# Is there an Irish equivalent to Warren Buffet?



## FrCrilly (16 Dec 2009)

Hi All,

Just a general question? Is there any prodigy individual investor out there who offers his/her investment services to the Irish general public. (ie an individual who invests your money the same way that he/she invests their own money and puts their reputation on the line).

All responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks In Advance.


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## Setanta12 (16 Dec 2009)

I very very much doubt it. Whats in it for them ? Reputation ? Why wouldn't they just invest their own time in their own money ?


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## fiatmoney (16 Dec 2009)

FrCrilly said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Just a general question? Is there any prodigy individual investor out there who offers his/her investment services to the Irish general public. (ie an individual who invests your money the same way that he/she invests their own money and puts their reputation on the line).
> 
> All responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks In Advance.



Is that you Ted looking to invest that money just resting in your account?


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## Frankie22 (17 Dec 2009)

check out rory gillen on this site, you could do worse, zero affiliation by the way...... best......


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## bullworth (17 Dec 2009)

Why not invest in Warren Buffett himself if you have such faith in him ?


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## Chris (17 Dec 2009)

bullworth said:


> Why not invest in Warren Buffett himself if you have such faith in him ?



Big currency risk!


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## tiger (17 Dec 2009)

How about?
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]


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## pjmn (17 Dec 2009)

Fr Crilly - before you contact the 'above' you might want to have a quick read of this - thereafter: your decision....

[broken link removed]

pjmn


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## bullworth (18 Dec 2009)

Chris said:


> Big currency risk!



It depends on how you view Warren Buffet. If hes used as someone to look up to as the OP indicated then why go for a fake ''Warren Buffet'' when you can have the real guy ? If anyone understands investing long term under difficult market conditions it has to be Buffet.
Warren Buffet invests globally plus his fund seems to be priced in dollars therefore its cheaper to buy now then before due to the weak dollar. Not only that but he will be looking for the best overall return , not a US dollar return. I heard the Euro might be in trouble too. One rule I'd advise the OP is don't put all your eggs in one basket.


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## Setanta12 (18 Dec 2009)

bullworth said:


> It depends on how you view Warren Buffet. If hes used as someone to look up to as the OP indicated then why go for a fake ''Warren Buffet'' when you can have the real guy ? If anyone understands investing long term under difficult market conditions it has to be Buffet.
> Warren Buffet invests globally plus his fund seems to be priced in dollars therefore its cheaper to buy now then before due to the weak dollar. Not only that but he will be looking for the best overall return , not a US dollar return. I heard the Euro might be in trouble too. One rule I'd advise the OP is don't put all your eggs in one basket.


 
Unlike W Buffett who advises against the portfolio theory (eggs, basket etc etc).


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## bullworth (18 Dec 2009)

Setanta12 said:


> Unlike W Buffett who advises against the portfolio theory (eggs, basket etc etc).



Buffets Berkshire Hathaway isnt an eggs in one basket affair as far as I know. its more like a managed fund isnt it ?


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## Chris (18 Dec 2009)

bullworth said:


> It depends on how you view Warren Buffet. If hes used as someone to look up to as the OP indicated then why go for a fake ''Warren Buffet'' when you can have the real guy ? If anyone understands investing long term under difficult market conditions it has to be Buffet.
> Warren Buffet invests globally plus his fund seems to be priced in dollars therefore its cheaper to buy now then before due to the weak dollar. Not only that but he will be looking for the best overall return , not a US dollar return. I heard the Euro might be in trouble too. One rule I'd advise the OP is don't put all your eggs in one basket.



You are still taking on huge currency risk as Berkshire Hathaway shares are priced and traded in US$. While the currency risk can go in your favour it can also go horribly wrong. 
Buffett measures his success in US$; while he has started investing outside the US a bit more, the vast majority of Berkshires shares and companies owned are US based.



bullworth said:


> Buffets Berkshire Hathaway isnt an eggs in one basket affair as far as I know. its more like a managed fund isnt it ?



