Book Review: Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett -Twenty Cases, Yefei Lu (2016). Publisher: Columbia University Press. 293 Pages. US $35.00 Review by Srinath R. Mitragotri

Abstract

Most people interested in equity investments would like to study, analyze and probably emulate investment strategies of Warren Buffett, who unarguably is one of the most successful investors of this era. What is remarkable about Buffett's investments is not only the magnitude of returns, but the consistency of his investment success. In this book-'Inside the Investments of Warren Buffett-Twenty Cases', Yefei Lu has analyzed twenty of Buffett's investments that span over five decades-starting with Buffett's investment in Sanborn Map Company in 1958 all the way up to his investment in IBM in 2011. The book is divided into three sections: the first section analyzes five of his investments between 1957 to 1968 when he invested through his partnership firm-Buffett Partnership Limited. The second section covers nine investments by Buffett between 1968 and 1990, when he invested through Berkshire Hathaway as his investment vehicle. The third and final section looks at Buffett's investments from 1990 to 2011. The book has twenty-two chapters, of which the first twenty chapters provide an in-depth analysis of his twenty investments. The last two chapters ponder over the evolution of Buffett's investment strategy over these five decades, and looks at some of the lessons for its readers.

Keywords: equity investments, berkshire hathaway, value investing, warren buffett