Warren Buffett’s Meeting with University of Maryland MBA Students Nov '13

This is likely to be the last post of the year and it couldn't end any better. I have highlighted what got my attention from Buffett's latest talk to MBA students. I'd also like to thank those who indicated this to me.

• On "quality investing":

It’s better to buy wonderful businesses at fair prices than so-so businesses at low prices.

After exposure to Fisher and Charlie, I started looking for better companies.

• On candor: After reading many annual letters, it's hard to find one more clear and candid than Berkshire's. After all Rittenhouse is right indeed.

I try to think of my shareholders as my partners. I try to think of the information I would want them to send me if they were running the place, and I was the shareholder. What would I want to know? This is what I tell them.  In my first draft, I address it to my sisters who don’t know a lot about finance. “Dear sisters”- I explain to them what they would want to know in their position. I also like to write one section that is a general teaching lesson that doesn’t directly apply to Berkshire.

This is what I can do, this is what I can’t do, this is how I intend to go about it, and this is how I measure my success.

• On cash and human behavior: 

BRK always has $20 billion or more in cash. It sounds crazy, never need anything like it, but some day in the next 100 years when the world stops again, we will be ready. There will be some incident, it could be tomorrow.  At that time, you need cash. Cash at that time is like oxygen. When you don’t need it, you don’t notice it. When you do need it, it’s the only thing you need.

Fear spreads fast, it is contagious. Doesn’t have anything to do with IQ. Confidence only comes back one at a time, not en masse. There are periods when fear paralyzes the investment world. You don’t want to owe money at that time, and if you have money then you want to buy at those times.

• On assessing executives:

But will they behave the same after they get the money and I get the stock certificate? Will they work just as hard when they’re putting money in their own pocket? 3/4 of our managers are independently wealthy. These people don’t need to go to work, but they are putting the work in. If I give him 4 billion dollars, will it be the same results next month? Next year? I don’t deal with contracts; I have to size up whether management is going to continue working that same way. Generally, I’ve been right in my assessments and I’ve gotten better. They don’t need me, I need them. Why do I come to work? I can do anything I want to do, and yet I come out every morning and can’t wait to get into work. I enjoy working Saturdays, talking to students. Why do I do it? I get to paint my own painting. Berkshire Hathaway is my painting. People love creating things. I think I’m Michelangelo, painting the Sistine Chapel but it could look like a blob to someone else. Second thing – I want applause. I like it when people appreciate my painting. If others have their own paintings, then who am I to tell them how to paint it? (Just like management) I appreciate what they do. I know the game, so when I praise them, they know they’re getting approval from a critic they like. I have their stock certificate, but it’s still their business. It’s a good culture when managers really care about the business.

• On investing:

I like running businesses better than investing.  It is more fun building businesses than moving money around.

• On moats:

You need 2 things – a moat around the castle, and you need a knight in the castle who is trying to widen the moat around the castle. How did Coca-Cola build their moat? They deepened the thought in people’s minds that Coca-Cola is where happiness is. The moat is what’s in your mind. Railroad moats are barriers to entry. Geico’s moat is low prices. Every day we try to widen the moat.  See’s Candies creates a moat in the minds of consumers.  It is a more effective gift on Valentine’s Day than Russell Stover.  See’s Candies has raised its price every year on December 26 for 41 years.  BRK bought See’s Candies for $25 million in 1972.  Today it earns $80 million.

• On balancing your life:

The most important decision you’re going make is who you’re going to marry. What’s important is that what your thoughts are on big things, must make sure that your spouse has the same thoughts on the same big things. Don’t marry someone to change them. Marry someone who is a better person than you are. Always associate yourself with people who are better than you.

• On negotiation:

Bargaining with people you love is a terrible mistake. It’s destructive. The most powerful force in the world is unconditional love.

• On mistakes:

It is better to learn from other people’s mistakes rather than your own. Look at all kinds of business failures. I don’t believe in beating yourself over it, you’re going to make mistakes. My biggest mistake was buying Berkshire Hathaway and trying to make it better. 

• On his risk profile:

I try to operate in a way where I can’t lose significant sums over time. I might not make the most money this way, but I will minimize the risk of permanent loss. If there’s 1 in 1000 chance that an investment decision can threaten permanent loss to other people, I just won’t do it.

Full credit to Dr. David Kass, who has taken notes on the entire interview. You may find the entire piece by clicking here.