Tinglong 的个人资料Youth is not a time of l...照片日志列表更多 工具 帮助

日志


It's Silly to Wait -- 巴菲特和比爾蓋茨在哥倫比亞大學商學院的問答記錄



我一直不太喜歡比爾蓋茨的言談,覺得缺乏新意,令人昏昏欲睡。可是有趣的是每次他和巴菲特坐在一起的時候,都是那麼妙語連珠。

 

昨天,巴菲特和比爾蓋茨出席了哥倫比亞大學商學院的town hall meeting。整個見面會非常引人入勝。如下是我整理的一些精彩問答語錄。




CNBC主持人Becky Quick開宗明義,描述過往百年不遇的一年:

This is a year where the rules have been completely rewritten, where we have thrown out the rule books, and we have seen icons collapse. This is also a time when a lot of people have probably wondered about our way of life.  People in this very room.



1. 主持人問兩人過去一年有沒有對資本主義以及美國人的生活方式產生過懷疑。巴菲特認為

"The country works, you know. We've got 200 years of proof. And it's going to continue to work."

蓋茨則看好美國連綿不絕的創新能力:

“The country still has the best universities, the best science, and we're going to tune our system of capitalism. ”

2. 回答第一個關於貪婪於腐敗的問題時候,巴菲特指出人性亙古未變,重要的是美國依然有優良的制度。巴菲特甚至對在場的哥倫比亞大學商學院學生們表示“I'd love to trade places with any of you”.

3. 蓋茨被問及雷曼兄弟破產的時候有何感想。蓋茨說自己年輕的時候崇拜的兩家企業--王安電腦和Digital Equipment都破產了,加上IT行業見識得多了,所以一家金融公司破產了也沒啥感覺。更何況蓋茨也不明白雷曼兄弟具體的運營,所以打電話給巴菲特:“Should I be worried?” 得到的答案是:“A little bit.”

4.  巴菲特被問到是否應該在商學院裡給學生上倫理(Ethics)課。巴菲特說Ethics在家庭裡學更加有效。順便贊美美國的制度:

“The wonderful thing about it is in this country, is you can succeed magnificently with ethics.  It's not a hindrance. It's a help sometimes. It's a neutral sometimes. But it's not a hindrance at all.”

5. 一位俄裔學生問下一個誕生比爾蓋茨的行業是什麼,因為她想加入這個行業。蓋茨說很可能是能源和醫藥行業。巴菲特則說這個問題根本不重要,

"I will guarantee, you will do well at whatever turns you on. There's no question about that. Don't let anybody else tell you what to do. You figure out what you are doing."

6. Buffett被問及收購Burlington Northern的背後考慮,除了重申鐵路的能源效率外,還提出了新的觀點:

“You think about it. The railroads are tied to the future prosperity of this country. You can't move a railroad to China or India or anyplace else.”

7. 有學生問兩人過往一年有否睡不著覺("What, if anything, keeps either of you up at night?")。巴菲特說:

“I try to live my life so nothing keeps me up at night.”

 掌聲雷動。繼而老巴補充說:

“I don't like to sound, you know, like a mortician during an epidemic or anything, but last fall was really exciting for me. ... There are opportunities for us to do things that didn't exist a year or two earlier. ... The plants haven't gone way. The cornfields haven't gone way. The talent of the American people hasn't gone away. The innovativeness of the next Bill Gates hasn't gone away. This country is going to be fine. "

巴菲特更拋出一個耶穌式的寓言:

“If you had a wonderful farm and you knew that the next 50 years there would be five droughts but there would be 45 good years, I mean, you would not become paralyzed thinking about the five drought years. You would recognize that you've got a system that works very well over time, and that's our American economic system.”

8. 有人問現在全球股市大幅反彈是不是過於樂觀了一些,現在可不可以入市。巴菲特說短期趨勢無法估計,但是舉1954年的美國股市為例,當年美國的失業率急劇上升,但股市卻屢創新高。所以--

“It's a terrible mistake to look at what's going on in the economy today and then decide whether to buy or sell stocks based on it. You should decide whether to buy or sell stocks based on how much you're getting for your money, long-term value you're getting for your money at any given time. ... And the important thing is to have the right long-term outlook, evaluate the businesses you are buying. And then a terrible economy is your friend.”

