If you need some advice, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, has plenty to share. Through his letters, articles, opening statements at the company's annual results, and television appearances, Buffett provides "popular, humorous, and dangerous" advice on investing, management, life, happiness, and everything in between. On Saturday, May 1, Buffett and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger will share more of their wisdom at the Berkshire Hathaway 2021 annual shareholder meeting. Like last year, shareholders will not attend the event in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but investors from around the world can watch the event live. Yahoo Finance reviewed some of Buffett's best quotes, tips, and sayings, capturing some of them as follows:
1. **Do Not Be Afraid**
"Fear is the most contagious disease you can imagine," a piece of advice he shared during the 2020 shareholder meeting.
2. **Learn the Language**
"You need to understand accounting; treat it like a language," according to Buffett in an interview with Yahoo Finance editor Andy Serwer last year.
3. **Buy and Hold**
Buffett wrote in a 1988 shareholder statement: "Our favorite holding period is forever. We are not like those who rush to sell and take profits when a business does well, but cling tightly to businesses that disappoint. [American investor] Peter Lynch likens this behavior to cutting flowers and watering weeds."
4. **Invest in Companies You Believe In**
In a 1989 letter to shareholders, Buffett stated: "It is far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."
5. **Price and Value Are Not Always the Same: Don't Overpay**
Buffett's advice came in the wake of the global financial crisis, noting that the price is what you pay, while value is what you get.
6. **Reputation Is Everything**
In his testimony before Congress in 1991, regarding the types of mistakes that can be managed for company managers, Buffett said: "I lose some of the company's money, and I'll be understanding; however, if I lose a shred of the company's reputation, I'll be ruthless."
7. **Be Skeptical**
In a New York Times article in October 2008, Buffett wrote: "You should be skeptical if something seems too good to be true." He added, "There’s a simple rule in my buying decisions: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."
8. **Don't Invest in What You Don't Understand**
"The important thing is to know what you know and to know what you don’t know."
9. **Do Not Make Deals with Untrustworthy People**
Buffett advises knowing the person sitting across the negotiating table and being confident in them, warning: "You cannot make a good deal with a bad person," he told CNBC in 2019.
10. **Price Drops Are Opportunities to Increase Your Positions**
Aligning with the global financial crisis, in a 2008 shareholder letter, Buffett said: "Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down."
11. **Put Your Money in Index Funds Instead of Individual Stocks**
Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, Buffett stated at a shareholder meeting: "My advice, for most people, is to own S&P 500 index fund documents; there are massive sums of money spent on advice people really don't need."
12. **Use a Bucket, Not a Spoon**
"In every decade or era, dark clouds fill the economy, and rain gold for a brief period," so you shouldn't miss the opportunity or squander significant gains with weak investments.
13. **Seize Opportunities While You Can**
"Don’t miss something attractive today because you think you will find something better tomorrow."
14. **Stay Calm**
"The more clever the market behavior, the greater the opportunity for investors who resemble the business."
15. **Read and Think A Lot**
Buffett spends most of his day—about 80%—reading and thinking. From Buffett's perspective, "The best way to think about investments is to be in a room with no one else and just think. If that doesn’t work, nothing else will," as he stated in a lecture to college students in 1998.
16. **Knowledge Is More Valuable Than Intelligence**
Contrary to the common belief that business requires high intelligence, Buffett sees that "what we do does not exceed anyone else’s expertise. I feel the same way about managing what I do regarding investment: It's not just about doing extraordinary things to achieve extraordinary results."
17. **Follow the Rules**
Buffett has two rules he adheres to most of the time: "Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Don’t forget rule No. 1." While it hasn’t been the case every time—Buffett has lost on several occasions—it is rare that he loses easily.
18. **Be Frugal**
Except for his private jet, Buffett is known for a quiet and ordinary lifestyle, living in the same house since 1958. Buffett justified his frugality by saying: "I have everything I want. I have many friends who have a lot of property. But in some cases, I feel that the property owns them, not the other way around."
19. **Keep This in Mind!**
Buffett emphasized during his 2019 shareholder meeting that "when looking for managers, CEOs do not seek bulls… but a chicken who can be taken home."
20. **You Are Your Best Asset**
"The best investment you can make is in yourself. There is nothing comparable to that."
