Buffett/Berkshire - general news

[sleepydragon]

1 minute ago, gfp said:

There is no reason to suspect the increased volume was from a single buyer/seller.  It turned out it wasn't Berkshire, but Berkshire being in the market for A shares generally increases trading volume.  Other factors are new all-time highs and the age of many A-share holders.  Charities receiving A shares need to sell them to build the hospitals, etc...

It also appears that Renaissance Technologies is trading in A-shares, which may account for some increase in volume as their models will trade automatically.

By the way - does anybody know if there are 13-F style reports available for the equity holdings of Braeburn Capital (the entity in Reno that manages hundreds of Billions for Apple Inc) ?  I don't know what entity name an institutional holding report would be under (if any).  There is nothing under Braeburn Capital.  This guy appears to run it: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffery-power-cfa-frm-4915306

 Do you know what's their top 3-5 holdings are? Then you might be able to find out

[gfp]

No I don't know their holdings but I assume the portfolio is almost entirely government bonds, corporate bonds and mortgage backed securities.

[thepupil]

4 minutes ago, gfp said:

There is no reason to suspect the increased volume was from a single buyer/seller.  It turned out it wasn't Berkshire, but Berkshire being in the market for A shares generally increases trading volume.  Other factors are new all-time highs and the age of many A-share holders.  Charities receiving A shares need to sell them to build the hospitals, etc...

It also appears that Renaissance Technologies is trading in A-shares, which may account for some increase in volume as their models will trade automatically.

By the way - does anybody know if there are 13-F style reports available for the equity holdings of Braeburn Capital (the entity in Reno that manages hundreds of Billions for Apple Inc) ?  I don't know what entity name an institutional holding report would be under (if any).  There is nothing under Braeburn Capital.  This guy appears to run it: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffery-power-cfa-frm-4915306

I doubt there's a 13-F, because according  to 10-k it doesn't look like AAPL owns any equities in its "marketable securities"

see page 40 of the 10-K, just a bunch of short term fixed income. there's one vague "non US government securities" but I think that means foreign fixed income (like gilts or something)

https://www.bamsec.com/filing/32019320000096?cik=320193

Edited May 21, 2021 by thepupil

[gfp]

Thanks.  Looks like Apple only owns equities that are non-marketable / private companies.  Sorry for derailing the Berkshire content.  

[nickenumbers]

On 4/28/2021 at 2:06 PM, Xerxes said:

Thank you. I am big of fan of that podcast. I miss the voice/intellect of the gentleman who was doing the podcast with Stig, but also appreciate his Bitcoin dedicated podcasts (the not so complicated ones).

Yes, I like listening to the TIP podcast from time to time too.  I particularly like when they have a quarterly mastermind conversation, with the 4 different perspectives.

I wonder if Stig's partner Preston wore out everyone's patience with his mental anchor on Bitcoin and crypto.  I think it is one tool to consider, but it is not the whole tool box.  I wonder if Stig had enough of Preston's crypto monolog and that might be why they are not doing the podcast together as much..  I like it better this way with Stig.  I like Preston when he has an open clear mind to everything...  but he was becoming a bit myopic.

Does anyone have thoughts or information about the status of their co-hosting?

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

6 hours ago, nickenumbers said:

Does anyone have thoughts or information about the status of their co-hosting?

Bill Brewster did a podcast with Preston and they discussed it.

TIP began as a traditional value investing podcast, but then crypto became a thing. Investing and crypto have two very different audience's, so they made a decision to side pocket the crypto material away from the main investing channel. Both Stig and Preston like crypto, but Preston likes it more, so he's now fronting the crypto section. It's all very amicable, they just realised two things are going in different directions.

The irony is that the crypto stuff they do is 10x more popular than the traditional "main" content.

[Spekulatius]

8 hours ago, nickenumbers said:

Yes, I like listening to the TIP podcast from time to time too.  I particularly like when they have a quarterly mastermind conversation, with the 4 different perspectives.

I wonder if Stig's partner Preston wore out everyone's patience with his mental anchor on Bitcoin and crypto.  I think it is one tool to consider, but it is not the whole tool box.  I wonder if Stig had enough of Preston's crypto monolog and that might be why they are not doing the podcast together as much..  I like it better this way with Stig.  I like Preston when he has an open clear mind to everything...  but he was becoming a bit myopic.

Does anyone have thoughts or information about the status of their co-hosting?

