Warren Edward Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett

CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

August 30, 1930 (age 92)

Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

Net Worth: $105.3B

#5  richest man in the world today

One of the wealthiest and most well-known business people in the world, Warren Buffett is referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha.” He is also an expert on investments. Buffett is the head of Berkshire Hathaway, which controls dozens of businesses, including the food chain Dairy Queen, the battery manufacturer Duracell, and the insurance Geico. He initially purchased shares at age 11 and first filed taxes at age 13, both as the son of a U.S. congressman.

“Rational people don’t risk what they have and need for what they don’t have and don’t need” – Warren Buffett 

Investment Philosophy & Strategy

Buffett adheres to the Benjamin Graham school of value investing, which seeks out stocks with unreasonably low prices relative to their underlying value. Buffett examines businesses as a whole rather than concentrating on the intricate supply and demand dynamics of the stock market. He has long maintained the opinion that consumers should only purchase stocks in companies that display excellent fundamentals, significant earnings power, and the possibility for future growth. Buffett is a fervent supporter of the value-based investing philosophy. 

Investment Methodology

Buffett benefits from the power of compound interest, dividend reinvestment, and the ability to continuously reinvest operating cash flow produced by Berkshire’s businesses. How effective is this? Since Buffett took over in 1964, Berkshire has generated an annualized return of 20.1% on average, vs 10.5% for the S&P 500. 

Top Holding

Buffett’s five largest holdings, making up more than half of the stock portfolio (AXP, Financial).

  • Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial)
  • Bank of AmericaBAC -0.9% Corp. (BAC, Financial)
  • Chevron Corp. (CVXCVX +1.9%, Financial)
  • Coca-ColaKO -0.7% Co. (KO, Financial)
  • American ExpressAXP -1.2% Co

Carl Icahn

Founder, Icahn Capital Management

February 16, 1936 (age 86 years)

Queens, New York, United States

Net Worth: $17.6B

One of the most successful people on Wall Street is Carl Icahn. Using Drexel Burnham’s junk bonds, this corporate thief rose to the status of vulture capitalist in the 1980s. He invested in publicly traded firms and at first demanded radical changes in their corporate leadership and management methods. He was frequently the victim of “greenmail” payments from targets on the condition that he leave them alone.

His reputation transformed by the turn of the 20th century as a shareholder activist. Investors bought into the companies he focused on after following his lead. The “Icahn lift” refers to the increase in stock price brought on by the belief that Icahn would uncover shareholder value.

Investment Philosophy & Strategy:

Icahn follows a value investment philosophy, much like fellow billionaire investor Warren Buffett. In general, Icahn is drawn to stocks that don’t completely capture the potential of the companies. According to Icahn, he invests in a business when “no one wants it.”

Notably, this technique necessitates that a stock purchase be considered an investment in a company. So a follower of Icahn’s approach should be conversant with how the company runs before buying a stock. Icahn is interested in learning about aspects of a business that many people frequently overlook as the market and analysts are concentrated on quarterly, yearly, and stock price projections. This is an example of a contrarian investment strategy.

Investment Methodology:

Icahn’s experience with TWA would influence him to prioritize raising the share price of his companies by compel the sale of the undervalued assets of the business. Greenmail payments made directly to Icahn could have been an alternative consequence.

Typically, Icahn would purchase a sizable chunk of the company’s stock and then put forth his own slate of candidates for election to the board of directors at the annual meeting.

This strategy was employed by Icahn to compel USX, the corporate offspring of Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel, to separate its steelmaking businesses and concentrate on the petroleum industry through Marathon Oil. Both share classes increased by 28% in 1991 after a second class of USX shares was created to reflect the steel industry.

Top Holdings:

  1. (NASDAQ:IEP), 
  2. Sandridge Energy (NYSE:SD)
  3. Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE:NWL)
  4. Dana Inc. (NYSE:DAN)
  5. Welbilt Inc. (NYSE:WBT)
  6. Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC)

Jim Simons

Jim Simons 

Defense Analyst – Investor

25th April, 1938 (84)

Brookline, Massachusetts

New Worth: $29B

Jim Simons, a prominent mathematician and investor who this year ranked 48th on Forbes’ list of U.S. billionaires, with a net worth of $29 billion. His success has been critical in Wall Street’s shift to systematic models and an algorithmic approach, with almost all transactions now processed in this manner.

Investment Philosophy & Strategy:

As a prominent mathematician and investor, Simons’ strategies can be found in the success of his firm Renaissance Technologies and its Medallion Fund. Simons’ investment strategy is based on identifying and locating market patterns, which are movements that repeat over time and become predictable. Once identified, their dependability is evaluated using algorithms in so-called back testing. By 1982, he had established Renaissance Technologies, a prestigious quantitative trading hedge fund firm that manages approximately $55 billion. 1988, Renaissance established its most profitable fund Renaissance is well-known for its Medallion Fund, a $10 billion black box strategy available only to company owners and employees. From 2001 through 2013, the fund’s worst year was a 21 percent gain, after subtracting fees. Medallion reaped a 98.2 percent gain in 2008, the year the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 38.5 percent.

