On the Back Cover
Praise for The Warren Buffett Way
"[This] book's popularity is a testimony to the accuracy of its analysis and the value of its advice."
--BILL MILLER, Chairman and CIO, LMM, LLC
"A comprehensive primer on applying Buffett's investment strategy to the new economy."
--Fortune
"For readers of The Warren Buffett Way, I hope I can provide a very personal look into an important piece of investment history and some thoughts on how to best use this wonderful book. There is little I will say about Mr. Buffett since that is the subject of this book and Robert Hagstrom covers that ground with grace and insight."
--KEN FISHER, from the Introduction
"The Warren Buffett Way outlines his career and presents examples of how his investment techniques and methods evolved and the important individuals in that process. It also details the key investment decisions that produced his unmatched record of performance."
--PETER S. LYNCH, bestselling author, One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street
"An extraordinarily useful account of the methods of an investor held by many to be the world's greatest."
--The Wall Street Journal
"Robert Hagstrom presents an in-depth examination of Warren Buffett's strategies, and the 'how and why' behind his selection of each of the major securities that have contributed to his remarkable record of success. His 'homespun' wisdom and philosophy are also part of this comprehensive, interesting, and readable book."
--JOHN C. BOGLE, founder and retired CEO, The Vanguard Group
"It's first rate. Buffett gets a lot of attention for what he preaches, but nobody has described what he practices better than Hagstrom. Here is the lowdown on every major stock he ever bought and why he bought it. Fascinating. You could even try this at home."
--JOHN ROTHCHILD, bestselling author, The Bear Book and The Davis Dynasty
"Nobody has described what Buffett practices better than Hagstrom."
--Time
"Simply the most important new stock book. . . . If you think you know all about Warren Buffett, you have a lot to learn from this book."
--Forbes
"Almost anybody curious about the relationship between the behavior of economics, the performance of firms, and the ups and downs of the stock market will find something of interest here."
--The Economist
"The Warren Buffett Way is accessible to average readers because Mr. Hagstrom reduces the billionaire's techniques to some easily understandable tenets . . . the book demonstrates the rewards that can come down the road."
--The Dallas Morning News
"Thank you, Robert Hagstrom, for the finely honed thinking, the clear writing, and the simple strategies that help all of us be more successful at one of life's most intriguing and intimidating tasks: investing our money."
--JANET LOWE, bestselling author, Warren Buffett Speaks
"By placing Buffett's approach into a broader context, Robert Hagstrom captures not just the key ideas of this century's investing giants, from Ben Graham to Phil Fisher, but also lucidly explains the theoretical foundation of their insights, including probability theory and psychology. This is not simply an investing book; it is an investing library."
--CHRIS DAVIS, Portfolio Manager, Davis Advisors
"Robert Hagstrom shows how 'the world's greatest investor' can help us navigate."
--KAY BOOTH, Managing Director, Cappello Waterfield & Co., LLC
Front Cover Glimpse
Over an investment career that is six decades and counting, Warren Buffett has confronted countless challenges and navigated his way to unparalleled success. His humility, integrity, and intellectual spirit have endeared him to millions of investors around the world, and continue to ignite intense interest in how he goes about his business. That's why Robert Hagstrom has returned with the Third Edition of The Warren Buffett Way.
Despite the avalanche of information available to today's investor, many still struggle to earn a profit. But far above the market madness stands the insights and experience of Warren Buffett. In this latest edition of The Warren Buffett Way, Hagstrom puts the "Oracle of Omaha's" investment philosophy in perspective, while revealing how you can incorporate his effective approach into your own endeavors.
Opening with an engaging look at Buffett's personal and professional history, this timely book quickly moves on to introduce the individuals--from Benjamin Graham and Philip Fisher to Charlie Munger--who influenced the way Buffett looks at investing.
From here, Hagstrom begins to breakdown Buffett's methodology and makes a case for why what Buffett does is "not beyond anybody else's competence." You'll become familiar with Buffett's proven approach to selecting stocks as well as buying businesses--both of which follow a similar pattern built on timeless principles codified into twelve tenets. You'll discover firsthand how his principles are applied to many Berkshire Hathaway purchases, including the classic purchase of Coca-Cola and more recent transactions involving IBM and Heinz. And after learning how to make rational decisions about which stocks to buy, Hagstrom shows you how to pull it all together by addressing why Buffett thinks focus investing greatly simplifies the task of portfolio management. Along the way, you'll gain essential insights into the psychological challenges of managing a Warren Buffett portfolio as well as the role of patience in long-term investing.
This book also comes with a companion website, thewarrenbuffettway.com, that contains a valuation tool Buffett uses in his stock analysis, a social community, and much more. This interactive resource offers an array of information that will help you put Buffett's approach into practice.
Warren Buffett's career of successfully managing money spans nearly sixty years. Integrating his tenets into your thinking and basing your investment decisions on them may not make you billions, but it will put you in a better position to improve your portfolio's bottom line over time.
About the Author
Robert Hagstrom is Senior Vice President and Director at Baltimore-based Legg Mason Focus Capital, a global financial services company over 100 years old. Its clients include corporations, individual investors, and government entities. Legg Mason's core businesses are investment advisory services, securities brokerage and capital markets. Previously, Hagstrom was the principal and vice president of Lloyd, Leith & Sawin; senior investment officer with First Fidelity bank; and an investment broker for Legg Mason Wood Walker. Hagstrom's latest major work is Latticework (cloth) and The Art of Investing (paper). His first work, The Warren Buffett Way, sold more than 750,000 copies and spent 21 weeks on The New York Times best seller list. Along with The Warren Buffett Portfolio, it has helped investors understand the philosophy of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the most successful investment firms in history. Hagstrom has written four successful books, is a member of the Association of Investment Management and Research and the Financial Analysts of Philadelphia, and is a chartered financial analyst. He received both his B.A. and M.A. from Villanova University. Robert Hagstrom lives with his family in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