Well, I used to like the podcast, until it became a de facto crypto podcast, then I stopped listening and following it. I think the split was a good idea as there are pretty different audiences. I will probably follow TIP again and see if it‘s back to it’s former self.

[K2SO]

I stopped listening to TIP way before the crypto thing. They just seemed so focused on macro calls (more accurately, "guesses") and it was just feeding my own bad habits worrying about macro stuff and distracting me from the corporate analysis that really matters. I don't think they were ever very insightful "value" investors, FWIW, just early enough to the podcast game to win an audience. 

Now seeing how Preston has gone full bitcoin it's not surprising at all. Glad I cut away when I did. 

 

[nickenumbers]

Great feedback.  Thanks guys.

As we all know, it is a journey, not a destination.  Each podcast, person or investor has the potential to teach us a little along the journey...  But, when we no longer get enough benefit, or have integrated the lessons, we should be prepared to find a new teacher.

The first time I read Phil Fisher, I was bored to death.  The 2nd time, I COULDN'T put it down.  SO good.

I use to dislike Bill Ackman.  I know he is a lightening rod..  But....  I read his book Confidence Man, and I have a much wider appreciation for him now...  He has flashes of being brave and brilliant!

Those are just 2 examples.  Stig and Preston are thoughtful guys too.

 

Cheers!

[cubsfan]

^ Yup, I like them too - met both of them at Berkshire meetings. Good guys. But I have tuned them out as well - as previous guys said - if you don't like the focus on macro calls, like oil or crypto, which I don't, then it's just too much guessing. 

[Xerxes]

On 5/25/2021 at 10:05 AM, nickenumbers said:

Yes, I like listening to the TIP podcast from time to time too.  I particularly like when they have a quarterly mastermind conversation, with the 4 different perspectives.

I wonder if Stig's partner Preston wore out everyone's patience with his mental anchor on Bitcoin and crypto.  I think it is one tool to consider, but it is not the whole tool box.  I wonder if Stig had enough of Preston's crypto monolog and that might be why they are not doing the podcast together as much..  I like it better this way with Stig.  I like Preston when he has an open clear mind to everything...  but he was becoming a bit myopic.

Does anyone have thoughts or information about the status of their co-hosting?

my 2 cents:

i am voracious listeners of business/investing podcasts, but i am not free 24/7 to listen to them as i have a day job. So i listen while driving somewhere or jogging (run about +50-60km per week).

Giving my limited time to soak up podcasts but large supply podcast that is only ever increasing, i have felt that since last summer i am listening less and less to some, and building concentration in others. I don't plan it like that, but the market (i.e. my brain) just goes for the most interesting ones as i leave my house for my daily run.

On TIP, i am actually enjoy listening to some of the older ones, if i want to look an interview with someone who peaked my interest. On the BTC focus, they should just separate them, because even if the episodes shows up as BTC, it still comes under the same banner. And some people get turned away from potential gems, if it is surrounded on screen with the Bitcoin. People usually make their decision in span 5-10 seconds on what to listen or not listen to.

On the pivot itself, it is their business, who am I to complain. They provide a public service (with advertising so maybe not that free), but i am guessing with so much investing/business podcast coming in 2020, they probably have to remain competitive, and Bitcoin is the where eyeballs are (eardrums).

But I agree that in a specific episode at TIP, when they were talking about Brookfield, you had Preston judging it by comparing it return to NASDAQ and to crypto by extension. I understand what he is getting at, but this is like me crashing a Bitcoin party, by telling them how Resolute Forest outperformed Bitcoin since March 2020, so we should be talking about lumber and not crypto. Comparing the return of Brookfield to NASDAQ is not correct.

[Xerxes]

Now a business case in business schools

Berkshire Hathaway: Covid-19 and the Great Disconnect | Harvard Business Publishing Education 

"We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful." Warren Buffet, 1986 Letter to Shareholders. This investment strategy had proven powerful for Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. It had transformed a bad textile company into a diversified investment company, ranked as the 12th largest company in the world in 2019, right behind Apple. It had made Warren Buffet a billionaire and countless of his shareholders millionaires. At the end of 2019, Berkshire's shareholders included Fidelity Investments and the central bank of Norway. The company's stock was considered the number one retirement stock in America. Amid the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, U.S. financial markets crashed at record speed (-35% between February 12 and March 20, 2020), including the biggest single-day drop ever of -12.9% on March 16, 2020, eclipsing the record of October 28, 1929. Expected to be greedy when others are fearful, Buffet was a net seller of stocks and remained on the sideline during that period. His inaction, combined with an unusually cautionary tone at the annual shareholders' meeting, triggered heavy criticisms. Some of his loyalists sold their stocks. As he was approaching his 90th birthday, many started to wonder whether Warren Buffet had changed his time-tested strategy. Was he disconnected from reality? Was he fearful himself?