他加重語氣:

"A period like this gives me a chance to do things. It's silly to wait. I wrote an article. If you wait until you see the robin, spring will be over."

9. 主持人這時候插話了:老巴你不也是買了比亞迪了嗎?您老人家還是很看好其他國家的吧。巴菲特說:

“I see more opportunities in the United States. We're the biggest economy and we're looking for big deals... There are more opportunities in the United States than anyplace else.”

蓋茨大致同意巴菲特,但更加強調中國的美好前景,因為"they are a large enough population that great things are happening there"。

10. 巴菲特在回答關於MBA教育問題的時候大贊其恩師Graham和Dodd:

"They were terrific to me. They treated me like a son."

同時以精明投資者的眼光表示願意當場出10萬美元購買在場任何一個人未來的10%的收入。如果有學生願意提高自己的交際能力的話,那麼這個價格會提過50%,即15萬美元。“See me after class and I'll pay you 150-thousand.”

這時候主持人秀出巴菲特當年在哥倫比亞的照片。老巴說:

“I don't think I'd pay $100,000 for 10% of that guy.”

11. 一個學生問巴菲特和比爾蓋茨相互欣賞對方的什麼優點。巴菲特說他最崇敬蓋茨對於財富的態度:

“In the end, he knows he's a beneficiary of a terrific society, and not everybody gets the long straws like he and I did.”

蓋茨則敬佩巴菲特的"desire to teach"--

"He loves to teach. ANd he does it meeting with students. He does it in his annual newsletter. He does it when he's taking to me on the phone. It's real gift that I admire incredibly."

12. 能找到自己喜歡做的事情當然好,但是找不到怎麼辦?一個葡萄牙學生發問。蓋茨的回答比較務實--you have to try different experiences.

"And then when you want it, see the thing that you want to be fanatical about and just jump on to that."

巴菲特則說第一重要的是marry the right person--

"It will change your aspiration, all kind of things. It's enormously who you marry."

然後如果你結婚了還不確定自己喜歡做什麼,那麼就不計報酬,找一份自己夢想的工作--

"Go to work at a job that turns you on and a person that turns you on and institution.“

巴菲特舉例自己和Ben Graham工作的時候就是這樣,根本不知道薪水有多少,但是--

"But I knew I wanted to work for Ben Graham. And I knew I would jump out of bed every morning and be excited about what I would do and I would go home at night smarter than I was in the morning."

13. 一個二年級學生問Ben Graham的投資原則是不是已經過時了,巴菲特的回答是否定的,並且重申”the worst investment you can have is cash. “ 一個投資者應該"find a good business and stick with it." 一旦發現好的投資機會,就應該果斷出手--

"Don't push up something that's attractive today because you think you will find something way more attractive tomorrow".

14. 蓋茨認為新興能源行業可能只是曇花一現,現階段不宜沾手:

"...somewhat faddish in nature... a very hot area, but not necessarily a good area for investment"。

15. 問及一個企業領導人應該具有什麼樣的特點,巴菲特說:

"... if the reason for doing something is everybody else is doing it, it's not good enough. If you have to use that as a reason, forget it. You don't have a good reason for doing something. Never use that."

16. 這個問題比較有趣。主持人問巴菲特和蓋茨"what makes you stand out from the crowd?" 巴菲特的回答比較搞笑:

 It's always interesting when Bill and appear together, they don't figure they can do what Bill does, but they know they can do what I do. 

不過,巴菲特說,他受益於自己的幾個老師,其他的人的話就不怎麼聽了。

"I just look in the mirror every morning and the mirror always agrees with me. And I go out and do what I believe I should be doing. And I'm not influenced by what other people think."

蓋茨則說人的一生中某些自信的時刻很重要:

"When I dropped out of Harvard and said to my friends, 'come work for me,' there was a certain kind of brass self-confidence in that. You have a few moments like that where trusting yourself and saying yes, this can come together -- you have to seize on those because not many come along."

17. 巴菲特認為好的投資需要花很長時間准備和計算,但真正做出投資決定只需要5分鍾:"that's 50 years of preparation and five (minutes) of decision making." 而且,"the good decisions...don't take any time at all. If they take time, you're in trouble."

