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Comment by valarauca1 | Hacker News Reader

Warren Buffett is known for not investing in things he doesn't completely understand. He's the type of investor who only invests if he can completely wrap his mind around the business model at hand. Which is why he doesn't invest largely in the technology sector.

Several times in the past he's consistently said tech companies such as; "Apple", "Google", and "Facebook" are far to risky of investments. He didn't invest in IBM until 2012.

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Do you have sources where he specifically says Apple, Google, and Facebook are "far too risky of investments?" Genuine question. I know he largely avoids tech stocks as they're not in his core competency, and he also justifiable avoided investing in the dotcom bubble.

It's oversimplifying to say he avoids them because they're not his core competency; he avoids them because valuing them is not anybody's core competency. Their value comes from products that are too lacking in historical context to lend them the degree of reliability he's aiming for in an investment.

He also seeks out companies whose stock has a history of producing ongoing income for investors in the form of a regular dividend. Tech companies rarely offer this. Without a dividend, the value an investor derives from the stock hinges solely on its current price. Dividend income diversifies this, providing a return even if the stock remains flat and buffering losses if you need to sell short.

CNBC from 2012 http://www.cnbc.com/id/47307200

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47307200 http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2012/05/07/warren-bu... http://online.wsj.com/community/groups/market-view-845/topic...

"He stays away" is not the same as "he recommends everyone stay away". He's not saying "I don't understand it, make sure you do before you invest." He's saying "investing is a bad move, period."

He also didn't invest in Enron, though. Just saying.

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