[John Hjorth]

Thank you for sharing, Xerxes,

However, useless & clear hindsight bias. Nobody knew back then - except perhaps Mr. Buffett & Mr. Hamburg [on overall level, & gradually over time] - how the liquidity needs of the Berkshire subsidiaries evolved over time, at that time.

[dcollon]

I have a filter for reading things about Mr. Buffett.  When they can't spell his name correctly, I don't read it. 

[John Hjorth]

1 minute ago, dcollon said:

I have a filter for reading things about Mr. Buffett.  When they can't spell his name correctly, I don't read it. 

Thank you for sharing, dcollon,

-Fun on a Friday! [ : - D ]

[ValueMaven]

Looks like Blackstone is going to acquire Medline.  Depending on valuation, this is just the type of business that would have been a perfect home for Berkshire.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/group-including-blackstone-nears-deal-to-buy-medline-for-over-30-billion-11622910788?mod=markets_lead_pos1

[Xerxes]

Come one, Blackstone, give me a chance again, this time I promise I will buy !!

I will not be stupid this time around.

[John Hjorth]

43 minutes ago, Xerxes said:

Come one, Blackstone, give me a chance again, this time I promise I will buy !!

I will not be stupid this time around.

Thank you for making my day, Xerxes!

[Xerxes]

hahaha

Cheers !

 

[nwoodman]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/berkshire-hathaway-to-buy-500-million-stake-in-brazils-nubank-11623153600

 

Brazil’s digital bank operator Nu Pagamentos SA said Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B -1.05% agreed to buy $500 million of its shares, as digital banking expands quickly in Latin America’s largest economy.

The investment is accompanied by another, $250 million deal that includes various domestic and foreign investors, Nu said. Both deals were signed late Friday and put the company’s value at $30 billion, Nu said.

The São Paulo-based, privately held firm operates via its Nubank brand. It is the largest fintech in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, with 40 million users in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, the company said. It has raised around $2 billion since its inception in 2013, Nu said.

The company said Berkshire’s is the largest single investment it has ever received. Nu didn’t disclose the size of any investor’s stake.

 

Todd Combs?

Edited June 8, 2021 by nwoodman

[hasilp89]

would assume so, believe he was the one behind StoneCo. 

[gfp]

ProPublica has a not-that-enlightened article on Billionaires' tax bills, which may or may not be worth your time.  But some might find Warren Buffett's detailed written response to the journalist of interest.  It does come from the man himself after all.

 

Another item of interest is a look into Michael Bloomberg's personal tax situation, since his company is a pass through LP.

 

Orignal article:

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

 

spoiler alert:  extremely wealthy people pay a low "tax rate" on their annual increases in net worth if they don't realize gains or pay dividends.  

 

Buffett letter:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20798866-buffett-statement-june-2-2021

[hasilp89]

thanks for sharing the response.

[Munger_Disciple]

4 hours ago, gfp said:

ProPublica has a not-that-enlightened article on Billionaires' tax bills, which may or may not be worth your time.  But some might find Warren Buffett's detailed written response to the journalist of interest.  It does come from the man himself after all.

 

Another item of interest is a look into Michael Bloomberg's personal tax situation, since his company is a pass through LP.

 

Orignal article:

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

 

spoiler alert:  extremely wealthy people pay a low "tax rate" on their annual increases in net worth if they don't realize gains or pay dividends.  

 

Buffett letter:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20798866-buffett-statement-june-2-2021

 

The propublica article is truly idiotic. The reporters use a flawed metric namely the ratio of income taxes paid in a period spanning a few years to increase in wealth of the individual during that period. It is conflating wealth with income. The right metric is (obviously) the ratio of income taxes paid to income earned. 

 

By this measure if someone owns a piece of land or a painting that produces no income, she is paying too little in taxes. 

 

What if wealth decreases in that period? It is not like that person doesn't need to pay taxes. She still has to pay income taxes during that period based on earned income. 

 

Looks like click-bait to me. 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Munger_Disciple

[Munger_Disciple]

WSJ editorial board on the propublica article & the IRS: https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/return-of-the-irs-scandal-11623191964