The magic behind Jim Simons’ trading strategies consists of collecting an enormous amount of data and analyzing the data to find statistical patterns and non-random events in a wide range of markets. Furthermore, Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies have managed to put together a hard-working and secretive team that generates plenty of testable strategies. The employees have skin in the game, and unfortunately for us outsiders, few of Medallion’s strategies end up outside their offices.

Investment Methodology: 

Simons founded the Monemetrics hedge fund in 1978, which allowed him to realize that pattern recognition could be applied to financial market trading, and he incorporated quantitative analysis into his investment strategy. As a result, he is known as the “Quant King “. Quantitative trading (also known as quant trading) employs computer algorithms and programs based on simple or complex mathematical models to identify and capitalize on available trading opportunities. Quants develop algorithms based on real-time data such as prices and quotes. The term “quant trader” refers to traders who perform quantitative analysis and other related activities.

Top Holdings

  1. NVO Novo-nordisk A-s
  2. MSFT Microsoft Corp
  3. ABNB Airbnb Inc 
  4. HSY Hershey Co
  5. AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc
  6. VRTX Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc
  7. GILD Gilead Sciences Inc
  8. VRSN Verisign Inc
  9. ZM Zoom Video Communications Inc
  10. KR Kroger Co

Steven A. Cohen

Hedge fund manager – Investor 

11th June, 1956(66 years old)

 Great Neck, New York, United States

Net Worth: $17.2 billion

Steven A. Cohen is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Point72, a registered investment advisor with over 2,000 employees. Mr. Cohen established S.A.C. Capital Advisors in 1992 and transferred his investment operations to Point72 Asset Management in 2014. Mr. Cohen acquired the legendary New York Mets major league baseball franchise in 2020 and now serves as the team’s Chairman and CEO.

Investment Philosophy & Strategy:

Steven Cohen urges investors to make informed investment decisions. It is critical not to emulate other trading styles. Everyone should conduct their own study and develop their own trading strategy. One of the most common mistakes made when investing in stocks and Equity funds is losing focus. Steven Cohen once stated that rather than knowing little about everything, one should know everything about something. He believes it is critical to stay motivated when trading stocks and investing in investment options. When it comes to stock market success, passion can help one make good selections. One thing to take away from his investing technique is to acquire an interest in investments. Steven Cohen believes psychology plays a big role when it comes to investing. Steven Cohen has been one of the pioneers when it comes to investing and earning profits.

Steven A. Cohen is well-known for his use of high-risk, high-reward trading tactics. Cohen’s business evolved and broadened its investment strategy, employing a variety of methods like as long/short equity portfolios, fixed income, and global quantitative strategies. The Firm’s fundamental strategy and largest asset class is long/short equity. It employs a multi-manager platform as well as a sector-aligned strategy. Macro investments and insights are informed by a fundamental bottom-up research methodology.

Investment Methodology:

Cohen’s firm success was built on high-risk, high-reward trades. Cohen’s first approach to investment management was aggressive, high-volume trading. Stock positions were held for 2 to 30 days, or even hours in some situations. Cohen’s approach was to generate money by holding stocks for only a few days or hours and exchanging 20 million shares per day. Cohen amassed a fortune through high-frequency trading, never holding a stock for an extended period of time. He is known as the king of hedge funds and a professional in short-term transactions. Steven Cohen’s trading style is readily stated as the polar opposite of Warren Buffett’s strategy. Mr. Buffett, as we all know, prefers to make investments for the future.

Top Holdings:

  1. Arista Networks, Inc.
  2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) 
  3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) 
  4. Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)
  5. Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) 

Peter Lynch

Investor

January 19, 1944 (age 78)

Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.

New Worth: $450M

One of history’s most prosperous and well-known investors is Peter Lynch. The renowned Lynch served as the previous manager of the Magellan Fund at the prestigious investment firm Fidelity. At the age of 33, he took over the fund and oversaw it for 13 years. At age 46, he was able to retire in 1990 because of his accomplishments. Lynch’s approach to investing has been characterized as flexible to the economic climate of the time, but he always emphasized that you should be able to comprehend what you possess.

“You never can predict the economy. You can’t predict the stock market.” – Peter Lynch

Investment Philosophy & Strategy

Lynch invests in “stories.” In other words, each stock choice is based on a realistic forecast of the company’s growth potential. The expectations are formed from the “narrative” of the company, which describes what the organization plans to accomplish or what will occur in order to achieve the intended goals. Lynch is a strong proponent of investing in companies whose products or services are generally simple to understand or with which one is familiar. Lynch claims that instead of investing in satellite communications, he would rather do so in “pantyhose” and “motel chains” instead of fiber optics.

Investment Methodology

Peter Lynch takes a strictly bottom-up method, choosing firms from the investor’s known list and then conducting fundamental analysis, emphasizing in-depth knowledge of the business, its future, its market, and if the stock can be bought at a fair price.

Top Holdings

  1.  Fidelity Magellan Fund
  2. Ambika Cotton Mills Ltd.
  3. GM Breweries Ltd
  4. Panama Petrochem Ltd.
  5. WestRock
  6. Maithan Alloys
  7. Jindal Poly Films
  8. D-link India
  9. Chaman Lal Setia Exports Ltd.
  10. Mindtree
  11. Cigniti Technologies Limited
  12. Menon Bearings Ltd.
  13. Sutlej Textiles and Industries Ltd.
  14. CMS Info Systems
  15. Balaji Amines Ltd.