Warren Buffett takes the stage before Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogen | David A. Grogen CNBC
Warren Buffett turns 94 on Friday, and his vast and unique conglomerate has never been worth more than it is today.
Berkshire Hathaway This week it became the first non-tech company to surpass $1 trillion in market capitalization. The price per share of Berkshire’s Class A shares also exceeded $700,000 for the first time.
Howard Marks, a great investor in his own right and a friend of Buffett, believes three things allow the “Oracle of Omaha” to lead Berkshire to new heights even at his advanced age .
“This is a well-thought-out strategy that has been executed with discipline, consistency and extraordinary insight for seven years,” said Marks, co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management. “Discipline and consistency are essential, But it wasn’t enough. Without extraordinary insight, he clearly wouldn’t have become the greatest investor in history.”
“His record is a testament to the power of compounding at a very high rate without interruption over a long period of time. He never took a day off,” Marks added.
Berkshire Hathaway
among these The Go-Go Stock Market in the 1960sBuffett later used the investment partnership he ran to acquire a then-failing New England textile company called Berkshire Hathaway. Today, his companies are beyond recognition, with businesses ranging from GEICO insurance to BNSF railroad, a stock portfolio worth more than $300 billion and a cash fortress of $277 billion.
Jaw-dropping returns
For decades, generations of investors who have studied and imitated Buffett’s investing style have been amazed by his shrewd moves. this Coca Cola The bets of the late 1980s provided a lesson in patient value investing in strong brands with wide moats. Inject lifeline investment Goldman Sachs The opportunistic side of the crisis was demonstrated at the height of the financial crisis. go all out apple In recent years, people have spoken of his flexibility in adopting values in a new era.
Buffett made headlines earlier this month when he revealed he sold half of his Apple stock, setting off alarm bells about an extremely lucrative deal. (While Apple is widely viewed as a growth stock, Buffett has long argued that all investing is value investing — “You put some money in now so you can get more later.”)
Decades of good returns snowballed into an unrivaled track record. From 1965 to 2023, Berkshire stock gained an annualized rate of 19.8%, nearly double the S&P 500’s 10.2% return. The 500 Index returned 31,223%.
“He is the most patient investor of all time, which is a big reason for his success,” said Steve Check, founder of Check Capital Management, Berkshire’s largest holding. (Steve Check) said. “He can sit and sit and sit. Even at his age, where there’s not a lot of time to sit, he’s still going to sit until he feels comfortable. I just think he’s going to continue to do the best he can until the end.”
Buffett remains Berkshire’s chairman and CEO, although Greg Abel, Berkshire’s vice chairman of non-insurance operations and Buffett’s designated successor, has taken on many responsibilities at the conglomerate. Earlier this year, Buffett said Abel, 62, would make all investment decisions after his death.
Buffett and Marks
Oaktree’s Marks said Buffett reinforced concepts integral to his own approach. Like Buffett, he is indifferent to macro forecasts and market timing; he relentlessly seeks value while staying within the confines of his abilities.
Howard Marks, Co-Chairman of Oaktree Capital.
Courtesy of David A. Grogan | CNBC
“He doesn’t care about market timing and trading, but when other people get scared, he steps in. We try to do the same thing,” Marks said.
Buffett, He studied under Benjamin Graham at Columbia Universityrecommends that investors treat their holdings as small businesses. He believes volatility is a huge advantage for real investors because it provides the opportunity to take advantage of emotional sell-offs.
Oaktree, which manages $193 billion in assets, has grown into one of the world’s largest alternative investment firms, specializing in distressed loans and bargain hunting.
Marks, 78, has become a sharp, unequivocal contrarian voice in the investment world. His popular investing memos from 1990 are now considered must-reads on Wall Street and have even received an enthusiastic endorsement from Buffett himself – “When I saw Howard Marks’ memo in the mail, my first What you see is them.
Both were launched in the early 2000s after the collapse of Enron. Marks revealed that Buffett ultimately inspired him to write his own book – Most importantly: an unusual feeling for thoughtful investors ——more than ten years ahead of his own plan.
“His comments were very generous. I don’t think this book would have been written without his inspiration,” Marks said. “I originally planned to write a book after I retired, but with his encouragement the book was published 13 years ago.”
Buffett’s life trajectory and his ability to enjoy working well into his 90s also resonated with Marks.
“He said he didn’t go to work in the morning. He invested with passion and joy,” Marks said. “I’m not retired yet and I hope to follow his example and never retire.”
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