Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., cited a farm he's owned since 1986 to caution individuals against frequent buying and selling of stocks.

Investors should treat their equity holdings like real estate purchases, focusing on the potential for profits over time rather than short-term price fluctuations, Buffett, 83, wrote in an excerpt from his annual letter published on the website of Fortune magazine today.

"Those people who can sit quietly for decades when they own a farm or apartment house too often become frenetic when they are exposed to a stream of stock quotations," Buffett said. "For these investors, liquidity is transformed from the unqualified benefit it should be to a curse."

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