The reason Berkshire is 'diversified' is because it is too big to only own a handful of companies. Buffett himself believes that diversifying is only a solution for the ignorant and that professional investors should not diversify. As most people are to some extent ignorant of the ins and outs of the markets, diversification is a safetynet.


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## strmin (18 Dec 2009)

Chris said:


> Big currency risk!




Investors who can't take any currency risks shouldn't be investing in the first place. It is just stupid to keep all investments only in Euro zone.


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## Senorito (18 Dec 2009)

Why look at Warren Buffet? He is a large cap type stock investor that rarely invests in small to mid cap stocks (generally speaking that is) and that is where great returns are more possible. Why not look at what the likes of Paulson, Lynch and Soros are doing, what areas they are investing in, what markets and then due your DD on sectors/stocks in those areas. 

One stock that I followed Buffet on was Ingersoll Rand there at the beginning of the year. I was toying at the time but went for it in the end and it has since outperformed. However, I beelieve returns this year have been historically good and will not be repeated next year. I was lucky in other words. 

If it is returns you are after then look at IBD and Investors.Com. Make sure you use stop losses though as some of the recommended Nasdaq stocks are gut wrenching to watch day to day. 

If you are not as ambitious on your returns then check out value websites and how to identify value companies.

I would be reluctant to follow any particular individual unless you understand correct buy in points and also have a realistic idea of what gains you are after. If you follow yourself you have nobody else to blame!


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## Senorito (18 Dec 2009)

On the currency exposure issue: I think this is a nonsense argument. Firstly you are using your skill in trying to pick stocks that are selling at discounts to future earnings, that in itself is impossible to nail down concretely. Then you are trying to predict what will happen in currency markets. It is all risk and currency exposure, or at least exposure to the dollar could work out in your favour. In other words, who is to know what way they will go. Did anyone realise the impact Greece had on the Euro two weeks ago, of course not. Investing in dollar denominated stocks was advantageous in this case. Really what I am trying to say is, currency exposure is not an argument to prevent you investing in US markets. If it is you should not be investing (someone else stated this).


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## Chris (18 Dec 2009)

strmin said:


> Investors who can't take any currency risks shouldn't be investing in the first place. It is just stupid to keep all investments only in Euro zone.



I couldn't disagree more, there are more than enough investment opportunities in all inustries available in the Euro zone, and it sure isn't stupid to stick to Europe!

However, I was not saying that you shouldn't take on any currency risk, but the US$ is one of the riskiest currencies you could possibly choose.




Senorito said:


> On the currency exposure issue: I think this is a nonsense argument. Firstly you are using your skill in trying to pick stocks that are selling at discounts to future earnings, that in itself is impossible to nail down concretely. Then you are trying to predict what will happen in currency markets. It is all risk and currency exposure, or at least exposure to the dollar could work out in your favour. In other words, who is to know what way they will go.


Nobody knows which way FX rates will go, but just like you can apply fundamental analysis and common sense to companies and industries you can apply it to currencies. Why buy a 'discounted' stock in an over-priced currency?



Senorito said:


> Did anyone realise the impact Greece had on the Euro two weeks ago, of course not. Investing in dollar denominated stocks was advantageous in this case. Really what I am trying to say is, currency exposure is not an argument to prevent you investing in US markets. If it is you should not be investing (someone else stated this).



Yup, the news from Greece caused the euro to decline by about 5% against the US$, but that is after an increase of 15% since the start of the year. Short-term fluctuations should be of absolutely no interest to you if you are looking at value investing, as fundamental analysis is pointless on short time frames. If you think that in the long term a country and it's currency are in healthy shape (based on GDP, employment, natural resources, public and private debt, etc.) then by all means take on the currency risk, but don't do it blindly.


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## bullworth (19 Dec 2009)

Chris said:


> However, I was not saying that you shouldn't take on any currency risk, but the US$ is one of the riskiest currencies you could possibly choose.



