Friday, April 4, 2008

Article from the Globe & Mail

Here is the short article that appeared in the Globe & Mail this morning, featuring a couple of nice quotes from this here blog:

Driving for dollars with Buffett

DAVID BERMAN

April 4, 2008

In public, Warren Buffett rarely deviates from his published thoughts, especially his much anticipated annual letters. But those who bask in his charms are never disappointed at having met him, even if they learn nothing new.

MBA students from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario were the latest group to meet Mr. Buffett during a trip to the Oracle's base in Omaha, Neb. One student, Nick Kuzyk, has maintained a blog (iveyandtheoracle.blogspot.com) devoted to the trip and posted his experiences, which include being driven by Mr. Buffett to a restaurant.

"What I remember from the ride was Mr. Buffett's caution at the wheel, yet complete comfort as the steward of our fortunes," Mr. Kuzyk wrote on his blog. "The metaphor couldn't have been more perfect, especially for me as a shareholder."

But as for getting any chewable tidbits from Mr. Buffett, the experience sounds as though it was more about meeting fame and fortune face to face - and the inspiration that comes with that - than about learning anything specific about stock picking.

"[None] of what he said hasn't been captured in other interviews, on television, in annual reports, or in his soon to be released biography (Sept. 29, 2008) already," Mr. Kuzyk wrote. "So, I'm pretty sure that the true value of my experience will reveal itself over time."

To get the steak instead of the sizzle, maybe you have to be the winning bidder when Mr. Buffett auctions himself for a private lunch. At last year's auction, the winner paid $650,100 (U.S.).

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Key Learnings from the Oracle

Here are some of the significant take-aways that my classmates and I brought home with us, after spending the day with Mr. Warren Buffett:


- Brilliance is the ability to funnel a massive amount of information into a simple yes/no decision

- Being an inherent optimist is a key trait to success

- Your real friends will hide you, not point the enemy in your direction

- Start playing Bridge

- One of the best interviews ever given about Buffett was by his late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett, about two months before she died, and it’s available at www.charlierose.com

- Happiness is tap dancing to work every day

- Success begets success and it starts from the inside and flows out

- Aim to be the person that people choose to go long 10% of, and be really worried if instead they want to short 10% of you

- A good business partnership evolves into something intuitive over time, when it’s based on the proper balance of trust, humour, accuracy, and friendship

- The formula for happiness: kids who love you, a job you tap dance to get to, and working with people you like

- Most important choice in life: spouse -- but aim for one with low expectations (a joke)

- Do what you're best at, then give the fruits of your labour to people who are at humanitarian work; don't muddy the waters with inefficient capital or resources;

- Do what you love, not for the money but because it's in your heart, mind, blood and soul

My time with Warren Buffett

Well, it happened. On Monday, March 31st, 2008, I had the enormous privilege and extreme pleasure to share in the company of the world's richest man for a few hours. Here is the story, in chronological order, but before I begin, it should be noted that Ivey didn't have to share the day with any other business school, save for the added inclusion of a some Communications students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Monday started bright and early as I woke up at 5:00 AM, to organize my things, get ready for the day, enjoy a healthy breakfast, and read the 2007 Annual Letter to Berkshire Shareholders as well as the Owner's Manual for Berkshire Shareholders. Omaha was grey with pouring rain and some lightning, but the taxis all showed up on time and ushered us down Dodge to Nebraska Furniture Mart for 8:30 AM. There, we were hosted by Bob Batt, VP of Sales & Marketing and grandson of the Mart's founder Rose Blumkin, who gave us a tour of the furniture, mattresses, rugs, and electronics areas of the 77-acre campus. Most notable was "the Warren" mattress that is exclusively sold by NFM under its line of Berkshire Collection mattresses, with apparently very high volumes and margins.


