The annual shareholders' meeting of Berkshire Hathaway headed by legendary investor Warren Buffett will be webcast live for the first time this year
BSE member Ramesh Damani, who has visited Omaha twice in the past to attend the meet, is one such investment veteran who will not be travelling to the US this year but will be glued to the webcast on Saturday. "Omaha is the mecca of value investing; it's like going on a pilgrimage. Despite the webcast, it is well worth paying a visit if you haven't done so already," he says.
Neil Parikh, chief executive of PPFAS Mutual Fund and son of noted investor Parag Parikh who died last year in a car crash in Omaha, is another investment professional who will be catching all the action from home. "Until this year, if you wanted a lowdown of the proceedings at the annual meet, you had to either be there in person or wait for the notes to be circulated online," says Parikh, who has accompanied his father in the past to attend the meet.
Parikh, however, believes that nothing beats the experience of 'being there' in person with about 40,000 other shareholders and likens the experience with watching a live cricket match or a rock concert. "It's always special to see Buffett and investment partner Charlie Munger field questions with their characteristic wit and wisdom," he says.
It's no surprise, then, that a few regulars have booked their seats this year despite the webcast. This includes Motilal Oswal Financial Services co-founder Raamdeo Agrawal, who has been a regular at the event for more than a decade now. "It's an investing pilgrimage and attending the AGM with thousands of believers imparts a different level of conviction and energy," says Agrawal. "Apart from the investment talk, their approach towards shareholders and corporate governance practices are a source of inspiration to everyone who wants to build a sound investment business."
Group company Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund, in fact, has arranged a trip for 60 distributors to attend the meet this year. "Our investing philosophy is influenced by the principles practiced at Berkshire and we hope that the day-long event will help our business partners to appreciate where our thinking is coming from, how it is practiced and its potential," says Aashish Somaiyaa, managing director & CEO of the fund house.
Buffett's oft-repeated Buffetisms include "Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1", "Never invest in a business you can't understand" and "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get". Most of these Buffetisms revolve around the concept of value investing, a strategy of selecting stocks that trade for less than their intrinsic values. Value investors seek to invest in stocks of companies which they believe the market has undervalued.
The weekend at Omaha, however, is not about imbibing dull investment principles alone. Last year, for instance, a shareholder asked Buffett and Munger on the secret recipe for making friends and making other people like you. To this, Munger replied, tongue firmly in cheek, that the only way he knew how to achieve this was by getting richer and more generous. He even doled out tips to save one's marriage, saying the key was to focus on changing oneself rather than the partner.
Besides the Berkshire meet, Omaha hosts several other informal investment conferences during the weekend, giving a wider platform to interact with other value investors. "It's less about learning and more about the experience," observes Damani. Adds Parikh: "It's perhaps the only city in the world where so many like-minded investors can be found in one place."
And in many ways, the trip is also a chance to own a slice of history. Parikh, for instance, has made it a point to visit landmarks in Omaha such as Nebraska Furniture Mart and Gorat's Steak House (a restaurant which has been a favourite haunt of Buffett) that find mention in Buffett's letters and biographies. "It's like walking through history," he says.
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