Warren Buffett can’t understand why his investment strategy isn’t copied more often

And now for another nugget from Warren Buffett’s talk with MBA students at Richard Ivey School of Business (based on notes from market folly).

Why haven’t more people copied his investment strategy? Buffett replies:

I don’t know! It’s not about high IQ. It just seems not to resonate with some people and talking about it or showing them the performance/results won’t help. They just don’t feel good about it. I am also puzzled by why value investing hasn’t caught on. I mean, what other type of investing is there? You want something other than value? But the things is, people just don’t want to believe. They elect things that are emotionally satisfying.Even if you show them the results, they still don’t believe you. However, eventually proof comes through results.

So what is value investing? It involves techniques like looking for low price-to-earnings ratios, but basically it comes down to a philosophy. Says Buffett:

Value investors are not concerned with getting rich tomorrow. People who want to get rich quickly, will not get rich at all. There is nothing wrong with getting rich slowly. Remember we both sleep on the same mattress and eat the same food.

Buffett also discussed the moment he realized getting rich would be easy, why college isn’t for everyone, and why he would never live in New York City.