Invest like Warren Buffett

Long story short: contrary to the theses of the innumerable books purporting to help you do just that, you're no more likely to achieve anywhere near his investment gains by following some rote steps than you are to dunk like Michael Jordan by putting on a pair of his namesake Nike shoes.

Having said that, you could do the next best thing if you're mesmerized by Buffett's success, simply by buying Berkshire Hathaway stock and letting him and Charlie Munger do your heavy lifting.

Jason Zweig's "The Intelligent Investor" column in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, headlined "The Other Reason for Warren Buffett's Success," explained how and why the wizard of Omaha gets access to sweet deals you and I will never hear of.

But again, that's no reason you shouldn't take advantage of his entrée by putting your money where his (Buffett's) mouth is.

If Berkshire A's above your pay grade (it closed Friday at $115,490 a share) there's always baby Berkshire, aka Berkshire B — created back in 1996 for those with smaller bankrolls by dividing the price of the big kahuna by 30 — at $3,840 a share.