Is Warren Buffett Still The World's Greatest Investor?
By Morgan Korn | Daily Ticker Fri, May 4, 2012 7:55 AM EDT
11
Email
Print
Follow The Daily Ticker on Facebook!
Legions of Berkshire Hathaway investors, Warren Buffett acolytes and news
organizations (including Yahoo!) will converge in Ohama, Nebraska this weekend
for the company's annual shareholder meeting. "Woodstock for Capitalists," as
the widely-attended event has come to be known, offers attendees the
opportunity to get a glimpse of perhaps the most famous investor in the world.
But as Bloomberg points out in an article Thursday, Berkshire Hathaway stock
(BRK-A) has trailed the S&P 500 Index (GSPC) for the last three years. Since
May 5, 2009 shares of Berkshire, the conglomerate Buffett has built up over the
past 40 years, have gained just 32 percent compared to 60 percent for the S&P
500. Bloomberg reports that Berkshire's growth has slowed as Buffett became
more focused on takeovers in industries as diverse as railroads and machine
tools.
The more pressing issue weighing on the company and shareholders involves
Buffett's succession plan. Last December Buffett named his son Howard as
non-executive chairman of Berkshire, an unpaid position with little if any
influence over daily investing decisions. Buffett described the younger
Buffett's role as "guardian" of the company's "values." Buffett turns 82 this
August and Wall Street remains largely clueless as to who will fill Buffett's
big shoes. A decision by Buffett to name his replacement has taken on an extra
sense of urgency after he announced last month that he had been diagnosed with
prostate cancer. The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task and Dan Gross discuss the future
of Berkshire Hathaway and question whether Buffett, aka the "Oracle of Omaha,"
should continue to hold onto the world's greatest investor title.
"It's kind of telling when we talk about Buffett it's most often in the context
of politics," Dan says. "It seems like only a small percentage of Buffett
conversations are about what he's buying. Has [Buffet] transcended the mere
world of results into a cultural icon?"
Buffett has certainly become almost synonymous with politics. Buffett's very
public comments about his secretary paying a higher tax rate than he inspired
President Obama to name his proposed tax on millionaires the "Buffett Rule."
Debbie Bosanek, Buffett's longtime secretary, sat with the First Lady in her
box at the president's State of the Union Address in January. Dan says
Buffett's turn as a philanthropist and political activist puts him in the same
league as Bill Gates, the co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, who has
become globally recognized as the one "who will solve the world's problems."
While Berkshire stock may be lagging, few investors have questioned Buffett's
choice of companies. Buffett's mantra has been "slow and steady" and "he's not
looking for a quick buck," Aaron says. Buffett may have missed hot growth
stocks like Apple and Amazon, but his $44 billion investment in railroad
operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 2009 was a savvy move for Berkshire.
Some of the firm's biggest holdings Costco (COST), M&T Bank (MTB), Johnson &
Johnson (JNJ) and DirecTV (DTV) have been a mixed bag; Buffett has been
adjusting his stock portfolio, selling his stake in ExxonMobil (XOM) and buying
shares of Intel (INTC) and IBM (IBM) this winter. Berkshire, one of the most
expensive publicly traded stocks, continues to attract investors mainly because
of Buffett's reputation and cult-like following. Yet the Buffett premium "is
coming out of the stock," Aaron notes. "People are realizing he's mortal."
------------------------------------
Kunjungi situs http://www.info-saham.com untuk informasi seputar saham.
SEMUA POSTING DI MILIS INI TANGGUNG JAWAB PENGIRIM EMAIL DAN BUKAN ADMIN MILIS.
SEMUA POSTING DI MILIS INI BUKAN UNTUK MENGAJAK MEMBELI ATAU MENJUAL EFEK.
SETIAP KEPUTUSAN INVESTASI MENJADI TANGGUNG JAWAB PIHAK PEMILIK INVESTASI ATAU
PEMILIK MODAL.
[email protected] untuk berhenti dari milis saham
[email protected] untuk bergabung ke milis saham
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saham/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saham/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
