Of all of the asset classes that investors have the option in which to invest, Pabrai argues that common stocks have proven to offer the best returns. While investors also have the option of buying (and selling) individual businesses, Pabrai offers the following advantages of the stock market:
- With an entire business, you have to run it, or find someone who can. To be successful, this requires an enormous amount of dedication.
- In the stock market, you're buying a business that is already staffed, yet you still get to share in the earnings.
- With whole businesses, often the sellers know a lot more about the business than the buyers, and furthermore the prices offered are not usually as attractive as they can be in the stock market.
- Buying an entire business requires a large investment. In the stock market, however, you can start with just a tiny amount of capital, and add to that capital over the years - a tremendous advantage.
- The selection offered to buyers of private businesses does not compare to that offered by the stock market. With a few brokerage accounts, the investor has the option to purchase from 100,000 companies worldwide. On the other hand, how many private businesses are for sale with a 25 mile radius of the investor?
- In the purchase of a private business, transaction costs can add a good 5 to 10% to the price of the transaction. The frictional costs in the stock market, however, even for an extremely active investor, are extraordinarily low.
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