18. 如果美國是一支股票,你會現在買入嗎?蓋茨表示自己會買入。而巴菲特的回答則是:

On margin.



轉載注明出處即可:Tinglong's blog  http://ieemdai.spaces.live.com

見面會全文下載地址:http://bit.ly/2EUTMG

香港股市:一個隨機觀察



2008年8月27日,平平淡淡的一天,香港恆生指數收報21104.56點。

一年多後的今天(2009年月30日),恆生指數收在21752.87點,升了大約3%。

換句話說,假如2008年8月27日你的航班發生故障,被迫流落到一個與世隔絕的小島上,掙扎了一年後獲救,重新看股市數據,你會覺得過去一年什麼事情都沒發生,恍然不知過去一年中,恆生指數一度跌到一萬點附近,有多少社會底層失去了生存的基本保障,多少中產階級的富貴夢一夜間破滅,多少牛市中有頭有臉的人物為世人唾棄,甚至淪為社會公敵。

2008年8月27日,我把當時報紙上熱衷談論的一些股票做成了一個模擬組合,合計70種股票,魚龍混雜,既包含大藍籌股,又有二三線股,還有一些被列入我的永久黑名單的老千股。需要聲明的是,此組合完全不代表我的投資哲學,純粹出於好玩的心理而建立。

14個月之後,假設每股買入一手,整個組合的回報,不计股息及紅股,達到9.02%,差強人意,至少比很多醒目的財經演員們的成績好多了。

現在看看這些公司的表現,相當有趣。先看表現最好的十個股票

1. 2689.HK 玖龍紙業 上升166.04%
2. 3888.HK 金山軟件 上升156.14%
3. 1388.HK 安莉芳控股 上升122.94%
4. 0700.HK 騰訊控股 上升110.44%
5. 1688.HK 阿里巴巴 上升95.68%
6. 2626.HK 湖南有色金屬 上升91.27%
7. 0966.HK 中國太平保險 上升90.51%
8. 0168.HK 青島啤酒 上升88.53%
9. 0322.HK 康師傅 上升85.5%
10. 0968.HK 小肥羊 上升83.61%

十大表現最佳的股票中間,有三個市值低於50億港元(安莉芳、湖南有色和小肥羊),一個市值介於50億和100億之間(金山軟件),三個市值介於200億和500億之間(玖龍紙業、中國太平和青島啤酒),剩余兩個騰訊和阿里巴巴的市值分別為2490億和913億。第一名玖龍紙業2008年經歷了一場空前的「洗倉」,股價從20多元直插5元以下,不想金融危機期間大領風騷。排名第二的金山軟件,當時尚屬「半新股」,主打產品包括著名的金山詞霸、金山毒霸、WPS Office。第三名安莉芳,生產Embry牌的胸圍、內褲、泳衣及睡衣。第四名騰訊和第五名阿里巴巴,同屬名氣很大的互聯網股,但騰訊一直升勢喜人,而阿里巴巴當時剛剛經歷了一場直線下降。第六名湖南有色金屬,規模只有20多億,當時已經經歷了一場大幅下跌--從07年的8元一路跌到08年2元以下。第七名中國太平保險,不太了解。第八名青島啤酒近年來銳意進取,在國內啤酒業成為無可爭議的一哥。第九名和第十名人人熟知,業務和金融危機基本沒關系。

表現最差的十個股票

1. 0276.HK 蒙古礦業 下跌62.68%
2. 0190.HK 香港建設 下跌52.67%
3. 1800.HK 中國交通建設 下跌36.69%
4. 1919.HK  中國遠洋 下跌33.78%
5. 0682.HK 超大農業 下跌26.01%
6. 0941.HK 中國移動 下跌21.49%
7. 0992.HK 聯想Lenovo 下跌20.40%
8. 0694.HK 北京機場 下跌17.16%
9. 2007.HK 碧桂園 下跌15.13%
10. 0386.HK 中石化 下跌17.16%

