Monday, November 24, 2008  Lazy Man's Diversification, Part I:
Berkshire Hathaway  Visitors to The Jaded Consumer will
doubtless have noticed me pointing out the views of Warren
Buffett in connection with timing purchases, choosing an
investment horizon, and deciding where the economy is going. One
thing not much discussed is how to make money off Buffett's own
investment decisions. So, how can you do it?  There is a very
simple way to bet on the judgment of Warren Buffett, and to
obtain a low-overhead, nicely-diversified portfolio of
investments in the bargain. Buy Berkshire Hathaway.  For the
bargain investor, the route is surely to buy the B shares, a
class of shares with reduced voting power designed to enable
retail investors to participate without forcing them to cough up
something on the order of six figures per share (that's
excluding any decimals). The B shares have traded from over
$5000 apiece to just $2000, and are currently trading at $3300
(though when I started writing this piece, the number wa