2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

[cm2]

I will be in Omaha May 1 - 5, interested in meeting with professional investors, groups.

 

Would really like to meet Charlie Munger, DJCO meeting was on Valentines Day (my wedding anniversary) this year.

 

Serious PMs appreciated.

 

[Jurgis]

My trip crammed with meetings with big name investors - still looking for more, and Munger

 

You've got to meet Mr. Big? Ask him about Maxim models and Saint-Tropez cafe.

[Kuhndan]

I haven’t received this year’s annual report. Curious if other shareholders on the board have received theirs and if so when?

[MarioP]

I live in Canada and received it last week

[kiwing100]

 

FYI, for those attending the meeting in Omaha

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/405832560147904/?ref=gs&fref=gs&dti=754138784714366&hc_location=group

 

 

[kiwing100]

 

For those not attending Omaha but want to watch the annual meeting ...

 

FYI - https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream/

[Jurgis]

 

For those not attending Omaha but want to watch the annual meeting ...

 

FYI - https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream/

 

Just FYI my Firefox does not load video in this. Opera does.

[Spekulatius]

I enjoy watching this, but I hate people fronting their kids for questions.

[Gamecock-YT]

I enjoy watching this, but I hate people fronting their kids for questions.

 

very much so

[Nomad]

I enjoy watching this, but I hate people fronting their kids for questions.

 

very much so

 

+2. Happened last year too. Your kid is not "special" or "precocious" because she can read from a script that you prepared, and nobody thinks it's "cute" rather than just simply annoying. It does seem like there has been a general deterioration in the quality of the questions over the past few years.

[sleepydragon]

The kid probably has Brk shares under  her name, maybe even more shares that what you own. I think she has every rights to ask questions, same rights as everyone else.

Even though her parents may have helped with the questions, she still participated.

You guys need to learn more from Warren and Charlie, on their having a generous spirit toward people and have a kind heart. .

[Guest longinvestor]

The kid probably has Brk shares under  her name, maybe even more shares that what you own. I think she has every rights to ask questions, same rights as everyone else.

Even though her parents may have helped with the questions, she still participated.

You guys need to learn more from Warren and Charlie, on their having a generous spirit toward people and have a kind heart. .

 

+1

 

Besides it’s great to bring down the average age in the arena. All 3 kids who asked questions spoke lucidly with the exception of pronouncing entrepreneur. It was quite refreshing and perhaps life changing experience for each of them.

[rranjan]

I think kids asking questions is fine. It's not as if adults are  asking great questions all the time. One question asked by a kid had 3 pages of write up as a back ground before getting into actual question. That can get annoying.

[valueinvesting101]

I think question about ceiling of 10% holding was interesting. I think, Munger's eager response indicates that they really want to increase their position in banks such as WFC, USB and may be others if allowed.

[kiwing100]

 

 

ICYMI, full recording of BRK AGM:

 

[Jurgis]

It's interesting that Todd and Ted were not at the meeting. Or at least they did not admit they were there...  ::)

[Guest longinvestor]

The FAA’s frequently answered answers during the meeting were,

 

1. Thanks for your suggestions on xyz but we’re not about to change.

2. We’re not in the investment advisory business

3. How come you didn’t figure out anti-gravity

 

 

[Liberty]

For those who want to listen to the audio, there's a podcast version here:

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/berkshire-hathaway-2018-annual-shareholders-meeting/id1233777301

[Guest roark33]

Did anyone find a transcript of the meeting?  I am sure one will pop up....

[Spekulatius]

BRK  -3% today -looks like the annual post shareholder meeting stock price slump has started for BRK. Maybe another opportunity to buy shares in the $195 range.

[shalab]

Certainly hope so - I was expecting a lot of negative headlines but found only one in bloomberg that said "Buffett Confronts Tech-Driven Change Amid Investor Questions". Disappointed to say the least. Now we need more seeking alpha articles and the "globe and mail" folks disseminating investing advice to sell Berkshire in favor of their favorites.

 

BRK  -3% today -looks like the annual post shareholder meeting stock price slump has started for BRK. Maybe another opportunity to buy shares in the $195 range.

[DanielGMask]

Did anyone find a transcript of the meeting?  I am sure one will pop up....

 

Here it is!

BRK_2019.pdf

[CorpRaider]

Ok, so I was working on a post that was just going to be a simple thought experiment about BRK versus the S&P 500 going forward and questions around size and of course then I get bogged down citing Buffett partnership letters and Charlie's interview with the Journal (which was fabulous BTW) and then I notice a guy at the annual meeting kind of asked them about what I was thinking, but Buffett basically pretended (imop) not to follow the question about financial leverage/float.

 

So, if you had new BRK and it had $500 billion in assets and you invested everything in the S&P 500 and then just applied the leverage (1.6x?) from the float would you not outperform over the long term assuming positive returns in the S&P 500 and free or negative costs to the float?  What would be the logical limit of this? 

 

Maybe growth until the insurance operation keeps growing until it becomes too large and you start writing money losing business/calls on capital that coincides with a sell off in the market/economic recession (i.e., removing the two assumptions above)?

[sleepydragon]

When you apply the leverage, what is the interest of the margin loan you will be charged at? It will be between 4-8% depending on your broker.

Also, in years 2008, you could get margin calls and sell at the rock bottom low.

 

[CorpRaider]

I must have done a poor job communicating.

 

Assume the margin rate is +5% (you are getting paid to borrow) if you are operating an insurance business as a .95 combined ratio, it is not callable, or at least totally uncorrelated. 

 

The thought experiment is how does it not outperform the index by 1.X times the leverage assuming positive equity returns and that the insurance operation doesn't get so big that it starts writing AIG trash (which I think would be the theoretical limit on that side of the B/S; on the other side it might be that you become so big you make huge market impacts when you move $$$).  [so maybe under that scenario you are looking at a 12-16% CAGR for a long-ass while versus historical 20 something.]