We always believe some of the best investment advice comes from looking at those that are successful around us. The same reason you come to us to find out relative profitable information to help you find the right investments, we also do this by scanning the industry and the experts in the fields and more specifically those that are making ungodly amounts of money. Case in point….
With the help of our Fool peers here is a quick look at the stocks making it into Warren Buffet’s portfolio.
When it comes to investing, there’s a heck of a lot that Buffett can do that I simply can’t. For instance, back in the fear-filled days of 2008, he wrangled preferred stock yielding 10% from both Goldman Sachs and General Electric (NYSE: GE). He’s also been able to snatch up great privately held companies like See’s Candies and swallow whole public companies such as Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Such is the benefit of a sterling reputation, an eye for bargains, and a massive balance sheet.
But when it comes to common stocks, I can go after the exact same shares that Buffett is buying for Berkshire. And when it comes to one stock in particular, I am most definitely on the same page as Buffett. It’s Berkshire’s largest stock holding. It’s a staple among consumer staples. It is, of course, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).
Here are some similar stocks like Coca-Cola that we agree have the merits for us to buy and hold on to.
- Altria (NYSE: MO) and Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) may leave a bad taste in some investors’ mouths (no pun intended) since their business is slinging tobacco products. But as far as finding a business with a rock star of a product at its core, these two companies may out-Coke Coke. In the U.S. the Marlboro brand commands an amazing 42% of the cigarette market, and internationally it’s been the top brand since 1972. Marlboro’s 302 billion cigarettes sold internationally in 2009 beat the next three competitors combined.
- Diageo (NYSE: DEO) could likewise be categorized as “sin stock,” but I’d prefer to categorize it as simply sinfully successful. Just as nothing needs to be done to keep the Coke product successful, Diageo doesn’t need to do much to keep leading brands like Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Captain Morgan, and Jose Cuervo — to name a few — trucking along. Motley Fool Income Investor advisor James Early recently made Diageo his pick for The Motley Fool’s “11 O’Clock Stock” series, largely because of its amazing brand portfolio.
- Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) doesn’t have a single product that provides the foundation of the company, but instead it has large portfolio of products. P&G does more tweaking to its products than Coke — think about the changes to Gillette razors or innovations for Pampers diapers — but brands like Tide, Vicks, Oral-B, Scope, Zest, and Old Spice don’t need significant technological advancements to keep the dollars rolling in.
