5 Stocks Buffett Gives the Green Light in His 2012 Letter
0.24%April 23 | MyPlanIQ portfolio symbol P_36938

We continue to look for stock ideas for the long term investor and  Matt Koppenheffer summarizes the picks that Warren Buffett highlights in his annual letter. There is nothing that can be added to what it means to be selected by the Oracle from Omaha and probably these stocks will have a pop from his recommendation, however, it is worth investigating them.

• IBM (IBM) Buffett's company took a hefty stake in IBM which was driven by Buffett himself
• Wells Fargo (WFC) was one of those referenced in his statement"these holdings as partnership interests in wonderful businesses, not as marketable securities to be bought or sold based on their near-term prospects."
• Bank of America (BAC) Bank of America has been through the wringer but Buffett gives the CEO credit for nurturing a huge and attractive underlying business that will endure after the current are consigend to history.
• CSX (CSX) is a proxy for BNSF -- which Berkshire owns. So what applies to BNSF applies to CSX and they are approximately the same size
• Procter & Gamble (PG)  is a proxy Matt slipped in for Coca-Cola or Wrigley which I will replace with Coke (KO) as that is what was referenced.
• Buffett notes that the simple approach of "buy commodities, sell brands" has "long been a formula for business success."

This is a list of well known names but the banks will probably weigh down short term performance. In any case, it will be interesting to measure against our dividend bearing ETF portfolio: