What Buffett said about Indian markets last weekend.

At Berkshire's annual meeting last Saturday, Buffett took a question about emerging markets. India came up. His answer (paraphrased): "India will produce many great businesses over the next 50 years. We don't have the cultural or regulatory understanding to identify them ourselves. Local investors have an edge there." That last sentence — "local investors have an edge" — is profound. Why? Because Buffett rarely admits informational advantages he doesn't have. He's giving Indian retail a hint: the home-court advantage is real. A SIP investor in HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Pidilite for 20 years has matched Buffett's returns. Not because they're smarter. Because they understood Indian businesses, customers, distribution networks viscerally. The lesson: you don't need to compete with Buffett on US tech stocks. You compete on what's around you. Walk through any DMart on weekend — you have research insights global funds will never have. Use your local edge.