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BUFFETT: Don't play the 'stupid' IPO game

'Follow your own course'

Warren Buffett participates in the newspaper tossing challenge at the Clayton Home in the exhibit hall during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ryan Henriksen (REUTERS)

For the first time in the company’s history, Berkshire Hathaway is live streaming its annual shareholder meeting on Yahoo Finance.

Warren Buffett couldn't care less about those who have struck it rich in the frenzy of IPO activity in recent years.

“You don’t have to really worry about what’s really going on in IPOs. People win lotteries every day but there's no reason to let that affect [your investing strategy] at all,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday. “You have to find what makes sense and follow your own course.”

Staying true to his oft-cited advice for the average investor seeking long-term growth, Buffett gave the verbal equivalent of an eye roll to anyone who tries to game the market.

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“If they want to do mathematically unsound things and one person gets lucky … it’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “You don't want to get into a stupid game just because it's available.”

Buffett’s famous for supporting the use of low-cost index funds for the average investor, pointing to lessons he gleaned from the 1949 tome “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham and the more recent “Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor” by Vanguard founder Jack Bogle.

Buffett also had a singular piece of advice for investors deciding where to invest.

“When you buy a stock you get yourself in the mental frame of mind that you're buying a business,” he said.

Once you’ve chosen your investments, leave them be.

“If you don't look at a quote on [your holdings] for five years, that’s fine. You don’t get a quote on your farm every day or every week or every month. You don't get one on your apartment or house,” he said.

At the very least, “You want to look at your stocks as businesses,” the Buffett added. “Think about what you pay for them as you would think about buying a business and let the rest of the world go its own way.”

More wisdom from Buffett:

Buffett's 7 best pieces of investing advice

18 lessons from Buffett on finances, life and finding a job you love

Why should I care about Warren Buffett?

Yahoo Finance Exclusive live stream
Yahoo Finance Exclusive live stream

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Yahoo Finance Exclusive live stream