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Robert Miles, who has written three books on Berkshire Hathaway, said individual investors should be able to find more attractive investments than IBM because they can consider small and medium-size companies that are cheaper than Buffett's picks. "It's harder and harder to follow Buffett, but I would argue you don't want to follow him," said Miles, who teaches a class on Buffett's investing approach at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Sometimes it may be possible for individual investors to adapt something Buffett does for their own use. For instance, when Berkshire announced plans to acquire BNSF railroad in 2009, investors may have looked at other railroad stocks. Or when Buffett talked at last year's annual meeting about why Berkshire had bought a few newspapers, it might have prompted some investors to rethink media investments. It's much more useful for individuals to follow Buffett's investing tenets than to try to copy his moves, said author and investor Jeff Matthews, who wrote "Warren Buffett's Successor: Who It Is and Why It Matters." Investors who want to learn more about Buffett's approach can also find the elements of his success outlined in his annual letters. Buffett said he always sticks to industries and companies that he understands. He looks for quality companies with an enduring competitive advantage. Then he invests when he's sure a company is selling for less than he estimates it is worth. Early on in his career, Buffett could buy stocks when they were selling for half of what the companies were worth, but Matthews said Buffett now often pays close to full price for companies that Berkshire acquires to get sizeable, quality companies. If investors really want to profit from Buffett's ideas, they can always take the direct route and buy some Berkshire Hathaway stock. And owning Berkshire stock gives investors the chance to join 30,000 other like-minded folks in Omaha at the annual meeting where Buffett will once again make it all sound simple. ___ Online: Berkshire Hathaway Inc.:
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/
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