What would you ask Charlie or Warren if...

[netnet]

Given that the Daily Journal Annual is coming up (Feb 15) and the Berkshire Annual is two months away, I have a question for the board..What would you ask Charlie or Warren if you could ask them anything.  What would you ask if you were in private?

 

This year I am thinking about asking Charlie,

• Why he thinks that he and Warren are so much better at investing than Dr. Singleton an acknowledged genius?
  
• Does he subscribe to the notion that Warren has said that he could do 50% on small sums?
  
• For another investing 'case' like the one he shared last year.
  
• Given that simple algorithms enormously improve decision making, what simple algorithm would improve stock picking and life in general--actually I know the answer to that one on reflection, use mental models and checklists!
  

 

If I were in private, I would ask him:

 

• Why he doesn't seem to like Singleton.
  
• Why he doesn't seem to like Peter Drucker.
  

 

[ScottHall]

I'd ask Warren to give some examples of where being a better businessman has made him a better investor. Are there any specific skills that were helpful in the regard, or is it just a broader understanding generally?

 

I've started to find some benefit from this myself, as I've been able to use my understanding of DRM to make very successful investments in FB and GOOG, so it's a topic on my mind ATM.

[Jurgis]

In private I'd ask if he really believes that you don't need superhigh IQ to be great investor.

It seems to me that this would be hard for him to judge without bias since he ... well they ... do have superhigh IQ ;)

 

In private I'd ask the following: he suggests that 9X% of people should be passive investors. How would he help someone self-evaluate whether they should be the active investor? Are there qualities that would answer this question for the person themselves or for an intelligent knowledgeable external observer such as him? My comment on this: if you have to look at 10+ year return, then you're pushing a lot of 9X%ers into spending 10 years and subpar returns to determine that they are indeed 9X%ers.