Have you ever had a problem that you couldn’t solve? A project you’ve never done before? Did you have no idea where to start? I know I have We all have. So what do we do? We are looking for someone with experience and knowledge. Someone who “been there, done that.”
Most self-help gurus and self-improvement coaches agree. You want to improve something of yourself. . . find someone who is already successful. Watch them closely and reflect on their actions. Do you want to cook better? Watch a professional chef and try to think like them. Do you want a better tennis serve? Watch tennis pros and copy their moves exactly. Do you want to lose weight? Find someone who has already lost weight and do what they do.
This is called modeling.
You model your actions and thoughts after someone who is already successful. Your success will often follow as well. When it comes to investing, we can do the same. Lucky for us, it’s fairly easy to study some of the great investors of our time. Just walk into any bookstore and look around. I like Borders, but any local store will do.
You will find a number of books written by or about successful people in investing. He wants to be a real estate developer. . . Read some Donald Trump. Do you want to invest like Peter Lynch? He also has a book. Also Jim Rogers. Read some Jim Cramer if you want to go crazy and pull your hair out (just kidding… kind of).
Even George Soros got in on the act and published a manifesto about himself. I still love the title of his book “Soros on Soros” by George Soros. No, that man has no ego.
The key is that you don’t have to act blindly.
These big investors have already figured out how to make money. What you need to determine is whether your investment strategy is right for you. Then reflect on what these great investors do.
There is an investor who does not write books. And he is one of the best investors in the world. . . Warren Buffett. So what do we read about Warren? Everything you have written. Once a year he thinks up a letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) where he talks about the markets and his thoughts on investing.
These are some really great reads. Best of all, you can find each of these letters for free on the company’s website. Trust me. It’s worth your time. He is very insightful.
But here’s the problem. . . Warren won’t tell you what he’s investing in. No. He tries to keep that a secret. He knows that when people see him buying something, they will follow him and raise the price. That makes it more expensive for him to buy.
But Warren can’t keep a secret.
Most people don’t know this. Big money managers and companies like Berkshire Hathaway have to tell the government what they own, what they are buying and selling. Is the law. And guess what. That information is considered public information and you can get it directly from the government, free of charge.
Now I don’t have enough space to go into all the details. But knowing what Warren is buying is easy to find out. Just a few days ago I took a look around and discovered a company that Warren likes. It is not a small startup. It is not a miracle biotech company. It’s a company I’m sure you know. . . and you may even already have some in your portfolio.
What company am I talking about?
Kraft paper (KFT). In recent months, Warren has been slowly accumulating millions and millions of Kraft shares. You may have heard of some of their products: Kraft cheese, Oscar Meyer meats, Philadelphia cream cheese, Maxwell House coffee, Nabisco cookies, and Oreo cookies. They have 50 other brands that I don’t have space to mention.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. Didn’t this news come out a few months ago? Did. But this is what everyone is missing. Buffett is building his stake. Just look at the ads. He has been a buyer for some time. And he paid too much!
That’s how it is. Pay more.
If you believe in Warren Buffet’s investing style and want to emulate what he does, now is the time to back the truck on Kraft. . . . you can buy it at a better price than the greatest investor of all time.