Hey Berkshire Weekenders,
If you are like me, then one of your favorite parts of the Berkshire Annual Shareholder’s meeting (besides the discounts) is getting a chance to pick Warren Buffett’s brain. The yearly Q and A section that Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger put on has become the stuff of legend.
To see some of the quotes from last year’s Q and A, check out this post from last year’s blog coverage. Check out transcripts from past years Q and A session here.
This year the Q and A section will have a new format. And I wanted to put up some information so that everyone will know before they arrive.
I will let the chairman explain the changes in his own words:
A message from your Chairman…
This year we will be making important changes in how we handle the meeting’s question periods. In recent years, we have received only a handful of questions directly related to Berkshire and its operations. Last year there were practically none. So we need to steer the discussion back to Berkshire’s businesses.
In a related problem, there has been a mad rush when the doors open at 7am, led by people who wish to be first in line at the 12 microphones available for questioners. This is not desirable from a safety standpoint, nor do we believe that sprinting ability should be the determinant of who gets to pose questions. (At age 78, I’ve concluded that speed afoot is a ridiculously overrated talent.) Again, a new procedure is desirable.
In our first change, several financial journalists from organizations representing newspapers, magazines and television will participate in the question-and-answer period, asking Charlie and me questions that shareholders have submitted by e-mail. The journalists and their e-mail addresses are: Carol Loomis, of Fortune, who may be emailed at cloomis@fortune.com; Becky Quick, of CNBC, at BerkshireQuestions@cnbc.com, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, of The New York Times, at arsorkin@nytimes.com. From the questions submitted, each journalist will choose the
dozen or so he or she decides are the most interesting and important. (In your e-mail, let the journalist know if you would like your name mentioned if your question is selected.)
Neither Charlie nor I will get so much as a clue about the questions to be asked. We know the journalists will pick some tough ones and that’s the way we like it.
In our second change, we will have a drawing at 8:15 at each microphone* for those shareholders hoping to ask questions themselves. At the meeting, I will alternate the questions asked by the journalists with those from the winning shareholders. At least half the questions – those selected by the panel from your submissions – are therefore certain to be Berkshire-related. We will meanwhile continue to get some good – and perhaps entertaining – questions from the audience as well. bq.
So submit your questions today.
See you soon,
The Borsheims Team
