Jump to content

epictetus

Member
  • Posts

    8
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by epictetus

  1. Great work guys - can t wait for next years...
  2. CHARLES T. MUNGER “A Morning with Charlie” Charlie Munger cordially invites you to attend a Morning with Charlie on Friday, July 1, 2011, at 10:00 a.m., in the Exhibit Hall & Ballroom Building of The Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California. Charlie will make some opening remarks, and then he will take questions from the audience about business, economics and life. The Morning with Charlie will be held regardless of whether the merger between Wesco and Berkshire Hathaway is approved at the special meeting of Wesco’s shareholders, which is currently scheduled for June 24, 2011. Please note that Charlie will not be speaking at the special meeting. The Pasadena Convention Center is located at 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, California. The Convention Center’s parking structure may be accessed from Euclid Avenue, which runs north-south, to the east of the Convention Center. Additional parking can be found nearby, in the shopping center across Green Street to the north, and at the corner of Green Street and Los Robles Avenue, one block to the east of the Convention Center. http://www.wescofinancial.com/page10.html * * *
  3. Anyone attended or have any info on the Value Investing Conference run by Robert Miles in Omaha ? Any experiences would be appreciated. The website is www.valueinvestorconference.com. I was thinking of attending prior to berky agm. Thanks in advance.
  4. Wesco expects that if the merger is consummated prior to early June 2011, there will be no 2011 annual meeting of Wesco's shareholders. In that event, Charles T. Munger plans to hold an “Afternoon with Charlie” in Pasadena, California sometime within a few weeks after the merger to give Berkshire Hathaway and former Wesco shareholders a chance to ask him questions about business, economics and life (but not about Wesco). That event would be held on May 4, 2011 if the merger has been consummated before then. On the other hand, if the merger is not approved, Wesco would expect to hold a 2011 annual meeting of shareholders http://www.wescofinancial.com/page3.html
  5. * Historic disconnect between intrinsic value, share price * Geico, MidAmerican, Burlington Northern to fuel growth * Slowing economy, big storms, Buffett retirement may hurt * Berkshire invested $5 billion in Goldman in Sept. 2008 NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa - news) (BRKb - news) shares may rise 25 percent in the next year as a recovering economy lifts profit and investors recognize that Warren Buffett's company is undervalued, Goldman Sachs analysts said, starting coverage with a "buy" rating. Analyst Christopher Neczypor set price targets of $152,000 for Berkshire's Class A shares and $101 for its Class B shares, saying a "disconnect" between the market value and intrinsic value of Berkshire is "close to a multi-decade high." Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS - news) received a $5 billion preferred stock investment from Berkshire in September 2008. Buffett has praised the leadership of Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and defended Goldman's marketing of securities that led to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud lawsuit. Wall Street banks have procedural safeguards to keep equity research units independent. Neczypor said earnings at Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire will benefit from growth in auto insurance sales through direct-to-consumer entities such as its Geico unit, as demand for energy from its MidAmerican Energy unit increases, and as more customers depend on shipping through its Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad unit. He also said recent acquisitions have reduced Berkshire's dependence on equity investments, and "provides greater clarity into the source of future value for the company." He said the risks to this forecast include an economic slowdown, losses at Berkshire's insurance and reinsurance units from catastrophes such as hurricanes, and the ability of the 79-year-old Buffett to find appropriate successors. Neczypor projected operating profit of $6,161 and $6,972 for Class A shares and $4.11 and $4.53 for Class B shares for 2010 and 2011, more than 10 percent above the average analyst forecast according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Berkshire owns roughly 80 businesses and has tens of billions of dollars of common stock investments. Buffett expects his job to be split in two after he departs: One person will become chief executive, and one or more people will oversee investments. Class A shares of Berkshire closed Monday at $121,200, and Class B shares closed at $81.02. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by John Wallace)
  6. Fair & Friendly Acquistions – The Fairfax Story University of Waterloo – Modern Languages Building April 20, 2009 - Noon Prem was introduced by UW President and then spoke for 45 minutes or so... Background Important decisions in life may not be under one’s control as much as one thinks. Watsa won ovarian lottery – born in India, parents educated him well, born to teachers and educators, lucky to have such a start in life Came to Canada 37 years ago, settled in London with brother and went to Western for his MBA, no money then. Married at 23, three children, married for 35 years – blessed in family life Got job at Confederation Life in 1974, only one of four interviewees who showed up for second round of interviews. Lucky to get foot in the door of investing – given Security Analysis to read by boss at the time. Opened up a new avenue of investing. In 1985 borrowed funds to buy entity that became Fairfax and Confederation Life loaned money also Guiding Principles Of Fairfax Guiding principles are keys to success of FFH, they are in the 10K and attached at the back of this note. The objectives are to make a return for shareholders, only do friendly acquisitions, focus on long term. Be financially prepared for both problems and opportunities. Full disclosure to shareholders, let people know the negatives early on. The structure is a decentralized management style, small head office staff, split into investment vs. operations. The values are the most important piece – honesty, integrity, teamwork, no egos. Book recommendation - My Years with General Motors by Alfred Sloan Three Quotes Watsa Feels are Important: Jesuit quote about hard work – I missed it. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6 - used often by Templeton “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Questions Templeton relationship? Big fan, was a mentor, visited him every year in Bahamas. Templeton was very generous with his time with Watsa. Ben Graham relationship? Given Security Analysis at Confederation Life, had a year to absorb it before putting any fancy MBA models and math to work. His son is named Ben. OBJECTIVES: 1) We expect to compound our mark-to-market book value per share over the long term by 15% annually by running Fairfax and its subsidiaries for the long term benefit of customers, employees and shareholders – at the expense of short term profits if necessary. Our focus is long term growth in book value per share and not quarterly earnings. We plan to grow through internal means as well as through friendly acquisitions. 2) We always want to be soundly financed. 3) We provide complete disclosure annually to our shareholders. STRUCTURE: 1) Our companies are decentralized and run by the presidents except for performance evaluation, succession planning, acquisitions and financing which are done by or with Fairfax. Cooperation among companies is encouraged to the benefit of Fairfax in total. 2) Complete and open communication between Fairfax and subsidiaries is an essential requirement at Fairfax. 3) Share ownership and large incentives are encouraged across the Group. 4) Fairfax will always be a very small holding company and not an operating company. VALUES: 1) Honesty and integrity are essential in all our relationships and will never be compromised. 2) We are results oriented – not political. 3) We are team players – no “egos”. A confrontational style is not appropriate. We value loyalty – to Fairfax and our colleagues. 4) We are hard working but not at the expense of our families. 5) We always look at opportunities but emphasize downside protection and look for ways to minimize loss of capital. 6) We are entrepreneurial. We encourage calculated risk taking. It is all right to fail but we should learn from our mistakes. 7) We will never bet the company on any project or acquisition. 8) We believe in having fun – at work!
×
×
  • Create New...