At 9:30 AM, everyone headed to the coaches that had thankfully arrived under dry skies. I was a bit worried about Arrow Stage Lines' commitment to provide two more buses for us, but sure enough, they were there with a smile on too. By the time everyone loaded onto the buses, we arrived 40-blocks later at the Kiewit Building at 10:00 AM, where Berkshire Hathaway has its headquarters, for all 19 people that run the small empire. The Cloud Room, on the 15th floor, was set up for us with chairs and bins at the back for us to deposit our books, for Mr. Buffett to sign at a later date. I met Jackie, Mr. Buffett's assistant, who was extremely nice and clarified a few things for me, regarding logistics for the impending Q&A session and the way to Piccolo's for lunch.

After getting back to my seat on the left side of the third row, a side door opened to my immediate left and Mr. Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, almost walked right into me. That was the first moment of the day that froze time, for just a second, and it is ingrained perfectly in my mind. The following Q&A session started with my asking Mr. Buffett about the characteristics and nuances of his partnership with Charlie Munger. Following a few good anecdotes and some invaluable pearls of wisdom, Mr. Buffett proceeded to lace his commentary with countless jokes, and soon had us practically rolling in the aisles with laughter. No one expected him to be this funny, I can assure you, and it was a welcome surprise. The format of the session continued with two questions from Ivey students followed by one questions from the local students, until we were finished at 12:15 PM.

At the end of the Q&A session, our Professor, George Athanassakos, presented the Oracle with a gift of our appreciation, which was followed by thunderous applause. To everyone's next surprise, Mr. Buffett offered four spots in his car to students in need of a ride, to be selected by Professor Athanassakos and the faculty representative from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In the next moment, two months' worth of steady work paid off when Professor Athanassakos chose me to ride with Mr. Buffett, as the only MBA from Ivey, along with his top HBA student, to be driven over Piccolo's for lunch. After Mr. Buffett came down to the lobby where we were waiting, I quickly offered that the front passenger seat should be taken by one of the two ladies, which my HBA counterpart nicely gave to Talia from the U of N at O.

In the car, which happened to be a new Cadillac with a glorious smell of fresh leather, Mr. Buffett asked for a quick biography from each of us, and by the time the fourth person answered, we had arrived at Piccolo's. What I remember from the ride was Mr. Buffett's caution at the wheel, yet complete comfort as the steward of our fortunes. The metaphor couldn't have been more perfect, especially for me as a shareholder and value-minded person.

Once we arrived at Piccolo's, outside of which Mr. Buffett simply parked on the street about 10 car lengths from the entrance, I realized that we had beaten the coaches to the restaurant. Taking opportunity by the horns, I made sure to watch carefully as Mr. Buffett chose a seat at one of the banquet tables, so I could swiftly take the seat opposite to him. That way, I at least was guaranteed a few minutes of face time with the Oracle, to ask the remainder of my questions that I printed the day before and put in my pocket. Little did I expect for him to remain at our table for the entire lunch period, and right in front of me at that.

When the waitress came to our table, I ordered a Cherry Coke, to which he replied "Now we're talkin'!" For lunch, he ate the chicken parmagian while I had a steak (and the other two options were breaded sea bass and something else that might have been a vegetarian option). I got through all of my questions, took some notes, listened to every word he said, and was surprised at the humility, clarity, and complete honesty of all of his answers. While I tried to stick with investment and research-based questions, other people asked about his family life, the movies he likes, other aspirations and some philosophical questions. He answered every one, with or without his mouth full, and then devoured a double-sized root beer float for dessert. Of course, he ordered floats for everyone else as well, on top of already picking up the tab for the group.

The most valuable part of sitting across the table from Mr. Warren Buffett for that hour was his thirst for our knowledge as well as his demonstration of a vast and completely accurate pool of facts and figures, on which he bases the world's most profitable decision-making ability of modern times. It was completely surreal to be sitting face-to-face with the Oracle of Omaha, for the simple fact that, for all of his net worth, the only thing he really wanted to do was learn more, find new value opportunities, dig deeper, and at the end of the day, go home to a loving and happy family.

As far as secret insights or possible hints into his next moves, he was far smarter than to reveal anything like that. When I asked about how he struck a balance between his passion for digging through Moody's Manuals every hour of every day with his love for his wife and family, and if there were any specific commitments or schedules that he maintained to keep the balance, he struck the idea down and said with remarkable confidence, "you never want to have a contract with your family." I was impressed.