As a non professional investor this is hard for me to get my head around.
Investing solely in the dollar e.g in a bank account or bonds is risky yet wont equities in the US do  very well if the dollar goes down making their exports super competitive  ? Do these 2 factors cancel each other out somehow ?


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## Chris (21 Dec 2009)

bullworth said:


> As a non professional investor this is hard for me to get my head around.
> Investing solely in the dollar e.g in a bank account or bonds is risky yet wont equities in the US do  very well if the dollar goes down making their exports super competitive  ? Do these 2 factors cancel each other out somehow ?



If the US actually produced enough goods/services that the rest of the world wanted, then it would have a chance of its exports becoming cometitive. But for years now, the US has not produced anything domestically that can be exported in any large extent. On top of that the US$ would have to depreciate so much that US wages would be able to comete with Asian wages.
You are right in the sense that US$ equities may be less risky than cash and bonds, as they will in all likelihood rise in value. But the depreciation in the US$ could far outpace any increase in equity values.


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## Rory Gillen (21 Dec 2009)

FrCrilly said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Just a general question? Is there any prodigy individual investor out there who offers his/her investment services to the Irish general public. (ie an individual who invests your money the same way that he/she invests their own money and puts their reputation on the line).
> 
> All responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks In Advance.


 

There is only one Warren Buffett but if it is un-biased, independent and (hopefully) reasonably well informed views on world market developments, disciplined and time-tested stock picking approaches and 'Intelligent' ETFs you are after then there is a Free 30-day trial to my newly launched website www.investRcentre.com. It is not the only website of this kind, but I believe it is the first in Ireland. For members of the website, I am happy to recommend other overseas sites that I feel are particularly good. You can ask about those in the 'Blog' section of the website which resides at end of the 'Weekly Investment Bulletin' etc.

Rory Gillen


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## GBSIC (26 Dec 2009)

There have been several attempts at creating the Irish equivalent of Berkshire Hathaway. Two investment holding companies come to mind: Tony O'Reilly's Fitzwilton Group and Jim Flavin's DCC. The former is no longer with us and although latter still exists, the excellent intentions of the the DCC Group founders were blemished by badly timed deals with Fyffes.
One of the very best companies to come from Ireland remains CRH, which although it is not a holding conglomerate, it still uses an acquisition policy not unlike Buffett's and has often found itself competing for the same acquisition targets in the USA.

UMart


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## roro123 (28 Dec 2009)

I found it, the Irish Warren Buffett
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/betting-on-light-at-the-end-of-tunnel-1990122.html


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## strmin (28 Dec 2009)

roro123 said:


> I found it, the Irish Warren Buffett
> http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/betting-on-light-at-the-end-of-tunnel-1990122.html



It is a joke, right?


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## Pexus1976 (28 Dec 2009)

As a previous poster mentioned there is only one Warren Buffett but in my opinion Anthony Bolton comes very close. 

There would be no company or person in Ireland the would come close to these individuals. 

Although there are a lot of Investment Brokers Fexco, NCB etc.... 

If I were you I would look further a field i.e. UK


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## Murt10 (29 Dec 2009)

tiger said:


> How about?
> [broken link removed]
> [broken link removed]



Havn't heard much of him lately (thank God). 

Maybe he has moved offshore to Cape Verde, where he was advising people to invest their money in off plan apartments, even though he had never been there himself. 

Come to think of it, I hav'nt heard of Cape Verde this year, either. I presume anyone who invested there is licking their wounds.


Murt


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## bullworth (30 Dec 2009)

The name Warren Buffett  is famous because he has spent over 30 to 40 years producing above average investment returns. Anyone who wants to call themselves a ''Warren Buffett'' should serve their time and point to their 30 or 40 year track record. Otherwise they're just  spin merchants or graduates with ambition and advertising. Noone with a 10 year track record can seriously be compared to Warren Buffett. When another long term successful investor like Warren Buffett appears we will all know about it but until then he has to prove himself over 30 to 40 years like the original has.


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