Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett: Twenty Cases (Columbia Business School Publishing)

Since the 1950s, Warren Buffett and his partners have backed some of the twentieth century's most profitable, trendsetting companies. But how did they know they were making the right investments? What did Buffet and his partners look for in an up-and-coming company, and how can others replicate their approach? A gift to Buffett followers who have long sought a pattern to the investor's success, __Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett__ presents the most detailed analysis to date of Buffet's long-term investment portfolio. Yefei Lu, an experienced investor, starts with Buffett's interest in the Sanborn Map Company in 1958 and tracks nineteen more of his major investments in companies like See's Candies, the __Washington Post__, GEICO, Coca-Cola, US Air, Wells Fargo, and IBM. Accessing partnership letters, company documents, annual reports, third-party references, and other original sources, Lu pinpoints what is unique about Buffett's timing, instinct, use of outside knowledge, and postinvestment actions, and he identifies what could work well for all investors in companies big and small, domestic and global. His substantial chronology accounts for broader world events and fluctuations in the U.S. stock market, suggesting Buffett's most important trait may be the breadth of his expertise. Since the 1950s, Warren Buffett and his partners have backed some of the twentieth century's most profitable, trendsetting companies. But how did they know they were making the right investments? What did Buffet and his partners look for in an up-and-coming company, and how can others replicate their approach? A gift to Buffett followers who have long sought a pattern to the investor's success, Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett presents the most detailed analysis to date of Buffett's long-term investment portfolio. Yefei Lu, an experienced investor, starts with Buffett's interest in the Sanborn Map Company in 1958 and tracks nineteen more of his major investments in companies like See's Candies, the Washington Post , GEICO, Coca-Cola, US Air, Wells Fargo, and IBM. Accessing partnership letters, company documents, annual reports, third-party references, and other original sources, Lu pinpoints what is unique about Buffett's timing, instinct, use of outside knowledge, and postinvestment actions, and he identifies what could work well for all investors in companies big and small, domestic and global. His substantial chronology accounts for broader world events and fluctuations in the U.S. stock market, suggesting Buffett's most important trait may be the breadth of his expertise. Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 12 Part I: The Partnership Years (1957-1968) 18 1. 1958: Sanborn Map Company 20 2. 1961: Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company 34 3. 1964: Texas National Petroleum Company 45 4. 1964: American Express 51 5. 1965: Berkshire Hathaway 70 Part II: The Middle Years (1968-1990) 84 6. 1967: National Indemnity 86 7. 1972: See鈥檚 Candies 90 8. 1973: The Washington Post 96 9. 1976: GEICO 110 10. 1977: The Buffalo Evening News 117 11. 1983: Nebraska Furniture Mart 122 12. 1985: Capital Cities/ABC 128 13. 1987: Salomon Inc.鈥擯referred Stock Investments 145 14. 1988: Coca-Cola 155 Part III: The Late Years (1990-2011) 170 15. 1989: US Air Group 172 16. 1990: Wells Fargo 186 17. 1998: General Re 197 18. 1999: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company 214 19. 2007-2009: Burlington Northern 228 20. 2011: IBM 247 Part IV: Lessons Learned 264 21. Evolution of Buffett鈥檚 Investment Strategy 265 22. What We Can Learn from Buffett 271 Appendix A 280 Appendix B 282 Notes 284 Selected Bibliography 294 Index 296 Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- The partnership years (1957-1968) -- 1958: Sanborn map company -- 1961: Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company -- 1964: Texas National Petroleum Company -- 1964: American Express -- 1965: Berkshire Hathaway -- The middle years (1968-1990) -- 1967: national indemnity -- 1972: see's candies -- 1973: Washington Post -- 1976: Geico -- 1977: Buffalo Evening News -- 1983: Nebraska Furniture Mart -- 1985: capital cities/ABC -- 1987: Salomon Inc. : preferred stock investments -- 1988: Coca-Cola -- The late years (1990-2011) -- 1989: US Air Group -- 1990: Wells Fargo -- 1998: General Re -- 1999: Midamerican Energy Holdings Company -- 2007-2009: Burlington Northern -- 2011: IBM -- Lessons learned -- Evolution of Buffett's investment strategy -- What we can learn from Buffett -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Bibliography -- Index "Yefei Lu, a private investor, starts with Buffett's interest in the Sanborn Map Company in 1960 and tracks nineteen more of his major investments in companies such as See's Candies, the Washington Post, GEICO, Coca-Cola, US Air, Wells Fargo, and IBM. With rare access to partnership letters, company documents, annual reports, third-party references, and other original sources, Lu pinpoints what is unique about Buffett's timing, instinct, use of outside knowledge, and postinvestment actions, and he identifies what could work for all investors with companies big and small, global and domestic. His substantial chronology accounts for broader world events and fluctuations in the U.S. stock market, suggesting Buffett's most important trait may be his open and alert worldview."--Provided by publisher The partnership years (1957-1968) 1958: Sanborn map company 1961: Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company 1964: Texas National Petroleum Company 1964: American Express 1965: Berkshire Hathaway The middle years (1968-1990) 1967: national indemnity 1972: see's candies 1973: Washington Post 1976: Geico (Government Employees Insurance Company) 1977: The Buffalo Evening News 1983: Nebraska Furniture Mart 1985: capital cities/ABC 1987: Salomon Inc. : preferred stock investments 1988: Coca-Cola The late years (1990-2014) 1989: US Air Group 1990: Wells Fargo 1998: General Re 1999: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company 2007-2009: Burlington Northern 2011: IBM Lessons learned Evolution of Buffett's investment strategy What we can learn from Buffett.