Buffet - Beyond value by Prem C Jain John Wiley

R333

Review by Evan Pickworth

SOME investors are in for a shock - the Sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, does get it wrong. And sometimes he can get it very wrong. But it's worth pointing out straight off the bat that he tends to get it wrong less than the average investor and when he does, with far less severe repercussions. He is rightly viewed as an oracle in the investment world, but probably for the wrong reasons.

As Prem Jain, a professor of finance, points out, Buffett is often wrongly perceived to seek out value opportunities all the time. Buffett is not a bottom feeder at all and can sometimes overpay for an investment. His strategy is far more encompassing and unique than that, but the good news is that his way is actually quite easy to grasp for the average investor.

Of course, Buffett has never written a book to explain exactly what his winning way is - and why should he? - but Jain does the hard slog of picking out the nuggets of wisdom that lift the lid on Buffett's strategy in his Berkshire Hathaway annual reports.

This book might not be in the financial thriller mould, but it has real practical value - it will improve your line of sight on your own investments. Jain might be a finance academic, but he has done a good job in laying down a higher-grade strategy in quite easy to understand terms.

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