Warren Buffett says

“Don’t ask the barber whether you need a haircut.”

—Warren Buffett

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Quotes on Investing Warren Buffett on Investing

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“Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble”

—Warren Buffett

“Loss of focus is what most worries Charlie and me when we contemplate investing in businesses that in general look outstanding. All too often, we’ve seen value stagnate in the presence of hubris or of boredom that caused the attention of managers to wander.”

—Warren Buffett

“For these investors, it would have been far better if Orville had failed to get off the ground at Kitty Hawk: The more the industry has grown, the worse the disaster for owners.”

—Warren Buffett

“While investors and managers must place their feet in the future, their memories and nervous systems often remain plugged into the past.”

—Warren Buffett

“Forecasts may tell you a great deal about the forecaster; they tell you nothing about the future.”

—Warren Buffett

“We trade real estate for technology (which gets cheaper and more capable every year).”

“Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.”

—Warren Buffett

“Wall Street is the only place that people drive to in a Rolls Royce to take advice from people who ride the subway.”

—Warren Buffett

“Any business plan won’t survive its first encounter with reality. The reality will always be different. It will never be the plan.”

“If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.”

—Warren Buffett

“It’s not possible for investors to consistently outperform the market. Therefore you’re best served investing in a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds [or exchange-traded funds].”

—Charlie Munger

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

—Warren Buffett

“If options aren't a form of compensation, what are they? If compensation isn't an expense, what is it? And, if expenses shouldn't go into the calculation of earnings, where in the world should they go?”

—Warren Buffett

“Investors should be skeptical of history-based models. Constructed by a nerdy-sounding priesthood using esoteric terms such as beta, gamma, sigma and the like, these models tend to look impressive. Too often, though, investors forget to examine the assumptions behind the models. Beware of geeks bearing formulas.”

—Warren Buffett

“From this irritating reality comes The First Law of Corporate Survival for ambitious CEOs who pile on leverage and run large and unfathomable derivatives books: Modest incompetence simply won’t do; it’s mindboggling screw-ups that are required.”

—Warren Buffett