Investment Principle: It is more important to take it steadily than to take it correctly

Recently, major companies have begun to release their second-quarter financial reports, and various fund companies have started to publish their holdings data. Compared to some "surprising" or particularly outstanding financial reports and data, I find it more interesting to see the insightful comments from well-known investors.

For example, in Berkshire Hathaway's latest holdings, they have once again reduced their stake in Apple and increased their position in a previously lesser-known company, UnitedHealth Group (UNH).

Many financial articles have speculated whether Apple is hiding some risks. Did Buffett see some underlying issues with Apple?

In short, there are various speculations about whether there are problems with Apple's fundamentals, which is why Buffett would sell.

Upon reading these articles, my first feeling was that something was off; I thought their speculations were a bit absurd.

If we take a closer look at Buffett's holdings, we will find that Apple is still one of his largest positions. If Buffett believed that there were fundamental issues with Apple, he would have sold out completely or at least made a significant reduction, rather than just trimming his position.

In fact, this is not the first time Buffett has reduced his stake in Apple; he did so last year as well.

At that time, Duan Yongping's comments on Buffett's reduction were quite interesting and prescient.

In a commentary on August 4 last year, he wrote:

"I can understand why old Buffett sold some Apple shares; after all, this is not a field he is very comfortable in, and it has become so high for reasons he may not fully understand. Plus, he might have many alternatives in mind, or simply feels that the current stock market is too high and wants to keep some cash to wait for opportunities. If Apple's stock price remains so strong, I wouldn't be surprised if old Buffett sells out completely."

To summarize, Duan Yongping believes that Buffett's reasons for reducing his stake in Apple are as follows:

• The price is too high.

• If Apple's price continues to be strong, Buffett will continue to reduce his stake.

• He sells to buy other alternative companies or simply to hold cash for opportunities.

Looking back at Duan Yongping's comments now, it feels like he and Buffett share a deep understanding, akin to the bond between Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi—only true confidants can understand and interpret each other's actions and thoughts.

I particularly resonate with Duan Yongping's mention that Apple is not a field Buffett is comfortable in, which led to his selling.

This reminds me of the feeling I had before I completely sold off Tesla a while ago—I was always restless, sensing something was off, that there were issues.

It's not that Tesla is a bad stock, but at least at that time, I felt that Tesla was not a company I was comfortable with. Rather than holding onto such a company, it was better to let go completely and find something that suited me better and felt more comfortable to hold.

Since last year, I have developed a new habit: every quarter, when major companies release their financial reports and various institutions publish their positions, I intentionally look at the financial media's commentary on these reports and positions—not to follow them for various operations, but to use these examples to train my understanding and judgment of their actions, and then compare my judgments with those of well-known investors to see the differences in viewpoints and the reasons behind those differences.

I have found that this is a great opportunity to enhance my understanding and cognition.

In fact, those comments from Duan Yongping on Buffett's actions have been recorded in the transcripts of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings, and I have read them multiple times.

However, reading them does not mean that I truly understand them, nor does it mean I can form my own viewpoints and cognition. To truly make them my own, I need to practice and test them repeatedly in real situations.

And these financial reports and commentaries provide the best practical training.