Investing in a pandemic: Warren Buffett – as always – has lessons

Certified Financial Planner Paul Roelofse on what Warren Buffett ("The Greatest Investor Ever") has to teach us, right now.

Many investment professionals will tell you that Warren Buffett – the fourth richest person in the world - is the greatest of them all.

Certified Financial Planner Paul Roelofse reckons there’s much to learn from Buffett right now, as the measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic ravishes economies, leaving small investors guessing at the outcome.

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Click here to read Roelofse’s blog.

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Africa Melane (in for Kieno Kammies) interviewed Roelofse, who discussed a few Buffett truisms which, now more than ever, makes for vital reading:

1. Invest in what you know… and nothing more.

2. When you buy a stock, plan to hold it forever.

"If you aren’t thinking about owning a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes," says Buffett.

Roelofse says Buffett has deviated from this one since the pandemic struck.

Buffett recently sold 84% of his stake in Goldman Sachs.

He also sold his airline stocks (he owned American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and United Airlines).

3. Know the difference between price and value.

"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get," says Buffett.

Roelofse says Buffett holds enormous cash reserves that earn interest while waiting to be invested.

The biggest lesson from my point of view is 'keep it simple', 'do your homework but don’t be stubborn when you need to change' and 'know the value of your assets'.

Paul Roelofse, Certified Financial Planner

For more detail, listen to the interview in the audio below.

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