Buffett Beyond Value: Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing Hardcover – Illustrated, March 1, 2010

I am an extreme Buffett fan. I try to read everything about Buffett and the investment moves he has made or is making. I have attended several Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings. I have taught a course on the fundamentals of investing at American University. And in my view, Professor Jain makes a uniquely valuable contribution in his examination of Buffett's investing approach. While keeping the discussion at a level that is easy to understand, this book offers useful information both for readers without a technical background who are interested in understanding that approach, and for those like me, who are already very familiar with it. Jain's perspective in analyzing Buffett's investing style from his area of expertise -- accounting and finance -- adds important dimensions to his discussion. He emphasizes aspects that forced me to reexamine concepts I already knew, and also presents information I did not know. For example, I am familiar with the influence of Benjamin Graham on Buffett's investing style -- the "cigar butt" approach, according to which you buy the stock of a company that is within your circle of competence, and buy it where the price is significantly below the intrinsic value of the firm (i.e., with a margin of safety.) I also knew of Charlie Munger's and Phillip Fisher's influence in modifying Buffett's approach toward one of investing in higher quality companies with growth prospects -- buy stock in a company with good growth prospects while paying a "fair" price, as opposed to buying stock in a lower quality company at a "great" price. But Jain's insightful discussion of this concept has prompted me to reconsider and modify my own investing style, to pay greater attention to the importance of good management for companies with growth prospects. Details like the footnotes about the efficient market hypothesis also enrich the book for the more technically sophisticated reader. Some of the important topics that Jain discusses are: 1) Buffett's concept of risk; 2) Estimating intrinsic value of a firm; 3) Diversification; 4) Market efficiency; 5) Dividends; 6) Firm's repurchasing shares; and 7) Psychology, the market and you. Overall, Jain presents a highly readable examination of Buffett's investing approach and offers some new insights. I highly recommend this book.

Study this book as part of a graduate program, and it was by far one of the better books I've read over the last two years. It has a friendly narrative tone, is insightful, and gives you some feeling as to how the man has been shaped, and thus informs his decision-making practices. The book does wander from time to time, and the tempo isn't always consistent — either way worth the read, and pretty good for a business book.

Among the many books written about Warren Buffett, there is a dearth of serious analytical thinking about his investment style and what makes him a successful investor. Jain's book fills the gap by providing analytical rigor in studying Buffett's successful investment philosophy, and in the process cleared up many of the puzzles surrounding the legendary success of Berkshire Hathaway. The questions this book answers with compelling persuasiveness include whether Buffett really is a value investor; how important is the role of management of a company and what aspects in particular; are monopolies a good thing; what role does psychology play. Jain's excellent analysis is readily accessible to all reeaders with an interest in investment, be they professional or trying to manage their own nest egg. The book sets a high standard for serious yet simply and elegantly written books about investment, of which there are unfortunately very few, while the attention grabbing books promising to make millions overnight crowd the bookshelevs but do not stand up to scrutiny or the test of time. While the value of this book will be recognized by some only after applying its insights patiently for a few years, the real contribution is in providing a structure and method to investing that investors serious about careful investment can apply immediately, while enjoying the process and learning through their own investing. Jain's book is a valuable and rare contribution to educating investors in the value of careful analysis and investment, which as Buffett has shown, has stood the test of time both during boom times and in times of market volatility. This book is not just about how to invest wisely, but also educational, a difficult balancing act that Jain has managed to execute with skill. Highly recommended reading!

Using many examples from Buffett's investments, this book gives you a good sense of how Buffett most probably thinks about investing. The book also explains why Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway's stock has been a great buy over the years and why it continues to be a great buy with high intrinsic value. The two chapters on psychology are also a breath of fresh air. They are easy to read and cover unique material that is usually not covered in most investment books. Overall, the most important lesson from Mr. Buffett seems to be that an investor should always think about investing for the long term, never for the next month or even the next year. Most of Buffett's investments have been for ten years or longer. The author also suggests that an investor should pay very little attention to `talking heads' on business news channels. This is a sane advice for sure. I recommend the book highly.