John Hjorth

Placeholder for discussing the contents of the 2016 BRK Annual Report [ex 2016 WEB Annual Letter!]. - - - o 0 o - - - - Just trying to keep some kind of track and order on the BRK cult on here! <end couch moderating>.

Berkshire announced yesterday, that the Annual Letter and the 2016 Annual Report will be avaiable on the website tomorrow at about 8:00 AM Eastern Time [,as usual].

No worries at all. Having been on this forum for almost 10 years, I have a system to not let posts get under my skin. There is an ignore poster feature which I use for certain repeat behaviors (political hacks, know-it-alls- personal insults etc.). I look forward to posts from you. Now let's wait for the letter and we'll have plenty to talk about ;) Yes, and I'm actually home alone Saturday - It will be a day of reading and communication! :-)

longinvestor, If my prior post in some way offended you, I hereby apologize for that. It was certainly not my intention. I love being invested in BRK [almost] as much as you do! :-)

I'm not. - I'm at your side of the fence. What I meant was actually: What does that bet has to do with your - or for that sake - my - return? I really hope we can leave it at here.

longinvestor, Please do not get carried away too much - just hold on to your BRK position [which I know is large!].

Off topic: Welcome on the CoBF board, rolling! Now back to topic.

lol, rb! It's all about being territorital! : - )

I know there are "cat cafes" but is there such a thing as a "dog cafe"? That would be a great option for people who like dogs but don't want to own one. Maybe the concept can be expanded to all sorts of pets (parrots, hamsters, snakes, etc). My old man, 90, almost 91 now - is meeting dogs at the nursery home on a regular basis. And he loves it! - Volunteers are bringing in experienced dogs with regard to geriatric conditions - those dogs somehow bear unconditional love towards mankind. It's incredible what a "How are you doing today - I just like you!" tounge sweep in the mid of your face can do to your mindset if you are old!

Great home rules! I live subject to such a "democracy" here at home also! - It actually works great - there is never any confusion about what has been decided! In practice, it works like this: Rule #1: If we agree, I'm the decision maker. Rule #2: If we disagree, she is the decision maker. Further specifics about Rule #2: If we disagree on something, and the discussion is peaking, she always ends up saying: "OK, let's vote!", after what which I instantly start thinking: "Ohh, noo, not again! - Now she start babling about the proxy vote of the cat and her voting power of attourney from the cat!" [The democracy consists of three votes, actually - everybody is equal with regard to votes, including the cat....] Last time I was subject to this "democratic treatment" was the second saturday in June last year - it was just hot as in hell. The lawn was fluffy and in need of mowing - I had a bad conscience and at the same time did not bother to do something about it, sweaty under the parasol in the garden. She: "The lawn need to be mowed." Me: "I really need a new electric and automatic lawn mower." She - looking at me: "To me, you need the excercise..." [i was soo insulted - without saying anything...] <loooong pause following...> She: "What brand?" <she grapping the iPad for searching> Me <feeling excited: finally some kind af an opening!>: "Robomow!" She: "Wow, that's expensive! - about DKK 9,700!" Me: <feeling discouraged>: "What model are you looking at?" [answer: The cheapest low end model] Me: "I don't want some whatever electric and automatic lawn mower... - I want the TESLA among electric and automatic lawn mowers - with all the giggles and bling!" [Price at that time about DKK 25K]. <loooong pause following...again!> She: "Let's vote!" Me <thinking: "Oh no, here we go again!">:" Let's just sell the damn house and go south to France or Italy - now!" [At that particular time, it was even hotter in Italy and France ... - logic?] <Long silence> - - - o 0 o - - - Back to dogs: First dog : Irish Setter. Second dog: Cross between German Shepard and Rottweiler [i did not need to lock the doors to keep foreigners out while not at home!]. Third dog: Irish Setter. - - - o 0 o - - - In short: I simply can't any longer stand the missery that I'm hauled through by loosing a dog. I'm actually better at getting over a permanenet loss of capital, I have found out [i've had a few minor, so far]. I enjoy all the dogs in the neighbourhood on daily basis, getting the best out of it, leaving all sorrows etc. to the owners... without getting too attached.

You guys should actually be posting in the "What are you selling today" topic in stead ... -Just saying! : - )

This somehow reminds me of Late Jens Otto Kragh, former Danish Premier Minister: "One has a view untill taking a new.". The Shareholder Letter from Mr. Watsa to come in March will be an interesting read from this angle.

Without putting too much into it: The Unilever dilemma: What comes now?.

Duly noted, SharperDingaan, - great post - about cutting it to the bone. Also H/T to especially Vinod and tombgrt in this topic [with regard to the last post from tombgrt, racemize not forgotten here]. I think it's time for me to move on here.

