BRK7

No worries DD, I initially thought the same thing. Interesting data-point to share: Today I got an SEC filing alert via docoh.com in my email inbox. It arrived 7 minutes EARLIER than the same alert arrived via my $20K/year Capital IQ account. Of course, docoh is not a substitute for the breadth of what CapIQ offers. However, within the scope of what it offers, I am very impressed with docoh.

Sec.report is not actually the SEC. It's a third-party notification service, unaffiliated with the SEC. docoh.com is also a third-party service, but it offers much more than just SEC filing alerts (and the basic service is FREE).

Answered my own question: Docoh.com It has a very nice interface for SEC filings. They also provide conference call transcripts, financial statements, news, etc. Worth a look. (No affiliation, just discovered the site.)

One library near me provides online access to capital IQ, but it's actually S&Ps "NetAdvantage" version of CapIQ, which is lacking some key features found in the "real" CapIQ product. I gave Koyfin a look. It's an interesting product, but I found that the website has missing functionality/data and/or bugs. Maybe it's still a work in progress? Has anyone found a good product for providing real-time email alerts for new SEC filings for a given ticker?

great ideas, thanks -- both koyfin and tikr look promising. does anyone who has used both care to comment on their strengths & weaknesses?

I have used Capital IQ for many years as an investment professional. I plan to soon retire, and Capital IQ (cost of $20K+/year) is not a cost-effective option going forward for managing my personal investments. I am wondering if there is an alternative high-quality product that has a cost structure that is more reasonable for private investors? For those who are not familiar with Capital IQ, it is essentially a comprehensive database of information related to companies and markets. Many years of historical data is provided, and the information is generally hyperlinked so that you can jump to original source (for example, SEC filing) to dig deeper. The database also provides analytics (e.g, valuation and liquidity ratios) across its universe of coverage. I'm hopeful that there is a more consumer-oriented product that will be adequate for my (less comprehensive) needs going forward. I will primarily be interested in US business and their underlying publicly-traded securities. Thanks for any thoughts or ideas!

Just took a quick look. Looks great in terms of margins, and balance sheet. But, then I discovered that 5-year revenue CAGR is -6%. Is the business in secular decline?

Charlie will not be part of the Q&A this year: https://berkshirehathaway.com/meet01/2020Meetinginfo-apr2620.pdf

With the role that government is taking in this crisis, it's not terribly surprising to hear Charlie say that BRK's phone isn't ringing. I'm wondering which businesses Charlie is referring to here: “We have a few bad businesses that...we could be tolerant of as members of the family. Somebody else would have already shut them down. We’ve got a few businesses, small ones, we won’t reopen when this is over.”

Thanks, Cigarbutt

Regarding the “bank holding company” issue, the threshold was indeed 10%: http://www.klgates.com/non-controlling-investments-in-banking-institutions-and-their-holding-companies-10-07-2008/ https://www.omaha.com/money/warren-buffett-says-relax-he-s-just-buying-and-selling/article_2caf0c38-1f09-576a-b4d5-75843c8cc1e3.html Do you have evidence that the bank holding company threshold has changed from 10%? ======= Regarding your assertion that 16b “is not triggered when you go over 10% without having made a buy (ie due to portfolio company repurchases shrinking the outstanding)”, can you provide a link to a credible source?

wh you dont have section 16b liability when the issuer buys back shares putting you over 10%, so there was no need to get under 10%. I just think warren has lost his good sense and munger cant hear any more I was under the impression that BRK had not bought BK shares in the last 6 months so the short-swing profit rule would not apply and that shares were sold as a way to bring the ownership below 10% (I think the Fed rule hasn't changed yet) given that BK kept the buyback going up to recently. no, this refers to potential 16b liability for BRK re selling shares of a portfolio company when you are a >10% holder...which is not triggered when you go over 10% without having made a buy (ie due to portfolio company repurchases shrinking the outstanding) my point is that warren cant justify any sales to get under 10% ownership of a portfolio company to avoid 16b liability, so it is a head scratcher why he would be selling anything now, given depressed portfolio company share prices and no shortage of cash on hand at BRK Unless I am mistaken the 16b short-swing profit liability exemption is applicable to the ISSUER (in this case BK), not outside investors like BRK. Regardless, banks are a special case. I believe that any investor owning more than 10% of a BANK, becomes a de facto "bank holding company" in the eyes of regulators. Warren would never want BRK to become a bank holding company for various reasons, including becoming subject to more regulations, restrictions, and oversight on its business activities. So, if not for reason #1 than certainly for reason #2, BRK would have incentive to remain under the 10% ownership threshold. Someone correct me if I am wrong here. It's been a while since I looked up these regulations.

