Buffet: "America's never been greater"

[MrGreen]

This is all I need to hear when thinking about investing in US equities for the long term. Sure there will be ups and downs but if arguably the greatest value investor of our time thinks good days are ahead then I'm on board. No need to over think the situation when there are smarter people in the room.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/13/investing/warren-buffett-america-is-great-now

[hodedofome]

What he says may be true but you shouldn't take his word for it. He's in this game for himself. He could be telling America to buy American stocks so he can sell his to you at the highest price possible. He's a shark. Nothing more, nothing less.


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[milesdividendmd]

This is all I need to hear when thinking about investing in US equities for the long term. Sure there will be ups and downs but if arguably the greatest value investor of our time thinks good days are ahead then I'm on board. No need to over think the situation when there are smarter people in the room.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/13/investing/warren-buffett-america-is-great-now

He's not arguing for or against international diversification in equities in this piece.  He is arguing that the american economy will do well long term.  He could be right and it still could be the case that one would do considerably better by investing in cheaper international markets long term.

He could, of course, also be wrong.

[One Noisy Cat]

     I think Buffett has always been USA-centric with investments. He has said he can always find great companies in such a large economy.  I basically agree with him. In the long run, optimism wins out although there will always be bad periods.

[milesdividendmd]

But he ain't buying the S&P.  He's cherry picking companies.  So this too is not an argument for or against investing passively in domestic vs foreign indices.

I think we would all agree that Buffet has been very good at picking american stocks.  That this means anything about the decision to diversify globally is another question entirely.

[MrGreen]

International isn't even part of the article so I'm not sure where that came from.

[dragoncar]

"it's never been greater" -- sounds like he called the top

[aspiringnomad]

"it's never been greater" -- sounds like he called the top

Well, if you wanna read it that way, he's just pointing out that this year is no different from 53% of all years since the introduction of the S&P index that have produced a record high. "America" had never been greater prior to each of those years, and yet, it remained a strong investment.

[MrGreen]

"it's never been greater" -- sounds like he called the top

That would be incorrect. No specific mention of numbers is made. The content merely speaks to his perception of the overall health of the US.

[DrF]

"it's never been greater" -- sounds like he called the top

Nice one!

[Kriegsspiel]

According to his own indicator, the market is overvalued right now. Although I'm with Mr. Green, he just said life would be better in the future, America is great, etc etc. Which all might be true, you just might not get great investment returns from it if you buy stocks right now.

[milesdividendmd]

Still waiting for the punchline Kriegspiel.

Cmon man you have a BRAND, (humor of the absurd) and I happen to be a big fan of your brand.

How about some brand loyalty?

At least could you consider publishing your serious points under an alias?

[Kriegsspiel]

I am legally obligated to inform you that, due to recent contract re-negotiations, I am allotted two serious posts a year.

[milesdividendmd]

Shit!

[innerscorecard]

What he says may be true but you shouldn't take his word for it. He's in this game for himself. He could be telling America to buy American stocks so he can sell his to you at the highest price possible. He's a shark. Nothing more, nothing less.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's funny how many take Buffett completely at his word and make life decisions based on what he says on TV.

[innerscorecard]

     I think Buffett has always been USA-centric with investments.

Buffett is not completely US-centric. He has bought things such as a Korean flour mill and a Chinese state-owned company (a very dirty and corrupt one, but he got out in time to not see the consequences of that).

[MrGreen]

What he says may be true but you shouldn't take his word for it. He's in this game for himself. He could be telling America to buy American stocks so he can sell his to you at the highest price possible. He's a shark. Nothing more, nothing less.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's funny how many take Buffett completely at his word and make life decisions based on what he says on TV.

I think my comment is being taken way too seriously. The only thing I think his statement implies is that he believes folks who are doom-and-gloom on future US returns are misguided. Anything beyond that is useless conjecture.

[milesdividendmd]

I think what people disagree with is not so much his quote , as your interpretation of his quote in the original post.

[MrGreen]

I think what people disagree with is not so much his quote , as your interpretation of his quote in the original post.

Greatest value investor of our time believes better days are ahead. I extrapolate that to mean good things (generally) for the stock market, because it has in the past. So investing in US equities looks good to me long term (compared to the past). No more thought needed. I guess you could say better days ahead will mean bad things for US equities? Sounds counter-intuitive though.

[Aphalite]

Greatest value investor of our time believes better days are ahead. I extrapolate that to mean good things (generally) for the stock market, because it has in the past. So investing in US equities looks good to me long term (compared to the past). No more thought needed. I guess you could say better days ahead will mean bad things for US equities? Sounds counter-intuitive though.

Miles just likes to play contrarian. He'll take up an argument on anything - he gets a kick out of it

[milesdividendmd]

Greatest value investor of our time believes better days are ahead. I extrapolate that to mean good things (generally) for the stock market, because it has in the past. So investing in US equities looks good to me long term (compared to the past). No more thought needed. I guess you could say better days ahead will mean bad things for US equities? Sounds counter-intuitive though.

Miles just likes to play contrarian. He'll take up an argument on anything - he gets a kick out of it

There's truth in that observation.

But I am sincere in my belief that now the US economy can have great times ahead, and simultaniously US equities can represent a poor opportunity as an investment (because of valuations.)

[innerscorecard]

I think Buffett is not just the greatest value investor of our time but perhaps the best investor of all time. I have learned so much from him - and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. But you should not make life decisions based on what he says in public. It's obvious simply from analyzing the public record that he often says things that stretch the truth, when it fits his personal, business and political aims. And Alice Schroeder has confirmed that Buffett is FAR more bearish in private.