Thanks, NewbieD!, Yes, it's fun to investigate, but somehow also very cumbersome, and time consuming. Somehow, these Swedish tax regulations in this area for investments undertakings - at least to me - seem to be very attractive. For me and my family, as far as I know - so far -, there is no Danish way to circumvent/defer capital gain taxes on realized stock gains, except by doing this kind of investment, if you're not buing to hold forever. What I'm actually thinking about here, is: "If I bought a basket - so to say - "directly" - to "mirror" i.e. Industrivärden AB portfolio, what would the taxes be on such an arrangement, going forward - long term? [Even without the HQ overhead]. My own life expectancy is 23.59 years. The life expectancy of the Lady of the House is 21.53 years. For me, there is no way directly to compete with this tax arrangement - measured after tax - by i.e. Industrivärden AB or Investor AB - doing their investment moves, without incurring the capital gain taxes, unless I think I can do much better by doing the investments directly. I do not live in some kind of delusion, that I'm better at this - long term - than i.e. the Wallenbergs or Fredrik Lundberg. So, it's - for me - all about trying to weed out - and finding the good ones - among the Swedish investment companies subject to these particular rules.

Thanks a lot for sharing this, alwaysinvert.

alwaysinvert, Based on what you wrote earlier in this topic about the 10 per cent treshold I have tried to follow all links in the tax guidance from Skatteverket to see if I could find anything about it. I was without luck. But I did find this in Annual Report 2015 for Industrivärden AB on p. 53: I suppose the written there is correct, despite I can't find it in the tax guidance from Skatteverket. So I suppose there is a difference in the tax treatment of investees with regard to standardized income, based on at least 10 per cent voting power in the investee or not.

globalfinancepartners, The headline of the article is actually to some extent misleading, because it does not indicate, that the proposal was turned down, but that is mentioned in the article. And yes, depending on the structure, this could really move the needle for BRK. I also find the article interesting, because the content of the article gives some indication of, what's passing the desks of Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger of potential stuff. This is [was?] huge. This could not take place without the involvement of both BRK at top level and the 3G people. Those 3G people are really into the space of huge deals now.

Bloomberg: Kraft Heinz Makes Approach to Unilever on Possible Merger.

I think you are right, rb. BRK is gradually morphing - as it has done in the last 50+ years. :-)

Great read! - Thanks for sharing, bookie71. This is one of those good stories - very impressive - that does not hit the press here. With regard to Mr. Buffetts health: I can't image, that there will ever come a situation, where the BRK board shows him the door, as Mr. Buffett him self called it in a shareholder letter some years ago. It's about generally beeing fit and proper for the job - all included, also health. When your body gradually starts quitting on you because of age, even the most basic acts might start getting cumbersome and time consuming compared to earlier in life. His hearing is in decline, he does not try to keep it a secret. So, likely his ability to communicate orally will be affected going forward. I have noticed that people of high age - perhaps it's just a local phenomen, I don't know - want to spend more time with family in general. Perhaps Mr. Buffett has such considerations - pure speculation from my side.

Thank you for sharing your insights here, alwaysinvert.

Jurgis, I had to look up the US tax concept of a PFIC. It seems hairy to me. For my part, this is not an issue to give attention. For me, these Swedish investment conglomerates - as long as they are corporations - get "ordinary Danish tax treament" [in both taxable and tax deferred acounts]. - - - o 0 o - - - - alwaysinvert, From your post I get the sense that the Swedish tax regime is like here in many respects: Overall rules with a lot of lacking specifics, and the practice actually just materialize over time - by litigation - by court decisions up through the court/complaint system. Certainly not pretty by any measure, and a very expensive way to establish a tax practice, the only parties involved in that getting satisfied are tax lawyers, getting paid dearly. Actually over time getting paid to establish a practice, in a legal battle with the Swedish IRS [called in Swedish: "Skatteverket"]. What's your basis for what you have written about the rule existing about holding at least 10 per cent of the votes on each investee? I can't see that mentioned in what I've linked to prior in this topic. - Perhaps something here just has skipped my attention. - - - o 0 o - - - I'm already invested in Investor AB, L. E. Lundberg Företagen AB & Industrivärden AB - small positions, Investor AB beeing the largest, at about 3%. And yes, ref. alwaysinvert, there are similarities - to some extent, but when you dive into them, they are not - actually, not at all - similar. - - - o 0 o - - - To me mentally, these positions are competing with SCHO.CPH inside the portfolios. - - - o 0 o - - - I expect over time to open separate topics for each in the investment ideas forum, if I choose to invest in the thing on my list [or already invested in it], otherwise I will just post my findings & conclusions - in short - max. 10 - 15 lines - in this topic.

Just don't ever "@" Mr. Pabrai, if you want to be able to read his tweets going forwards. Just saying ; - )

:-) In a few days there will be the 13F-HR to study and talk about on here. Digesting a few Howard Mark's memos and thinking about their contents also helps to get out of some kind of feeling of missery, or boredom while waiting - diversion of the mind, based on placebo... It works for me. I also use the Semper Augustus client letter that way - less placebo, more BRK. Beeing invested in BRK long term actually screews up your hierarchy of needs.