I wondered the same. With duopoly competitor Mohawk trading reasonably cheap right now (in my opinion), it would seem an inopportune time to sell Shaw.

From North Carolina's "The Franking Press" From: Franklin Press, The (NC) Mar-01-2019 10:35 AM Shaw Industries, one of Macon County's most important employers, is in negotiations to be acquired. "I can confirm that we are in the process of working with a potential buyer," said Ashley Hyder, human resources manager at the Franklin facility. Shaw has been expanding its Franklin operation in recent years, adding a third shift in 2017. Shaw announced plans to increase the production capacity at the Franklin facility in November 2017 when the company decided to shift production away from a facility in Virginia. The original plan was for the Franklin plant to add 30 employees, but over the past two months that number has increased to roughly 40 new positions. Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is one of the world's largest flooring producers with annual sales of more than $4 billion and about 22,300 employees worldwide The company is headquartered in Dalton, Georgia. https://www.etypeservices.com/Franklin%20PressID611/Default.aspx?PubID=3475

I'm in need of a real time quote system that can handle, at a minimum, equities (both US and International) as well as equity options. Some basic historical price charting would be nice, but I am definitely not looking for any technical analysis type of charting. The ability to get news (e.g., Dow Jones Newswires) related to a given ticker would be helpful. Open to suggestions! Thanks!

The fact that you are a CFA charter holder is not insignificant. If nothing else, earning that credential tells the prospective employer than you are motivated enough and intelligent enough to pass 3 tests that require significant effort. Here’s my 2c, based on 20+ years in the industry. Write a couple of research reports. This will enable you to DEMONSTRATE the value-add that you believe you can provide. A good interviewer will not be looking for stock tips, but rather insight into how you think, how you formulate an investment thesis and support it with analysis (both quantitative and qualitative). Even if you do a great job at the above, it will be tough to land an analyst role at a quality firm. For this reason, I believe you should be willing to accept a “research assistant” or “research associate” role. Getting your foot in the door is the key; if you deserve to be an analyst you will eventually be promoted to analyst. An MBA helps—especially on the sell-side—but is not always a requirement. Look at it from the perspective of the employer: hiring an MBA reduces their odds that they’ve mistakenly hired a dunce (or at least gives them cover for having done so). It’s about risk aversion. This is another reason that, IMO, it’s better to come in at a junior level and prove yourself on the job….you can get paid for learning on the job and possibly avoid the expense/time of pursuing an MBA degree.

Not true. The GP can own anywhere between 0% and 100%, unless there is something in the limited partnership agreement that stipulates otherwise. Typically, outside investors will want the GP to have "skin in the game" and it is not uncommon for the GP to be a large investor (as a % of total assets) in a given fund.

+1 anyone have the letter?

I'm also looking for a copy. thanks!

Thanks, for the great replies. Schwab711, you sound like you have some experience in this field, and I appreciate your insights. The counterparty in my case would be Pershing (subsidiary of BNY Mellon) or possibly Goldman. So, if feel like the counterparty risk is minimal. However, the tax issues are potentially significant (both from an economic as well as a complexity standpoint), and it strikes me that the tax issues could easily bring more trouble than they are worth. (Alternatively stated, an incremental hour of my time would likely be better spent looking for mispriced securities, vs. getting into a somewhat tangential and esoteric area of “investing” that offers very modest income potential.) I can see where lending could be worthwhile in a special case where I had a large position in a hard-to-borrow security, and the economics of the lending were unusually attractive. For anyone else interested in learning more, I found the following article to be helpful: https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/icrsl.pdf TwoCities, good question about doing this in an IRA. I don’t know if that is possible...my gut tells me that it would be very complicated having an IRA custodian involved and so forth.

I recently had a conversation with a broker about lending out long positions (for the brokers' stock loan book) as a way to generate some extra income. I wondering if you folks have any experience in this area? The broker said the split would be 70%/30%, with the 30% piece going to the broker. Is this a typical split? I'm wondering what the downside is? Any reasons to avoid doing so if managing a pooled investment vehicle (limited partnership)? Thanks for any insights!

thx, peluche

rb, It's hardly a direct reply to your post, but I found the full version on Youtube today [and I don't know if it will stay there - [Yahoo IP[?]]]. don't see it on youtube. has it been taken down already?

Ross, if you don't mind sharing, what prompted you to buy FAST? I see the valuation has come down a bit in recent quarters, but I haven't followed the business for quite some time. Do you think the shares have undeservedly been punished? Still at ~22x fwd EPS if I'm not mistaken. Thanks!