Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSII)
There was no big news at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s annual meeting this past weekend, but there was one great lesson for investors: Perhaps the most important thing you can do when everything seems to be going right in your portfolio is to listen to somebody who insists you are wrong. To spice up the annual ritual, Berkshire’s chairman, Warren Buffett, invited someone who has placed a bet against the stock—short-seller Doug Kass of hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management—to join the panel of analysts posing questions to Mr. Buffett and vice chairman Charles Munger.
Warren Buffett’s Booming Furniture Store (WSJ)
Tucked inside a sprawling Omaha mall is one of Warren Buffett’s most-bragged about properties and one of the hottest places to be for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) +1.23% shareholders during the weekend-long annual meeting: A furniture store. Though it isn’t as widely known as See’s Candy or Dairy Queen, Nebraska Furniture Mart is almost as big a draw during the Berkshire annual meeting as the Oracle of Omaha himself. The evidence: A cool $35.9 million in sales done during last year’s annual meeting, nearly three-times what it did ten years ago at Buffettpalooza and continuing a sales chart that goes pretty much straight up year-over-year. The lone weekend would equal about 1% of the 2012 annual sales for Berkshire’s retailing unit, where the Nebraska Furniture Mart is housed along with three other furniture retailers and brands such as See’s, Pampered Chef and Oriental Trading Co.
Buffett devotees stick by him even as growth slows (MoneyControl)
Short-seller Douglas Kass, Warren Buffett’s handpicked bear, raised a concern on the minds of many shareholders at the “Woodstock for capitalists” this weekend: Has Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) become so big that it will find it hard to grow? Many retail investors who converged on Omaha, Nebraska, for Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday acknowledged that its fastest growth days are likely behind it. But they said Berkshire is still a good long-term bet as faith remains in Buffett and his management team’s more than 4-decade-long record of stellar returns, and the company’s tentacles into many sectors of the US economy. “Yes, it is a concern, but I have to get my expectations in line,” said Julie Fehrnstrom, a mother of three from Orinda, California, attending her fifth meeting. “They are not driven by short-term decision making and they have really smart management. You really don’t always find that.”
Warren Buffett leads annual meeting like no other (NDTV)
Part rock concert, part investment workshop, the annual gathering of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) shareholders is an odd mix. But that’s just how the faithful crowd of more than 30,000 who attended Saturday’s version likes it. Getting the chance to learn about business and life from Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett and spend the day with like-minded investors made it worthwhile to brave Saturday’s cool, rainy weather in Omaha, Nebraska. The level of appreciation shareholders have for Buffett becomes clear as he tours the meeting’s 200,000-square-foot (18,600-square-meter) exhibit hall each year.
Buffett Offers a Sketch of Berkshire’s Next Era (WSJ)
Warren Buffett dodged a bear and stuck up for his son at a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) +1.23% meeting that otherwise provided few surprises. For most shareholders, that was just fine. It could be that Berkshire shareholders, a generally happy bunch given the meteoric long-term gains in the stock, as well as its 22% jump since January, didn’t have new questions. After all, Mr. Buffett himself invited hedge-fund manager Doug Kass, who is bearish on the stock, to “spice things up” at the meeting by asking tough questions. Although one shareholder wanted to know why Mr. Buffett ate so many hamburgers, the five hours of questions from shareholders, financial analysts and journalists could be grouped into the following categories: the shape, size and value of Berkshire when Mr. Buffett is gone; the hidden identity of Mr. Buffett’s successor; whither big deals; the health of subsidiary businesses big and small; the U.S. recovery and Europe’s economic distress.
Warren Buffett offers advice on investing and life (NDTV)
Billionaire Warren Buffett dispensed plenty of advice on investing and life during this weekend’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) shareholders meeting. The wisdom Buffett and his investing partner Charlie Munger offer is part of what attracts more than 30,000 to the meetings each year. …Buffett and Munger told shareholders that successful investors must learn all they can about the businesses they are buying and stick to industries they know, but the right temperament is also important. “You just have to avoid getting excited when other people are excited,” Buffett said. Admittedly, it’s hard to continue to make rational decisions about investments when the stock market is soaring, but it has proven profitable for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A).
Savers suffering ‘brutal erosion’ of their money (Independent)
The veteran investor Warren Buffett has warned that savers and bondholders are suffering a “brutal” erosion of their money as the US Federal Reserve and other central banks force yields to historic lows. “I feel sorry for people that have clung to fixed-dollar investments,” he told investors at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s annual meeting in Nebraska. Mr Buffett, right, defended the emergency stimulus of Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, saying the “consequences would have been terrible” if the authorities had failed to act, but said those nearing pension age had paid the price.
Berkshire reports a 51 percent increase in profit as insurance, investments perform well (WashingtonPost)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s first-quarter profit jumped 51 percent as its insurance companies performed well and the value of its investments soared. Warren Buffett’s firm said Friday it earned $4.89 billion, or $2,977 per Class A share. That’s up from last year’s $3.25 billion net income, or $1,966 per Class A share. The Omaha-based conglomerate said its revenue grew 15 percent to $43.87 billion over last year’s $38.15 billion. The earnings report was released as thousands of Berkshire shareholders were gathering in Omaha for Saturday’s annual meeting. Berkshire officials don’t generally comment on quarterly earnings reports, and no one responded to a message Friday about the first-quarter results. But Buffett will likely discuss the earnings report briefly at Saturday’s annual meeting.
Why Warren Buffett Won’t Get More Women on Boards (BusinessWeek)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) shareholders take heart: With Warren Buffett officially adding a third woman to his 13-person board at the annual shareholders meeting on May 4, the company’s choppy performance of recent years could improve. Studies show that three is the magic number at which women cease to be an oddity in the boardroom and change the dynamics in a way that leads to better governance and better results. One of those studies came out in 2010 from recruiter Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSII) and WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD), a network of more than 2,000 women serving on boards worldwide. Their members were probably pleased to see a piece by Buffett in this week’s Fortune that called on “fellow males” to better deploy the talents of women. While the Sage of Omaha was lamenting the “gender-related self-doubt” that nagged at such friends as the late Katharine Graham, some 250 women directors were in New York to network and share best practices at WCD’s third annual global institute.
