On Oct 16, 2008, value investor and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times called "Buy American. I Am."
This Op-Ed appeared in print on Oct 17, at the height of the financial crisis when stocks had plunged and were swinging wildly day to day.
In fact, on the day he wrote the Op-Ed, on Oct 16, the S&P 500 swung 4% from the low to the high in just that single day. It opened at 909, fell to 865, surged to 947 before closing at 946. The Dow had a similar volatile day, opening at 8577, trading as high as 9013 before closing at 8979. That's a swing of 5%.
But amidst all the noise and the scary volatility, Mr. Buffett was urging calm.
He wrote:
"THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.
Mr. Buffett was a little early with his buying. We now know the stock markets actually hit bottom around March 9, 2009.
However, from the market close on the date his Op-Ed appeared in print, Oct 17, 2008, to the close yesterday, Feb 12, 2013, if you had followed Mr. Buffett's advice and bought the S&P 500 and the Dow, you would be up 61.6% in the S&P and 58.4% in the Dow.