Tom SpencerWARREN Buffett is an American investor born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett is often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha” and is the world’s most successful stock market investor. Buffett is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He has an estimated net worth of around $US45 billion. In 2010, Forbes ranked […]
IT would be easy to forget that there are many fine people out there who have never heard of this “CFA Program”. What is the CFA Program? The CFA Institute describes the CFA Program as a graduate-level course for investment professionals. The course covers an extremely broad range of topics including: ethics, quantitative methods (read: […]
An exam day overview I did the CFA Level 1 Exam yesterday. If you haven’t heard of the CFA Exam before, see the article “CFA Exam – What is it? Why do it? How to prepare.” It is definitely one of the most exhausting tests I have undertaken, a gruelling six hour 240 question multiple […]
WARREN Buffett‘s 2006 letter to shareholders makes for very interesting reading. One of the sentiments that Buffett expresses in the very first page of his letter is one of gratitude to the managers who have run his companies over the last 42 (now 44) years. Buffett indicates that he and Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s vice chairman, […]
UNDERSTANDING financial statements is very important if you are looking to invest, become a consultant, work as a CEO or in upper management, or want to start and run your own business. Understanding financial statements will allow you to assess a company’s current financial strength, and determine its profitability and creditworthiness. This article provides an […]
What is an asset? THE question, “What is an asset?” seems like an absurdly simple question. But if you understand the answer to that simple question, and act on it, you have started down the path that leads to riches. Few people become rich, so clearly then, few people understand the answer to this question. […]
BACK IN 1998, Warren Buffett gave an inspirational talk to a group of MBA students at the University of Florida, College of Business. In the speech, Buffett gives his perspective on investing, in which he outlines the need to understand the underlying economics of the businesses that you invest in, and the need to stick […]