Warren Buffett says the recent stock market volatility is “really nothing” to worry about. He made these comments at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday.
“What has happened in the last 30, 45 days, 100 days, whenever you want to pick, whatever this period has been, is really nothing,” Buffett said.
“This has not been a dramatic bear market or anything of the sort.”
The S&P 500 is down about 3% this year. At its lows, the index was down over 19% from its record high. But for Buffett, this is just part of investing.
He pointed out that there have been three times in Berkshire’s history when the stock fell 50%. Despite these drops, Buffett said there was no fundamental issue with the company. “I don’t get fearful of things that other people are afraid of in a financial way,” he said. “Let’s say Berkshire went down 50% next week, I would regard that as a fantastic opportunity, and it wouldn’t bother me in the least.”
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Buffett also shared some investment wisdom.
He said if you’re someone who gets excited when things look good and afraid when things look bad, then the stock market is a “terrible place to get involved.
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Buffett dismisses volatility concerns
If it makes a difference to you whether your stocks are down 15%, you need to get a somewhat different investment philosophy,” Buffett said. “The world is not going to adapt to you. You’re going to have to adapt to the world.”
He reminded investors that the market has climbed significantly over his 94-year lifetime.
On his birthday in 1930, the market index stood at 240 and fell as low as 41. Despite many challenging events, the blue-chip average recently finished above 41,300. “People have emotions,” he added. “But you’ve got to check them at the door when you invest.”
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