Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett: Twenty Cases

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.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: The Partnership Years (1957-1968) 1. 1958: Sanborn Map Company 2. 1961: Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company 3. 1964: Texas National Petroleum Company 4. 1964: American Express 5. 1965: Berkshire Hathaway Part II: The Middle Years (1968-1990) 6. 1967: National Indemnity 7. 1972: See's Candies 8. 1973: The Washington Post 9. 1976: GEICO 10. 1977: The Buffalo Evening News 11. 1983: Nebraska Furniture Mart 12. 1985: Capital Cities/ABC 13. 1987: Salomon Inc.-Preferred Stock Investments 14. 1988: Coca-Cola Part III: The Late Years (1990-2011) 15. 1989: US Air Group 16. 1990: Wells Fargo 17. 1998: General Re 18. 1999: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company 19. 2007-2009: Burlington Northern 20. 2011: IBM Part IV: Lessons Learned 21. Evolution of Buffett's Investment Strategy 22. What We Can Learn from Buffett Appendix A Appendix B Notes Selected Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Yefei Lu is a portfolio manager at Shareholder Value Management AG, a value-investment company based in Frankfurt, Germany. Previously, he worked for a single-family investment office in Munich and for McKinsey & Company in Berlin. He holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Stanford University.

Review :
Warren Buffett has talked extensively about his investment philosophy but unfortunately less so on actual investments. By digging up long forgotten annual reports and sharing his own thoughtful insights, Yefei Lu does an excellent job of filling in the missing pieces of the puzzle in understanding how Buffett invests. -- Robert Vinall, CEO, RV Capital In the crowded market for books about Warren Buffett, portfolio manager Yefei Lu has written a uniquely valuable, information-packed volume. This instant classic analyzes twenty of Buffett's most notable investments, starting in 1958 and continuing through to today. A must read! -- John Mihaljevic, publisher, The Manual of Ideas A simple and useful analysis of Warren Buffett's twenty key investments over the course of his fifty-plus-years career. Lu has done a great job in illustrating the key factors that Buffett paid attention to in assessing the risk-reward profile of each investment. There are many lessons to be learned in this book for anyone interested in long-term investing. -- John Elkann, Chairman and CEO, Exor S.p.A. Yefei Lu does us all a great favor in making it so easy to follow him as he looks back at the key investments Buffett made throughout his career. Lu provides his own analysis of what Buffett would have seen, and invites us to sit in Buffett's shoes ourselves by providing as much primary source information as possible-a monumental research effort by any measure. One even has the feeling of reaching certain critical investment insights, right alongside Buffett, that greatly influenced his development as an investor. -- Joel Cohen, MIT Investment Management Company For serious investors and analysts eager to transcend the cult of personality around Buffett and discern what actually makes him great, this study comes highly recommended. Publishers Weekly Recommended for any investor or student seeking financial expertise. Library Journal [Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett] provide[s] great insights into deep value investing. Seeking Alpha By examining twenty of Warren Buffett's investments over a fifty-year period from 1960 through 2011, Yefei Lu discusses Buffett's likely analysis of each one and the lessons to be learned from them. Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett should appeal to value investors and those wanting to benefit from Buffett's investment experience. -- M. Ali Khan, Abram Hutzler Professor of Political Economy, Johns Hopkins University uniquely valuable, information-packed volume... By digging up long forgotten annual reports and sharing his own thoughtful insights, Yefei Lu does an excellent job filling in the missing pieces of the puzzle in understanding how Buffest invests. Value Walk The most detailed analysis to date of Buffet's long-term investment portfolio. Value Walk Lu's work is a must-have for anyone teaching or studying finance. Even if you have a shelf full of books about Warren Buffett and his investing style, this is an excellent edition... Essential. CHOICE