Hershey

I am curious if there is an opinion about the relative value of owning the A or C class of shares in Disovery? Thank you.

My assistant just told me that she is reading a book about finance and investing, and she is having a hard time understanding how to trade foreign currencies. Along with all the commercials on TV for dividend ETFs, this sounds like bubble world to me. With the risk free rate so low, we may be able to sustain this run for a long time, but this cycle is definitely heating up. FWIW.

Is Mr. Munger still scheduled to answer questions like in the past? If he is, and I don't attend, this might fall under the category of regret for something I didn't do. Thanks,

I've always thought about 90% BRK for all the reasons stated herein, however after 9/11 Buffett said that if the attack had been nuclear it would have been brought down the company. So, there is always a chance that there is a hidden flaw, and therefore I can't go 100% into it or anything else.

Thanks. Before going into greater detail, if a purchase is made based on book value, isn't the purchase in essence an orderly liquidation of the target company that the purchaser can fund through on going operations?

I am interested in learning about valuation of small (<$40m in sales) of construction subcontracting companies. Target company has current asset equity in business beyond working capital needs. Does a fair valuation of the target company include a multiple of earnings, plus equity in business, or only multiple of earnings? My thought is that the business is worth a multiple of future earnings, plus current equity not needed for ongoing functioning of business. Does this make sense? Merely paying a multiple of earnings could in essence be a purchase only slightly above existing book. Hopefully, I wrote this question in a way that is clear. Thanks,

This may be heresy on this board, but I've never really looked at Fairfax. And just to make sure I am not missing something, are you implying that is a correct or incorrect way to value BRK? Thanks,

But, I can't resist. The Buffett discount, not a premium but a discount, is so large that the company is trading at approximately 8-9x earnings after backing out investments per share. Meanwhile, these operating earnings are compounding at a high teens average. If WEB was in his 50s, this business would be valued at almost double its current price. Huge discount.

This decision remains the hardest one for me to ever resolve, especially when I have significant gains in a security. I have read many different ideas on the subject, but am interested in any more thoughts on the subject that people want to share. As background, I am a long-term investor and would have about 30% long-term capital gains tax at combined federal and state level. I think the potential pain of missing out on an upswing that may occur after my sale (loss aversion) often causes me to hold on too long. On the other hand, paying the gains tax causes me great discomfort. So, now, after that psychological interlude, I'll sign off. Thanks,

Cash 35% MSFT 25% BRKB 10% JNJ 5% PFE 3% MRK 3& (Mutual Funds in 401k) 3% WFC 3% GLW 2% KO 1.5% AAPL 1.5% DRI 1% WEN 1% AGCO 1% Lots of Misc little things bought very cheap.

Thanks to those that have responded so far. I appreciate the chance to hear other people's opinions.

This topic continues to bedevil me. My style is buy and hold. Nevertheless, sell decisions still need to be made. Typical scenario would be a 35% gain in a stock like JNJ exclusive of dividends. The value now is too high to buy more, and at PE of 21 it is close to fully valued. But sell? The literature is very sparse regarding the sell decision. Thoughts? Thanks, Hershey

Fresh Market seems ripe to me. :) NOTE: Have never shorted a stock, and probably never will. I just think the fanfare for this company is way overblown.

Washington DC suburbs (Maryland)

I was given access to their personal accounts, and made the investment decisions for those accounts. It was unpleasant because they did not/could not understand long-term investing strategies. I felt intense pressure to have my results be immediately successful. Also, I tried to impress them with "cute" decisions and bought things that I would have normally ignored. Over time, I did better than the S&P 500, especially after taking into account taxes, but it was not fun. Also, my friends wanted to talk about my investments, and it affected my decision-making. The good news is that I learned a lot from the experience, and if I ever wanted to do this full-time, I understand the parameters that I would put in place. PS, I still have access to the accounts and am asked to make decisions. I have shared all of the above thoughts with my friends, and respectfully decline to make any more decisions. If I ever do it again, the ground-rules will be very clear. Good luck.