Warren Buffett described his investment philosophy as being greedy when others are fearful and being fearful when
Question:
Warren Buffett described his investment philosophy as being greedy when others are fearful and being fearful when others are greedy. Bob Goldfarb is the chairman of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb, the investment company that manages the Sequoia Fund. Goldfarb invoked Buffett’s principle to defend Sequoia’s decision to add to its Valeant position. Sharon Osberg, one of the two independent directors of Sequoia who resigned, strongly disagreed. She regularly plays bridge with Buffett and was offended by the comparison of Valeant CEO J. Michael Pearson to Buffett. In this regard, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman Charlie Munger had been highly critical of Valeant’s pricing policies, calling them “deeply immoral.” He had observed those practices directly in his capacity as chairman of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Explain what Buffett meant by describing his investment policy as he did. Then identify the psychological issues associated with the Sequoia Fund’s investment in Valeant.
Step by Step Answer:
Behavioral Corporate Finance Concepts And Cases For Teaching Behavioral Finance
ISBN: 9781259277207
2nd Edition
Authors: Hersh Shefrin