- Warren Buffett famously struck lucrative deals with Goldman Sachs, General Electric, and other struggling companies during the financial crisis.
- He wasn't able to repeat the feat during the coronavirus crash because the banks were in better shape and the government provided aid, a fund manager dubbed "Britain's Warren Buffett" told Business Insider.
- "There just haven't been the opportunities this time around," said Keith Ashworth-Lord, investment chief of Sanford DeLand, which manages the SDL Buffettology Fund.
- Ashworth-Lord also shared the Buffett strategy he's found most useful during the crisis.
- "The most important lesson is to switch off markets and concentrate all your effort on assessing what a business is really worth and what you are being asked to pay for it," he said.
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Warren Buffett has been slammed as "washed up" and urged to reinvent himself after failing to deploy his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate's massive cash pile during the coronavirus crash.
A fund manager dubbed "Britain's Warren Buffett" isn't surprised by claims that his namesake is past his prime.
"I wish I had a tenner [£10] for every time I have heard that criticism of Warren Buffett aired!" —Keith Ashworth-Lord, investment chief of Sanford DeLand, which manages the SDL Buffettology Fund, told Business Insider this week.
The SDL Buffettology Fund has drawn on Buffett's investing principles to return more than 220% since it was launched in 2009.
Buffett famously swooped in as a "lender of last resort" to Goldman Sachs, General Electric, and other companies during the financial crisis.
The Berkshire chief hasn't struck the same deals this time around because the big banks are better financed and governments have moved quickly to bail out struggling businesses, Ashworth-Lord said.
"There just haven't been the opportunities this time around," he added.
Buffett might not be playing the white knight, but the billionaire investor's teachings are still useful for navigating the current environment, Ashworth-Lord said.
"The most important lesson is to switch off markets and concentrate all your effort on assessing what a business is really worth and what you are being asked to pay for it," he said, referring to Buffett's view that investors buy parts of companies and shouldn't be distracted by stock-price movements.
When others panic and sell, shrewd investors can buy a piece of a quality business on the cheap. Buffett famously summed that up by advising to "be greedy when others are fearful."
"Bear markets eventually pass and it is in times of panic that the best pricing opportunities arise," Ashworth-Lord said. He also warned against trying to time markets, instead recommending a "steady drip of investment in at regular intervals."
Ashworth-Lord also shared what he expects from Buffett in the coming weeks.
"Given the amount of cash that Berkshire is sitting on and where prices are today, I would have thought that buybacks come into the frame," he said.
Indeed, it appears that Buffett may have repurchased more than $5 billion worth of Berkshire stock in recent weeks. However, the investor's focus on value could limit his options when it comes to buying stocks or making acquisitions.
"Buffett has repeatedly said that he doesn't see bargain basement prices on offer yet," Ashworth-Lord said.
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source https://www.businessinsider.com/britains-warren-buffett-shares-1-key-lesson-berkshire-chief-2020-7
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