is 20 percent a year possible, page-21

Fixator,
It amazes me the number of people who go on about stop losses. I personally never use them. The 3 stocks I mentioned UMC/RWD/GIR have all made me huge gains this year & if I used stop losses on them, I would not currently be holding any of theses stocks. I know its important to avoid big losses but I believed enough in UMC to see it rise from 37 cents, top out at $1.15 plus then fall to close to 37 cents before starting its run gain. Similiar variation stories for GIR & RWD. I have always been happy to stay with company's story as long as I believed in the company's future or until a better opportunity comes along. i.e. sold CNP at a loss to increase exposure to RWD & GIR. If you had used stop losses on FMG you would not currently be enjoying its success same with PDN. MAK is another story where stop losses would have had you out of the market.
You point about not chasing winners is very good. You only really need one good idea for the year, so you need patience to let that idea come to you. The times when you chase ideas & companies thinking they may be the next best thing is when it doesn't happen. Also need to exercise patience once position is established as most times it takes time for things to happen i.e. UMC has plenty more drilling & results that will continue to build the story, just the same as RWD is still in its early days pricewise.
Its very important to be able to establish potential valuations of stocks i.e. use rough DCF valuations to see if stock represents value.
Regards
Buffett
PS no investment advice given everyone has to develop their own style of investing.