David Winters Quotes
110 David Winters Quotes
1 2 3
[In July 2007.] We do a tremendous amount of reading.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] There are a tremendous number of things that are unknowable.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] Think about how much time people spend obsessing about what the next move by the Fed will be. I don’t know what it will be, and it really shouldn’t matter if you’re making good long-term investments.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] Judgement is such an important element in this whole business.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] Oftentimes the best people in the investment business are not the 22 year olds who are often the champions in the professional sports, but the 72 year olds. As long as they keep learning and they love the business, it’s all about thinking and implementing and change. That’s why I think it’s the greatest business in the world. You can do it forever.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] One of my heroes was a guy named Phil Carret, who passed away a couple of years ago. And Phil was over 100 years old when he died, and was just incredible. He was so sharp, and over a full life I think he probably became an even better investor.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] The investment business has gotten bifurcated [Divided into two branches.] into an index-hugging model that most of the large complexes are doing… At the other extreme are highly leveraged compensation models.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] When we study who’s done really well in the business, it’s taken long periods of time… It has not been done by hyperactive trading or deals.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] Cash is great, we love cash. And today you get paid 5% to hold onto cash while you wait for the investment you want to be available at the price you like.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] Cash is a beautiful thing, not only us having cash, but we love companies that have cash. Because as long as they have the right management they can be opportunistic on buying back stock, doing deals, paying dividends etc…
David Winters
[In July 2007 on Japanese Tobacco.] We don’t advocate smoking, but we do think the economics of the business are good.
David Winters
[In July 2007 on investing in Berkshire Hathaway.] Berkshire has provided not only direct financial benefits, but there have been ancillary benefits because studying that company has improved how I think.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] I think that if you can find 4 or 5 great investments and ride them, it’s probably going to be a lumpier way to investment nirvana, but it works.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] We don’t want tot put it all on black with leverage. That’s not our style.
David Winters
[In July 2007 on having cash available to take advantage of sudden opportunities.] We don’t agree with the idea of always being fully invested…
David Winters
[In July 2007.] You’ve got to find something you’re passionate about, that really makes you want to go the extra mile, because often times that’s what differentiates success in business.
David Winters
[In July 2007.] Most of the people that are really, really successful, I don’t think it was only money that motivated them.
David Winters
[In February 2008.] We view this as a gigantic after-Christmas sale.
David Winters
[In February 2008.] To have markets just go up all the time doesn't help a long-term investor.
David Winters
[In February 2008.] I didn't feel comfortable with the incentive structure of a hedge fund because it seemed to incentivize you too much in the short run.
David Winters
[In February 2008.] We're in an environment now where nobody wants to know anything about real estate. Yet, over time, if you buy real estate cheaply, it is unencumbered by debt and you are patient, you can make tons of dollars.
David Winters
[In June 2010 on the GFC.] The 2008-09 meltdown was worse than anything that I had seen in my career, and worse than almost anybody had ever seen. So what was good was that we had cash, and we were a buyer. We certainly were unable to get the timing exactly right. But the real lesson that came through was that if you can buy quality companies and quality businesses that are really beaten up, it should be, over time, a hugely profitable strategy.
David Winters
[In June 2010.] When we've studied people around the world who have really made a lot of money as investors or as business people, they thought of stocks as businesses.
David Winters
[In June 2010.] We live in a world where people want to trade constantly, and there are some people who succeed at that for short periods of time. But the most successful business people in almost every country have owned a good business and stuck with it.
David Winters
[In March 2013.] We really are focused on trying to find businesses that have pricing power.
David Winters
[In March 2013 on a business like Cartiers.] We love the watch-and-jewelry business, because it has tremendous pricing power. There is a lot of emotion involved in purchasing a watch or a ring or a necklace. So a lot of the decisions are less based on economics than on love and affection.
David Winters
[In March 2013.] We don't own leveraged financials. One of the lessons for us from the 2008 debacle was: Don't own leveraged black boxes because we don't know [what they're doing], and there isn't enough clarity.
David Winters
[In December 2013.] When safe high-quality assets yield a fraction of one percent, it isn’t surprising to see many investors flock to high-risk, high-reward investments, be it junk bonds or speculative equities… Classic fundamental analysis of business values, a keystone in true investing, was replaced with an insatiable desire for returns at any cost and often a failure to acknowledge the inherent risk of many investment vehicles.
David Winters
[In July 2014 on how he chooses companies to invest in.] The first is to find businesses with good or improving economics. Secondly, we look for management that works to benefit all shareholders, and thirdly we want an undervalued price. That methodology eliminates most securities in the world.
David Winters
[In December 2014.] As Mark Twain said, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does
rhyme. Buying quality companies with what we view as improving economics, management working on behalf of all shareholders, and a compelling price is Wintergreen’s goal.
David Winters
1 2 3
Return from David Winters Quotes to
Quoteswise.com