INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Legendary investor Warren Buffett on Saturday said among its economic trees (read diverse businesses), a few are diseased and
unlikely to be around a decade from now
Many others, though, are destined to grow in size and beauty
He warned investors against owning businesses at sky high prices.
In his customary annual letter to shareholders, the Oracle of Omaha
a financial fortress and that in managing it, he will make expensive mistakes of commission and will also miss many opportunities, some of
But I will never risk getting caught short of cash
(Just writing about the possibility of a huge purchase has caused my pulse rate to soar.) My expectation of more stock purchases is not a
developments, forecasts by economists or whatever else might be the subject du jour.
"What we see in our holdings, rather, is an assembly of
companies that we partly own and that, on a weighted basis, are earning about 20 per cent on the net tangible equity capital required to run
established and understandable businesses are remarkable under any circumstances
investments in Kraft Heinz stock, as the scrip fell over 27 per cent in a single day on disappointing quarterly earnings
Data showed Berkshire recently bought bank stocks in US, but trimmed its stake in Apple Inc.
In his letter, Buffett talked about five
groves, four of which are differentiated clusters of businesses and financial assets that are easy to understand
He called insurance as the fifth grove, huge and diverse.
On leadershipIn his letter, Buffett talked about the cash piling up at the world's
largest financial services company by revenues, equity holdings but did not drop any hint on his potential successors, Greg Abel and Ajit
Jain.
Berkshire last year made Greg Abel and Ajit Jain vice-chairmen at the financial giant
letter, Buffett said the move to make them vice-chairmen was overdue
increased roughly 400-fold in 77-year periods
would that supposed protection have delivered You would now have an asset worth about $4,200, less than 1 per cent of what would have been
realized from a simple unmanaged investment in American business
engaged in diverse business activities including insurance and reinsurance, freight rail transportation, manufacturing, utilities and
energy, retailing and services
The common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Berkshire will hold annual shareholders meeting on May 4 at CHI
Health Center Omaha (formerly named CenturyLink Center), US.
