When Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of diversified holding company Berkshire Hathaway on 31 December, he was a remarkable 95 years old.

After spearheading Berkshire Hathaway for some 60 years, he handed the reins over to Greg Abel, who’s been with the company since 1999.

But Buffett, being the man that he is, still keeps his finger on the market’s pulse, working from the company office and advising Abel.

What you may not know is that Warren Buffett started his career with very little money. But by the 1980s he’d notched up his first billion dollars. And, as of January this year, he was reported to be worth almost US$149 billion.

With that astonishing success in mind, here are three golden investing rules immortalised by the Oracle of Omaha that we would all do well to keep in mind.

Why Warren Buffett advises patience

While it’s tempting to believe we can out think our fellow investors, the reality is that timing the market correctly is very difficult, and requires more than a bit of luck.

Indeed, I’m not aware of a single investor who has managed to consistently time their entry and exits into the market correctly over the long-term.

And when it comes to the billions of dollars Warren Buffett amassed over the years, day trading certainly wasn’t part of his strategy.

“The stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient,” he famously opined.

Which ties into this Buffett investing nugget, “I don’t invest to make a quick profit. I buy stocks with the mindset that the market might shut down tomorrow and stay closed for five years.”

So, the next time you’re tempted to buy or sell an ASX share simply because it’s getting a lot of media attention or has made some big daily moves, you may want to think again.

Instead look for quality companies, with sizeable barriers to competitor entry and solid long-term growth potential.

And then be patient.

Stick with the things that you know

Warren Buffett is also well known for avoiding investing in companies or assets that he doesn’t understand. That’s one of the reasons he never bought into the crypto markets.

“You don’t have to be smart, as long as you stick to what you know,” Buffett said.

Now we all have our different areas of expertise. So, if you think you understand global crypto markets, that doesn’t mean you should steer clear as well.

But according to the Oracle of Omaha, you should only invest in a sector or company if you understand how it works.

Invest in ASX shares providing real world value

The best investments, Warren Buffet advises, provide real world value, not just market value.

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price,” he said.

Again, don’t let yourself join the herd in snapping up ASX shares that are the market darlings of the hour.

Instead look for companies with great brands, a strong proven management team, and the ability to control prices.

The post 3 golden investment rules immortalised by Warren Buffett appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The bring-forward rule just got bigger. Here’s what that means for your superannuation
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• James Hardie shares are flying. Here’s why the rally may not be over
• Oil prices are rising again. What does that mean for these ASX energy shares?
• WiseTech buys FRDM.ai. What does this mean for WiseTech shares?

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Oil prices are climbing hard again, and ASX energy shares are the most direct way to play the move.

The Brent crude price rose 3.4% overnight to US$94.07 per barrel, according to Bloomberg data.

That leaves the global benchmark up more than 31% since the beginning of July.

West Texas Intermediate has followed the same path, adding 3.3% to US$87.12 a barrel.

Renewed fighting in and around Iran, combined with fresh Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea, has put a war risk premium back into the crude market.

Traders are pricing the possibility that a meaningful volume of seaborne supply will not be able to reach the buyers who need it.

For Australian producers, these price rises flow almost straight through to the top line.

What higher oil prices mean for Santos

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) is one of the most direct ways to benefit from this trend on the ASX.

The company sells Brent-linked crude alongside LNG that is indexed to oil benchmarks, which means a rising oil price shows up in revenue with only a modest lag.

Shares closed yesterday at $7.85 and were changing hands for $7.94 in early trade on Thursday.

On top of the price rises, there is also volume growth helping to propel top line growth.

The Pikka Phase 1 development in Alaska is producing about 20,000 barrels per day.

Management is targeting a ramp to 80,000 barrels per day during the third quarter of 2026.

Barossa gas is now feeding Darwin LNG, adding a second source of oil-linked revenue, and as such, analysts are broadly positive.

TradingView data shows 12 of the 14 analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or strong buy, with an average price target of $8.48.

Beach Energy offers more leveraged exposure to oil prices

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) gives investors more a more leveraged way of benefiting from recent price increases.

The company is a smaller producer, so every extra dollar on the barrel is more important relative to a largely fixed cost base.

The catch is that around half of its sales volumes are east coast Australian gas, which does not track Brent tick for tick.

Bell Potter has retained a hold rating on Beach with a reduced price target of 95 cents, down from $1.15. The broker expects production growth to return in FY27 as capital expenditure eases.