以上股票中第一名蒙古礦業是無可爭議的老千股,絕對應該避免沾手。第二名香港建設屬於財技很牛的公司,消息公告不斷,和中信前主席王軍有不一般的淵源,不推薦。有趣的是中交建、中移動、中遠洋、北京機場、中石化、聯想這些牛氣沖天的公司,居然大幅落後大市:喜歡坐過山車的朋友,過去一年絕對應該買一手北京機場,盡享無限樂趣。碧桂園我無法評價,此公司我一直不喜歡關注也很少。第五名的超大農業下跌不算離譜,此股08年上半年基本上是逆市上升的。但此股我一直懷有戒心,因它家的報表有太多我讀不懂的東西。但無論如何,一家以種植農業為主的公司市值可以達到接近200億,也是很不容易了。

以下是其他部分表現介於中間的股票:

0177.HK  滬寧高速公路 上升14.94%
0317.HK 廣州造船 上升5.36%
0410.HK SOHO中國 上升10.42%
0416.HK 海灣控股 上升38.84%
0494.HK 利豐 上升32.13%
0696.HK 中國民航信息網絡(信天游) 上升41.05%
0980.HK 聯華超市 上升37.05%
1398.HK 中國工商銀行 上升16.7%
2628.HK 中國人壽 上升23.48%

總結一下?很難。不過整體上我覺得當初那些看起來很牛的公司(比如傳說中的有「奧運概念」的北京機場)表現反倒不如那些默默無聞的small potatoes, 如安莉芳、金山軟件、小肥羊之類,甚至人人爭先恐後拋出的股票,如玖龍紙業。其他的,我就沒有新的見解了。

題圖漫畫來自2007年8月27出版的The New Yorker雜志

道瓊斯指數跌破6800點

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/03/02/business/03markets2_337a.jpg

一切固定的古老關系以及與之相適應的素被尊崇的觀念和見解都被消除了,一切新形成的關系等不到固定下來就陳舊了。一切堅固的東西都煙消雲散了,一切神聖的東西都被褻瀆了。人們終於不得不用冷靜的眼光來看他們的生活地位、他們的相互關系。

--《共產黨宣言》,《選集》第一卷

All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.

-- The Communist Manifesto

期待巴菲特的致股東書

http://ajmitchellart.typepad.com/photos/financial_cartoons_portfo/w_buffett_omaha_oracle1_31807.jpg

Warren wrote me the nicest letter about this illustration saying "You conceive of me as better dressed than I usually am, but otherwise you have depicted me just as I appear in the office." (source of the picture: http://ajmitchellart.typepad.com)


在這個時候和人談論投資,就像在冰天雪地的冬天高談闊論游泳一樣不合時宜。

可幸我們還有可以期待的東西,那就是即將于本周六公布的巴菲特的致股東書。網址在此:

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

坐在輪椅上的霍金訪問我的母校香港科大的時候說:“有生命就有希望。” 我把這話送給每一個人。

比熊市更可怕的事

市場會冬去春來,而信用一旦失去,則無可救藥,只要我們像陳家琪先生那樣抵制遺忘。

比熊市更可怕的事情,是中國企業信用的全面破產,而其標志之一,則是蒙牛( 或曰蒙人)屹立不倒。

這并非不可能,今天,各大門戶網站均制作了有一個版式、內容完全相同的專家認定特侖蘇無害的專題,詳情如下:

新浪新聞頻道首頁廣告,鏈接指向該專題。鏈接為:http://cs.sina.com.cn/minisite/mn_telunsu/index.html

搜狐新聞頻道首頁廣告,鏈接指向該專題。鏈接為:http://www.mngy.com.cn/telunsu/index.html,這是蒙牛集團網站的頁面,該頁面鏈接指向聯播網的專題頁面:http://www.vodvv.com/special2/special/200902 /special_97.html

網易新聞頻道首頁廣告和上述新聞報道頁面的廣告,鏈接指向該專題。鏈接為:http://money.163.com/special/00251JR4/telunsu.html

騰訊新聞頻道上述報道的標題鏈接直接指向該專題。鏈接為:http://finance.qq.com/zt/2009/telunsu/index.htm

我們期待著一個企業作惡必受重罰的環境,比如最近美國花生公司最近被報道花生醬產品遭受污染,公司今天宣告申請破產保護。比如安然丑聞,會使其迅速清盤并且牽連當年“五大”會計事務所之一的安達信公司黯然倒閉。

假如5年之后,蒙牛依然存在并且繼續蒙人,中國的媒體依然樂此不疲地充當流氓政權的打手和無良企業的傳聲筒,中國的投資環境將令人異常悲觀--即使屆時上證指數升回6000點,專家預期中國迎來新的黃金十年,而我們一如既往地習慣于遺忘。

