Comments on: Warren Buffett’s Biggest Mistake http://buyingvalue.com/2009/02/buffetts-biggest-mistake/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=buffetts-biggest-mistake Price is What you Pay Value is What you Get Tue, 27 Sep 2011 02:59:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: The Four Filters of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger (Review) | BuyingValue.com http://buyingvalue.com/2009/02/buffetts-biggest-mistake/comment-page-1/#comment-57 The Four Filters of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger (Review) | BuyingValue.com Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:58:23 +0000 http://tobylang.wordpress.com/2009/02/15/buffetts-biggest-mistake/#comment-57 [...] Bud Labitan in his book The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger attempts to boil down Buffett and Munger’s school of investment into what he calls the “4 filters”. In detailing these filters Labitan draws on an impressive collection of speeches, shareholder letters, books, and other communication material from both Buffett and Munger.  As a reader of this same material I was impressed at the themes Labitan draws out of the work that I had so casually overlooked (Though I seem not to have been too far off). [...] [...] Bud Labitan in his book The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger attempts to boil down Buffett and Munger’s school of investment into what he calls the “4 filters”. In detailing these filters Labitan draws on an impressive collection of speeches, shareholder letters, books, and other communication material from both Buffett and Munger.  As a reader of this same material I was impressed at the themes Labitan draws out of the work that I had so casually overlooked (Though I seem not to have been too far off). [...]

]]> By: widemoatinvesting http://buyingvalue.com/2009/02/buffetts-biggest-mistake/comment-page-1/#comment-39 widemoatinvesting Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:42:00 +0000 http://tobylang.wordpress.com/2009/02/15/buffetts-biggest-mistake/#comment-39 Thanks for your work.<br/><br/>It looks like the big problem here--using Buffett's criteria--was that USAir was not in a business with favorable long-term prospects.<br/><br/>In some respects, this is a very difficult judgment for an amateur investor to make, and it may involve some qualitative judgments (i.e., beyond the balance sheet) that someone like Fisher has been able to do, but not a lot of others.<br/><br/>For example, you look out at American retailers right now, and the business is relatively simple, but even in duopolies (e.g., Best Buy, Circuit City), not all can profitably compete. <br/><br/>All of which is to say that potholes abound out there as value traps, and it is amazing to me that Buffett has done so well--by and large--at sidestepping them. Thanks for your work.

It looks like the big problem here–using Buffett’s criteria–was that USAir was not in a business with favorable long-term prospects.

In some respects, this is a very difficult judgment for an amateur investor to make, and it may involve some qualitative judgments (i.e., beyond the balance sheet) that someone like Fisher has been able to do, but not a lot of others.

For example, you look out at American retailers right now, and the business is relatively simple, but even in duopolies (e.g., Best Buy, Circuit City), not all can profitably compete.

All of which is to say that potholes abound out there as value traps, and it is amazing to me that Buffett has done so well–by and large–at sidestepping them.

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