Buffett cautious amid IPO rush

Sometimes you think you've seen everything that can possibly happen when it comes to investing and finance.

Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Scott Phillips is The Motley Fool’s Chief Investment Officer in Australia. He is Advisor of The Fool’s flagship investment service, Motley Fool Share Advisor and the Portfolio Manager of Motley Fool Everlasting Income and Premier Portfolio, as well as running our most premium service, Motley Fool Platinum. He is passionate about investing, having managed his own portfolio for over 15 years. A dyed-in-the-wool Fool (in the best way), he has been a member of The Motley Fool since 1999. Scott holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Management) and a Graduate Diploma of Accounting. Before joining The Fool, Scott worked in various Sales and Finance roles in industry, which has allowed him to see the good, bad and the ugly of corporate management close-up. Giving him a great understanding of the way businesses run – and what separates the business wheat from the chaff – Scott wholeheartedly agrees with Warren Buffett when he said he was a ‘better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor’. Scott left a successful career to follow his passion – helping our members achieve the best possible investment returns, and helping Australians learn to better manage their money. It’s no surprise he ended up at The Motley Fool.

Published September 21, 2013 7:50 am AEST

Sometimes you think you've seen everything that can possibly happen when it comes to investing and finance.

And then the Winklevoss twins prove you wrong, again.

This time, they've suggested that Bitcoins – the virtual would-be currency – could be a national currency one day (https://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/business-it/bitcoin-could-become-a-nations-currency-winklevoss-twins-20130918-hv1rm.html). Yes, the brothers famous for claiming they really were the brains behind the birth of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) have decided that an online payment method preferred mostly by criminals and paranoid anti-government types might one day carry the head of a sovereign on its obverse.

You know, I could possibly be wrong. But the odds of that are pretty small, with the possible exception that a rogue government might just think the idea is just crazy enough to work.

Yes, I'm looking at you, North Korea.

But let's face it – the imprimatur of Kim Jong Un would be the exception to prove this particular rule. No-one has ever invoked the North Korean leadership as moral authority – and that's unlikely to start any time soon.

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Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips own shares in Berkshire Hathaway.

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