Miller同學的慘痛一課

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AN924_Miller_G_20081209134223.jpg

本周《華爾街時報》(Wall Street Journal)最受歡迎的文章當屬The Stock Picker's Defeat,講述傳奇的“相反理論”(Contrarian)實踐者William H. Miller在此次金融海嘯中的慘敗經歷。

以敢于涉足尋常投資者不敢沾手的股票而著稱的Miller,從1991年到2005年每一年都跑贏大市,一度被和彼特·林奇(Peter Lynch)相提并論。但從前年開始,運氣就不怎么好了。而他管理的基金Value Trust的表現,堪用丑陋來形容--今年以來的收益為-58%,跑輸S&P大約兩成。

有著輝煌過去的Miller,面對上上下下的質疑聲,坦言自己的策略可能有問題:“I was naive.”

而多年追隨他的忠誠粉絲,后悔地大叫:“我當初還不如把錢燒掉算了呢,為什么交給了他?”

請看看Miller同學過往兩年內買進并且不斷加碼(average down)的股票名單:

Countrywide Financial Corp.
Citigroup Inc.
Bear Stearns
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Washington Mutual
Wachovia
Freddie Mac.

每個人看完該名單,都會覺得該同學真夠倒霉的,碰上的公司不是倒閉就是被bailout,或者被吞并,不管如何都市值無幾,近乎永無出頭之日。

有趣的是,今年3月14日Miller同學在投資者會議上還洋洋得意地炫耀,他以僅僅30元每股的價格買進了大量Bear Sterns. 該周周末,Bear Sterns死了,摩根大通給出的價格則是$2每股。

Miller同學的故事,似乎給奉行“相反理論”的人敲響了警鐘--不是所有的便宜股票都是值得投資的。看似便宜的東西,還可以更便宜。

這正應了江平在華爾街智商測試的答卷中回答“一個高速成長型現代化金融企業,市盈率(P/E)多少才算合理?”所說的那樣:“P/E是零如何?即他白送你一個公司,你一分錢不出做老板,能不能要?萬萬不可。你仍得付他工資獎金,而你成為老板後突然發現他自吹的贏利都是假賬,並且他違過法,坐過牢,如今一身法律責任,都由你老板承擔。”

Barton Biggs感嘆說,當今的世界,幾乎每個投資者(注意不是說投機者,Biggs嚴格區分investor和speculator)都是相反理論者,以至于一個投資者有時候要跑贏大市不得不做一個“相反相反理論者”(“Contra-contrarian”)。


正在同時讀Gustave Le Bon的經典著作The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind以及Barton Biggs的新書Wealth, War and Wisdom. 非常有趣的兩本書。兩位作者,一位是1841年出生的心理學家,另外一位則是活躍于當今華爾街的對沖基金操盤人,雙方的觀點基本上是對著干--一位認為群眾--或者烏合之眾--基本上只會被愚弄做蠢事,另外一位則拜服與尋常投資大眾的驚人的預言能力。

我近日早上在巴士上讀Le Bon, 晚上睡覺前翻翻Biggs,妙趣橫生。我會在這里和大家分享我的讀書心得。

市場隨想錄

c4900_1

謹以此文,紀念恒生指數創下31958點的歷史高位一周年。

1

巴菲特公開讓大家入市,遭受廣泛的質疑。某位侯姓專家( 因為一直看空而走紅)說,巴菲特此舉主要是處于政治上的考慮。巴菲特唱好市場是美國政府救市計劃的一部分---據傳他會成為美國下任財長。

歷史一再重復到了驚人的地步。去年巴菲特清倉中石油 (0857.HK)的時候,所有的“專家”都說,巴菲特顯然犯了一個錯誤。也有稍微謙卑一點的專家出來說,其實巴菲特沒有犯錯,他沽出中石油主要出于政治目的,中石油在蘇丹的業務讓老巴的企業蒙羞了。

為什么這個世界永遠不理解巴菲特?看來老巴富可敵國絕非偶然。

2

鄧普頓爵士(John Templeton)說:“牛市在悲觀中誕生;在懷疑中成長;在樂觀中成熟;在狂歡中死亡。”(Bull Markets are born on pessimism, grow on scepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria.)