That should enable positive free cash flow to support balance sheet deleveraging, as well as ongoing dividends.

The broker was also positive on Beach’s east coast gas exposure and cautious on global oil markets.

A closer look at the latest earnings

Santos released its June quarter update before market open on Thursday.

Sales revenue rose 6% quarter on quarter to $1.35 billion, with Barossa and Pikka both ramping up.

Beach reported quarterly production of 4.9 million barrels of oil equivalent and total revenue of $400 million for the June quarter.

Sales volumes fell 11% against the March quarter, largely reflecting the timing of Cooper Basin oil shipments.

The company also completed the sale of its operated interest in VIC/L35 for $70 million upfront plus a future gas production royalty.

A review of Beach’s capital management framework is underway, with an update expected at the full year result.

Foolish takeaway

Oil prices are doing most of the heavy lifting for both businesses right now.

What goes up can also come back down.

As a reminder, Santos fell 8% in a single session when an earlier peace deal broke down in June.

A geopolitical risk premium can evaporate as quickly as it appears.

I think investors buying either name today need to be comfortable owning the commodity cycle, not simply the company.

For those who are comfortable, higher oil prices make the short-term return potential considerably more attractive than at this point one month ago.

The post Oil prices are rising again. What does that mean for these ASX energy shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Santos share price lifting off on Thursday?
• Santos reports higher Q2 revenue as Barossa, Pikka ramp up
• Broker tips up to 72% upside for one of these ASX shares 
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• The Santos share price is in the spotlight this week. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares have been one of the most painful holdings on the ASX this year, so any positive news is worth exploring further.

On 22 July, WiseTech announced that it had entered a binding agreement to acquire FRDM.ai.

At the time, shares were trading around $33.24 on Wednesday, down roughly 51% year to date and 72% below where they sat this time last year.

Let’s look at what the company has actually bought, and whether it changes anything for the underlying investment thesis.

What WiseTech actually bought

FRDM.ai is a California-based developer of AI-powered supply chain risk and compliance intelligence. Its software maps supplier networks across multiple tiers and scores risk in real time.

That coverage spans human rights, forced labour, sanctions, denied parties, cyber exposure and geopolitical risk.

WiseTech is paying an upfront consideration of US$10 million in cash and WTC shares, with all-cash earn-outs capped at US$14.31 million.

Completion is expected on 3 August 2026, subject to customary conditions precedent.

The technology will be combined with WiseTech’s existing BorderWise, Denied Party Screening and Global Knowledge products to create a new solution called VerifyWise.

Why this could mean for WiseTech shares

The deal size is immaterial against a company of WiseTech’s scale.

However, the strategic logic is rather more interesting.

WiseTech’s compliance capability currently operates at the level of an individual transaction. VerifyWise is intended to extend that to verification across an entire multi-tier supplier network.

This is a expansion of what the company can sell, into an area where regulatory pressure around forced labour and sanctions is only intensifying.

The distribution advantage is the real point, though.

WiseTech serves more than 22,000 logistics companies across 193 countries, including 46 of the top 50 global third-party logistics providers. Selling a new compliance module into that installed base costs far less than winning those customers from scratch.

Every supplier verified through the platform also enriches the underlying data set. This is the same network effect that has made CargoWise so hard for competitors to displace.

What brokers think of WiseTech shares

Citi retained a buy rating this month while cutting its 12-month target to $52, down from $65.65, while Bell Potter also rates the shares a buy with a $71.75 target.

Bell Potter has argued that the headwinds weighing on sentiment should begin to dissipate over coming months.

Both targets imply substantial upside from current levels, and both also assume the organic growth story reasserts itself.

Foolish takeaway

A US$10 million acquisition will not rescue WiseTech shares on its own.

What it does is give management new growth levers to help revive a share price that has fallen more than 70% in a year.

I think the August result matters far more than this deal. Investors want evidence that CargoWise organic growth has stabilised and that the e2open integration is delivering the margins management has promised.

If that arrives, the FRDM.ai deal will look like a sensible bolt-on rather than a distraction.

The post WiseTech buys FRDM.ai. What does this mean for WiseTech shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 9 ASX 200 shares with refreshed buy ratings this week
• Are Megaport and WiseTech shares top buys?
• Here’s what brokers tip for WiseTech shares over the next 12 months
• I’d listen to Warren Buffett and buy cheap ASX shares
• 4 ASX share tips from 4 brokers, for returns better than 40%

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.