The following advice by Jeremy Grantham is something I can relate to! How about you?
(Grantham is co-founder and chief strategist of a fund with over US $107 billion in assets under management.)
3. Don’t put all of your treasure in one boat. This is about as obvious as any investment advice could be. It was learned by merchants literally thousands of years ago. Several different investments, the more the merrier, will give your portfolio resilience, the ability to withstand shocks. Clearly, the more investments you have and the more different they are, the more likely you are to survive those critical periods when your big bets move against you.
The best of Warren Buffett 2011 is out this morning. I am referring to Buffett's annual letter to shareholders, which also contains his deepest insights and advice on investing. See
www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2011ltr.pdf
There are many gems, one of which is on Page 18, where Buffett talks about a current craze that he warns will not be profitable over the long run -- gold investing.
This is to let you know that I have been diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer. The good news is that I’ve been told by my doctors that my condition is not remotely lifethreatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way. I received my diagnosis last Wednesday. I then had a CAT scan and a bone scan on Thursday, followed by an MRI today. These tests showed no incidence of cancer elsewhere in my body.
My doctors and I have decided on a two-month treatment of daily radiation to begin in mid-July. This regimen will restrict my travel during that period, but will not otherwise change my daily routine.
I feel great – as if I were in my normal excellent health – and my energy level is 100 percent. I discovered the cancer because my PSA level (an indicator my doctors had regularly checked for many years) recently jumped beyond its normal elevation and a biopsy seemed warranted.
I will let shareholders know immediately should my health situation change. Eventually, of course, it will; but I believe that day is a long way off.
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