print publications, including USA Today and over 80 local newspapers, saw declining circulation and advertising revenue. To counter these challenges, Gannett made significant efforts to shift its business model towards digital media. It launched several online news websites, acquired online marketing and advertising companies, and invested in digital technologies. However, these efforts were not enough to offset the decline in print revenue, and Gannett's profits declined significantly. Gannett also faced criticism for its cost-cutting measures, which included layoffs and reduced resources for investigative journalism.

If the reader is interested in a more active investment approach and has a passion for analyzing financial statements, The Buffettology Workbook is a good choice. For people with less spare time and less appetite for risk I recommend The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life by J.L. Collins

[Jevgeni Shumik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book on investing and wow that was so interesting and easy to read.
It impressed me as much as Robert Kiyosaki "Rich dad Poor dad".

The practical tasks at the end allow for better understanding of Warren Buffett stock analysis instrumets.

[Juten Mehra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of hundreds of books read, rarely I’d rated a book as 5 star. Buffetology is a 5 star book.

One caution for reading is to pause and read books on key financials to build a foundation by reading Understanding Financial Statements by Benjamin Graham, Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. Security Analysis would be too complicated. Once you’ve read those book, come back to read Buffetology, and you’ll be enlightened.

This is book I’ve been searching for years on simple stock calculation. I’ve been following buffet way on investment now for few years and it has born fruitful results; this book takes my analysis to next level and makes investing and money making calculated and fun!

Good luck!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Formulas were not set out with clarity

[Lucas Remmerswaal · Rating 3 out of 5]

a great follow-up to reading Buffettology