The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger is jokingly referred to as the Woodstock for Capitalists as it draws a large growing crowd every year. And hundreds of thousands of people tune-in to watch the event streamed live on Yahoo.
Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
But should you watch the live broadcast?
What is your purpose for watching the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
My main purpose for not watching the full 3 to 4+ hour live broadcasting is because I know I will not learn anything new about investing.
That’s why I’ll be watching the 3-minute highlight reel instead.
And nothing new regarding investment technique or strategy will be said in the Q&A with Buffett and Munger.
If your purpose is to gain investment knowledge then Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have already written down their investment wisdom in their respective shareholder letters. Start from 1977 and right through till today for Buffett’s shareholder letters (link), and Charlie Munger’s Wesco Financial Corporation Shareholder letters start from 1997 through till 2009 (link).
And avoid reading other people’s bias opinions on those same letters, always read the original source, because a lot of media companies like to use Buffett’s reputation to market their own products (think Motley Fool, Jim Cramer, and others), it exactly the same reason Nike Inc., uses star athlete’s to market their products. There is nothing wrong with the marketing practice of association when it is used ethically, but Buffett has never endorsed them to use his name.
But if I was a shareholder I would attend. It is an event I’d love to experience, but I wouldn’t expect to learn anything new. (Listen to Tony Hansen explain what it was like to attend a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting here).
Remember there is an opportunity cost to watching the full live broadcast. So it’s important to define your purpose for watching or not watching, and if you decide not to watch, then determine how you will use that time productively instead. May I suggest spending a few minutes reading the five (5) investment fundamentals in the free the two-minute formula?
The decision is yours, and in Jocko Willink’s words “take extreme ownership.”
You can watch the full broadcast here Free at Yahoo (link).
Yours in Investing
– Adam
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Article by Searching For Value