Speaking to Buffett is About to Get Tougher (BRK-A)(BRK-B)
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What would you do for a chance to ask Warren Buffett a question at the annual Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) meeting?
Would you eat a Tanzanian cave spider -> Picture here. WARNING: Nightmare inducing! Grab a wastebasket/towel before clicking!
Walk around dressed as a girl (if you're a guy)?
Go over Niagara falls in a barrel? Barrel-less?
Step in the ring with Manny Pacquiao?
Play a down of professional football...as a running back?
Take a vacation to Juarez, Mexico, while carrying a steel briefcase full of "supplies?"
Suggest going to see the movie "New Years Eve?"
Well, while those are all pretty crazy things to do in order to stand in front of arguably one of the greatest investors ever, on his home turf, in front of 30,000 or so sharp minds from Wall Street and main street (maybe asking the question is the crazy part now), Warren Buffett is planning to make the routine a little more challenging.
According to reports in the WSJ Thursday, Buffett aims to change who gets to ask questions at his annual meeting. Traditionally, Buffett has folks submit a ticket to a raffle in order to be considered for a chance to speak. About 50 questions are fielded from the audience, with more from the journalists.
However, one major holder of Berkshire stock, Fidelity, was getting peeved with the question quality lately. People would ask Buffett for suggested books, or advice, or whether Buffett simply shampoos or also conditions.
Those sorts of questions don't help Fidelity, which has invested about $4 billion in Berkshire for a 2 percent stake. So, Fidelity tried to play the system a little, with surprising success. It sent 40 reps to the meeting, fanning out to enter in multiple raffles. In total, Fidelity managed to ask 6 of 27 questions, while two more Fidelity questions were asked by journalists, for a total of 8 out of 54 questions.
Buffett was unaware of the number, because those asking only need to state their name and where they're from.
Questions asked included Buffett and Charlie Munger's outlook on banks that Berkshire has stakes in, as well as how Berkshire's returns on capital are doing, among other questions.
But, next year Buffett plans to be a little more sly. The audience will get about 33 percent less questions due to the addition of an analyst panel. Further, Buffett will make a better effort to ask questions from the audience by chance.
Why in the world Berkshire doesn't instill a system for attendees to register ahead of time, virtually, and then either opt in or opt out of the ability to ask a question is a good question in itself. Though some "behind the scenes" deals might take place should tickets be issued at the door, if Berkshire would simply retain the name and locations, while assigning a specific number or code to the attendee, then there could be multiple levels of checks to ensure foul play is reduced.
Just a thought. Berkshire is notably flat in early Thursday trading.
Would you eat a Tanzanian cave spider -> Picture here. WARNING: Nightmare inducing! Grab a wastebasket/towel before clicking!
Walk around dressed as a girl (if you're a guy)?
Go over Niagara falls in a barrel? Barrel-less?
Step in the ring with Manny Pacquiao?
Play a down of professional football...as a running back?
Take a vacation to Juarez, Mexico, while carrying a steel briefcase full of "supplies?"
Suggest going to see the movie "New Years Eve?"
Well, while those are all pretty crazy things to do in order to stand in front of arguably one of the greatest investors ever, on his home turf, in front of 30,000 or so sharp minds from Wall Street and main street (maybe asking the question is the crazy part now), Warren Buffett is planning to make the routine a little more challenging.
According to reports in the WSJ Thursday, Buffett aims to change who gets to ask questions at his annual meeting. Traditionally, Buffett has folks submit a ticket to a raffle in order to be considered for a chance to speak. About 50 questions are fielded from the audience, with more from the journalists.
However, one major holder of Berkshire stock, Fidelity, was getting peeved with the question quality lately. People would ask Buffett for suggested books, or advice, or whether Buffett simply shampoos or also conditions.
Those sorts of questions don't help Fidelity, which has invested about $4 billion in Berkshire for a 2 percent stake. So, Fidelity tried to play the system a little, with surprising success. It sent 40 reps to the meeting, fanning out to enter in multiple raffles. In total, Fidelity managed to ask 6 of 27 questions, while two more Fidelity questions were asked by journalists, for a total of 8 out of 54 questions.
Buffett was unaware of the number, because those asking only need to state their name and where they're from.
Questions asked included Buffett and Charlie Munger's outlook on banks that Berkshire has stakes in, as well as how Berkshire's returns on capital are doing, among other questions.
But, next year Buffett plans to be a little more sly. The audience will get about 33 percent less questions due to the addition of an analyst panel. Further, Buffett will make a better effort to ask questions from the audience by chance.
Why in the world Berkshire doesn't instill a system for attendees to register ahead of time, virtually, and then either opt in or opt out of the ability to ask a question is a good question in itself. Though some "behind the scenes" deals might take place should tickets be issued at the door, if Berkshire would simply retain the name and locations, while assigning a specific number or code to the attendee, then there could be multiple levels of checks to ensure foul play is reduced.
Just a thought. Berkshire is notably flat in early Thursday trading.
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