What does a carnival look like for investors?
In this year’s edition of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, dubbed the “Woodstock of Capitalism,” the answer includes:
A remixed Alicia Keys and Jay-Z song, Empire State of Mind, about one of America’s most lauded companies — replacing “New York” in the lyrics with “Berkshire”A goofy homemade movie with actress Jamie Lee CurtisEmployees in giant gecko and giant pink flamingo suitsHordes of people snatching up Buffett-branded souvenirs in a Black Friday-like mad dash across a makeshift mallThe CEO of Activision Blizzard, in which Buffett is a large investor, casually chatting with CNBC on live television behind the shoppersCEO and Chairman Warren Buffett holding forth for hours with his friend and business partner, Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, on the world economy, America, holdings at Berkshire, family and success in life.
Much of Wall Street attended alongside citizens of Main Street. The official dress code was “casual,” but many wore suits as though they were going to church or a business conference. Some resembled tourists on vacation, while others were startup founders and corporate executives. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Citi CEO Jane Fraser were among the high flyers at the event, according to CNBC, in its second year back in person since the pandemic.
Victoria Zhuang
Eventgoers from around the planet arrived as early as 4:00 a.m. to stand outside of downtown Omaha’s CHI Health Center on Saturday; the line eventually snaked down several blocks before the doors opened at 7:00 a.m. All told, more than 30,000 people attended, Barron’s estimated, including this reporter. CNBC recorded an exclusive online broadcast of the entire event, leaving out the presentation and votes on shareholder proposals at the end, where all proposals were voted down.
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Victoria Zhuang
Inside, the atmosphere was celebratory and chaotic at times but also solemn. In an uncertain political and economic world, many attendees were hoping to lap up wisdom from capitalism’s beloved poster children, who have lived through the Great Depression, World War II and other crises of global history with consistency in their business outlooks and enviable investing success.
“We had a competitive broadcast going out somewhere in the U.K.,” Buffett joked, referring to the coronation of King Charles III in England that same morning. “We’ve got our own King Charles here today,” he added, referring to Munger — to roaring approval and laughter.
Buffett is turning 93 this year on August 30 and Munger turned 99 on January 1, so many attendees were wondering if this was the last time they’ll see the dynamic duo together on stage — although as a running joke between them, that’s been the concern of investors for decades now.
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Young and old, mostly male but sometimes female, from babies to elementary school-age children to young adults to the elderly — all who came to see the famed Oracle of Omaha were silent as they listened, with the exception of one toddler-sized girl on the floor who began wailing for her mother and had to be rushed out of the room by an annoyed man who appeared to be her father — all as Buffett and Munger spoke in turn and took questions from shareholders.
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Victoria Zhuang
For financial planners, the takeaways go beyond the boxes of See’s Candies, a Buffet favorite and holding, and signed copies of books by Berkshire scholars on Buffettology.
For Mike Caligiuri, a certified financial planner who is the founder and CEO of registered investment advisor Caligiuri Financial in Columbus, Ohio, the meeting’s openness to questions by shareholders of any age reveals the importance of truly listening to investors’ needs and concerns — even to those of children, such as a 13-year-old named Daphne who asked Buffett what might be the most incisive question of the day.
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Victoria Zhuang
Daphne, whose last name is unknown, asked if Buffett was concerned about the U.S. dollar losing its status as the global reserve currency, and what investors should do about that risk.
“The truth may also be that it takes an innocent child’s courage to say the ‘quiet part out loud,'” said Caligiuri, who followed news of the event online.
For Jan Valecka, a financial planner who attended for the first time in person this year, the simplicity of Buffett and Munger’s emphasis on “no nonsense, plain vanilla investing” and long-term gains was the biggest takeaway. Valecka said she was impressed with Berkshire’s approach to shunning dividends, as Buffett said he believed it was better to reinvest that money back into the company and reward loyal shareholders with better returns.
“I was amazed that the auditorium was full and I watched people sit for 3 hours straight hanging on every word,” Valecka said. “Investors are always looking for the secret and it is using common sense and being long term in your investment strategy.” Valecka is the owner of Valecka Wealth Management, a firm affiliated with LPL Financial based out of Dallas, Texas.
Below are four more business and life lessons out of Omaha for financial advisors.
Disclosure: this reporter is not a shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway, but was invited to attend the annual shareholder meeting as the guest of a class B shareholder.