無可置疑,現在市場的氣氛要么是悲觀,要么是懷疑,絕對不能用樂觀或者狂歡形容。所以各位在當前的瘋狂打折季節買入心水股票的朋友無需驚恐。

3

2007年的大牛市,造就了無數股神。最令人驚嘆的是中國出現了那么多號稱追隨巴菲特的“價值投資者”。

很多人買個茅臺就以為自己“價值投資”了。

現下,他們的身影又不見了。

正因為此,我一直對號稱“價值投資”的人保持一定的距離。一個真正的投資人絕不在乎這個名頭。

4

不止一位“專家”出來說,這次金融危機殺傷力巨大,散戶不可輕舉妄動,因為this time is different,實體經濟將受到很長時間內不可恢復的損傷。

無論是荷蘭郁金香狂潮,還是上個世紀的無線電、鐵路、互聯網狂潮,A股市場去年的瘋狂,我們聽到都是同樣的四個字:

This time is different.

這四個字可以害死很多人。

5

我曾經說,我對A股既不了解也不感興趣,而且在可見的三五年內不會涉足。

沒想到事態的發展超乎我的想象,感謝一個又一個大跌市,讓我短短的一年內對A股態度發生180度大逆轉。今日,A股已經成為我的心水市場之一。

6

早先,巴菲特說他made a bid on a Chinese company, 但沒說是哪一家公司。

很多人出來說:我知道,根據我對老巴的理解,一定是XX銀行或者XX保險。

結果老巴看上的是比亞迪(1211.HK)--讓認為老巴是techphobia的投資人大跌眼鏡。

其實沒什么可以大驚小怪的--真假巴菲特的區別就在于此。

7

《信報財經新聞》的“我老曹”說:巴菲特買早了!不信請看,從老巴號召大家買股以來DJI已經大跌了7%!

同樣一張報紙上另外一位技術分析專家說,他會趁最近幾天的反彈沽出所有股票。因為恒生指數會先反彈到1萬5,再下跌到1萬點一下,然后“升到你唔信”。

這個世界上,自以為是神仙的人真多。

8

祈禱股市繼續下跌。愿打折季節不要結束得太快。

Warren Buffett Opines, Finally

A must-read for anybody who kept buying these days. From the saga of Omaha.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/10/17/opinion/17oped_large.jpg
Op-Ed Contributor

Buy American. I Am.

By WARREN E. BUFFETT
Published: October 16, 2008

Omaha

THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.

Why?

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.

Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.

You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.

Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.

Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities. Warren E. Buffett is the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.

讓跌市來得更猛烈一些吧

105

圖片來源:信報財經新聞

緊隨大陸股市之后,香港股市終于創出年內新低。

股市大跌,對于每一個真正的投資人來說,是可以慶祝的時刻。

如果你細看東尼(Tony Measor)的投資組合,會發現他很多股票的買入價格低到不可思議的地步——把股息算進去,很多股票早已是負成本。為什么?全拜1997年至2004年連綿不絕的香港股市大熊市所賜。

而沃倫·巴菲特(Warren Buffett)則說:“I would offer you a significant sum of money if you could give me the opportunity for all of my stocks to go down 50% over the next month.”  (如果你能設法讓我持有的股票在一月之內下跌50%,我愿意給你很大一筆錢)。

我喜歡跌市,正如我喜歡美國感恩節的大減價銷售。

跌市,是每一個認為"This time, it must be different"的人遭受迎頭一擊離開充滿不可理喻的瘋狂想法的Matrix、重返真實世界的時刻, 是買個茅臺就覺得自己了不起的偽價值投資者現出原形被唾棄的時刻,是一家上市公司任何可疑舉動都會引發洗倉的時刻,是上市公司管理層勇于撕破臉皮發布滑稽信息的時刻,是上市公司連粉飾業績都懶的做的時刻,亦是在過高價位買入股票的不夠穩陣的股市“初哥”或者夢想“一注獨贏”的抄底人被迫把手中的股票以跳樓價交給真正的投資人的時刻。

在此祈禱:讓跌市來得更猛烈一些吧!

