To the uninitiated, investing can seem daunting and inaccessible. But according to investment professional Robert G. Hagstrom, it doesn’t have to be. Hagstrom argues that novice investors should emulate the greatest investor in history—Warren Buffett—so that they too can earn above-market returns.
In his 2013 book The Warren Buffett Way, Hagstrom outlines and explains Buffett’s approach to stock market investing. Hagstrom argues that, rather than deferring to financial analysts, investors should follow suit with Buffett and assess companies along four dimensions—their financial prospects, their market value, their business model, and their management—to identify promising companies to invest in.
In this guide, we’ll examine how Buffett quantitatively and qualitatively evaluates companies to decide whether to invest, as well as his recommendations for managing your portfolio and avoiding psychological mistakes. We’ll also consider alternative approaches to investing and discuss updates to Hagstrom’s arguments since publication.