Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of all time, suggests that a person should not invest in a company or sector that he/she does not understand and/or whose products he/she would not buy. For example, a person who loves to shop at Target (NYSE: TGT), but hates Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) should consider the former over the latter. Warren Buffet, by the way, invests very little in technology, since he does not understand it. He has, however, made a couple of exceptions, at least that I’m aware of. He has purchased Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) because of his personal friendship with Bill Gates (they play bridge together several times a year), and he has purchased a huge chunk ($100 million) of Level 3 communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) because strong financial backing and impressive liquid resources made the stock, which once demanded $100 per share, a very attractive speculation with a share price in the single digits. (Maybe I should buy some.)
I’m a pretty active investor/trader (aside from my 401(k) contributions), usually focusing on technology stocks, since that’s the sector with which I’m most familiar. I’m sure there are many people out there who also invest in technology stocks, and/or may have some valuable insight into which companies might offer the best investment opportunities. What are some of the best technology companies today – best being defined as having a strong financial position (Microsoft, for example, is sitting on a pile of cash and assets close to $50 billion), great products, best long term outlook, the best potential, etc.
A few that I like:
Checkpoint (NASDAQ: CHKP)
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Red Hat (NASDAQ: RHAT)
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL)
Comments on my favorites are very welcomed.
Let’s put the political differences and war talk aside, and perhaps discuss something we can all agree on – how to maximize the return on our investment. We all invest in technology, whether that investment is made with time or dollars, and getting the highest return is only a natural desired outcome.
(It looks like this is a combination on-topic and off-topic. Who can complain?)