廣告一則

司馬渡(Simadu.com)上經營一個blog"以投資的心境生活"已經有一段時日,今后會逐漸把自己投資的認識寫出來和大家分享,底線是每周更新1-2次,歡迎各位捧場。考慮到更新頻率不高,各位最好訂閱RSS。關于"以投資的心境生活"這個blog的定位,我已經在開場白中寫明:

很難說這個blog和什么有關,但是很明顯的是:

1. 此blog和技術分析無關。

本人不懂技術分析,也對其絲毫不感興趣。任何期望在這里交流技術分析的朋友,請遠離。

2. 此blog和價值投資無關。

本人認為這個世界上不存在“價值投資”或者“非價值投資”。相反,投資就是投資,投機就是投機。換而言之,本blog面向所有不在乎“價值投資”名頭的投資者。

3. 此blog和長線投資無關。

本人認為,耐心在投資中是極其重要的。因此,day trader請遠離本blog。但是本人也不喜歡和公司談戀愛,用主觀感受代替客觀分析。我心目中的持股年限,固然是以“年”做單位的,但也不介意拋棄讓我失望的公司。

4. 此blog和股票推介無關。

本人相信,獨立思考是任何投資人最核心的能力。除非出于說明問題的需要,本人不會對任何個股發表任何推薦看法,更不會提供任何目標價或者操作建議。相反,我會經常批評我討厭的個股或者其管理層。

5. 此blog基本和A股無關。

本人不參與任何A股投資,而且在可見的三五年內也不會對A股有任何興趣。所以,我不會對A股市場發表具體評論。

6. 此blog和小道消息無關。

本人不相信任何內幕或者小道消息有助于取得長遠和穩定的收益。任何小道消息在這里都不受歡迎。

7. 此blog和“偉大公司”無關。

本人認為,任何“偉大公司”都可能是最糟糕的投資,如果沒有足夠的安全邊際。

8. 此blog和金融衍生物無關。

本人對任何形式的創新金融產品不感興趣。

我信奉的投資風格是簡單、愚蠢、保守、倔強、低效。

期待著在Simadu和大家共同成長。

十年磨一劍:格林伯格的終極投資建議

在金融領域,有不少口碑不錯的長期寫專欄的股評人,比如香港《信報財經新聞》的曹仁超,從1973年和林行止共同辦報至今,每天都會寫洋洋灑灑幾千字的《投資者日記》,為香港中小股民必讀的專欄。和曹仁超類似的還有在《華爾街日報》及MarketWatch.com經營專欄數十年的格林伯格(Herb Greenberg)。不過此公今年3月份正式宣布金盆洗手,自立門戶,并為其忠實粉絲們提供了他的凝聚著數十年心血的五條核心投資建議

建議一:數字不會撒謊 (The numbers don't lie)。

很多偉大的投資人,諸如沃倫.巴菲特,不愿意和上市公司管理層見面的原因,就是為了避免受到心理影響。很多時候,冷冰冰的數字比管理層的長篇大論地宣揚自己的功績更加可靠。

建議二:質量勝于數量(Quality, not quantity)。

不要太在乎所謂“跑贏華爾街預期”的業績,要仔細分析資產負債表。如果財務報表復雜到了你很難理解的地步,那么你應該懷疑公司而不是你自己的智商。

建議三:會議準則不會自動保障你的權益(GAAP isn't the same as a Good Housekeeping seal)。

千萬不可對會計準則中的各種灰色地帶(gray area)掉以輕心。無疑,每家上市公司的財務報表都是合法的,但是其質量可能是非常差勁的。

建議四:不要把股票和公司混淆(Don't confuse stocks and companies)。

很多成功的投資人都一再強調,即使最好的公司也可能是最差勁的投資。即使巴菲特的伯克希爾哈薩維(Berkshire Hathaway)是一家頂尖的可信賴的公司,在很高的估值水平買入其股票也還是是最冒險的投資。反之,股票表現很差并不意味著公司很差,市場先生(Mr. Market)經常做不理性的事情。

建議五:把風險當作首要因素考量(Risk isn't a four-letter word)。

每當你做一筆投資之前,與其考慮你能賺多少,不如先考慮你能承受多大損失。

觀察五條建議,可謂簡單得不能再簡單。可是投資者之所以成功,往往就在于他們堅持實踐一些簡單的信條。