After lunch, Mr. Buffett emerged from Piccolo's amidst a throng of keen students and stood in front of the restaurant for pictures. As one might expect, people crowded him immediately on the basis that his time was limited. But when it was communicated that he would stay as long as it took to get a picture with each of us, things calmed down and an ad hoc but methodical process was developed to ensure that everyone took at least one picture with the fun and photogenic Mr. Buffett. Now, at this point I thought there was little he could do to impress us further. But, when asked to do creative things with people for their pictures, he was all for it. Popped collars, Blue Brothers poses, wallet grabbing, funny faces, kisses on the cheek from the ladies, cell phone calls, you name it, were all acted out for the benefit of us students. And just as he had committed, when everyone was satisfied he took one last bundle of Berkshire Annual Reports from me to be signed for a group of us and strode off back to his car, did a u-turn, and headed back to the office.

I still don't really know how to interpret my time with Warren Buffett. I'm typing this entry much too late on a school night, simply out of fear that I'll lose parts of my memory and ruin a priceless experience by not scrambling to scribe every detail. Yet, none of what he said hasn't been captured in other interviews, on television, in Annual Reports, or in his soon to be released biography (September 29, 2008) already. So, I'm pretty sure that the true value of my experience will reveal itself over time. Ultimately, the overall morale that he taught us was for all the riches in the world, they're nothing if you can't stroll the streets of your home town as did you when you were a kid.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Just a matter of time

So, it's Thursday night and I'm just a few days away from the big event -- March 31st with Warren Buffett. I've been so busy with school, recruiting, and a recently exceptional personal life, to not really have noticed the time fly by. However, here we are, just a few days away. So that I don't completely drop the ball on the organizational aspect of things, I called the bus company today and made sure that everything was set for Monday morning. My contact there, Jolene, picked up the phone in as chipper a mood as ever and assured me that everything would go off without a hitch. Based on that confirmation, I'd say that there's little else I can do except show up and enjoy the day.

To make sure that I won't make a complete arse of myself in front of Mr. Buffett, I'll be reading on the flight down and on Sunday, from a selection of books and articles that I think would be interesting to draw some questions from, here and there. I wish I could prepare more, but like I said at the start of this posting, things have been extremely busy. More importantly, the real value will be in listening as much as possible to Mr. Buffett speak. I do have one thing up my sleeve though, that came to mind recently, and hopefully I'll have the chance to ask about it, if the brief opportunity presents itself.

Lastly, among my classmates there remains some uncertainty as to how exclusive a visit this will actually be, and I have no insight into that, other than what Professor Athanassakos told me himself, which was that March 31st was our day, Ivey's day alone, to learn from Mr. Buffett, without having to share it with any other schools. We'll see if that's true, when we get there...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Steady as she goes

Further to my last post and the gap in time between this and that one, everything's pretty much set in motion for the trip to visit Warren Buffett on March 31st. Some recent news has made this trip a bit more special, in that The Oracle of Omaha is now the richest man in the world, according to the just-released annual list. Not that Mr. Buffett would be fazed by such an honour, but I wonder how he's reacting to the spotlight, from his small home in the centre of the United States?

As we all know, with the good come the bad. Yesterday, my BRK.B shares traded down below my purchase price for the first time since buying them many weeks ago. Of course, the last thing I am is worried about them. Instead, I'm excited to be a shareholder and to receive my copy of the Annual Report, which I intend to take with me and have signed on the 31st, instead of the Intelligent Investor or Mr. Buffett's book of essays. I figure that would be a more appropriate marker in time.

Lastly, I just came back from a week by the pool in the Dominican Republic, during which I read the "Value Investing" text for my course, as well as the first half of "The Intelligent Investor", aside from catching up on a swack of podcasts. I'm glad I read the VI book first, given that I know am inclined to look up some of the other famous value investors written about in the back half of the book. Also, I now better appreciate the balance-sheet based method of valuation than I did before, since it puts less emphasis on growth opportunities than other methods heralded and taught today. As we get more and more clarity on the possibility of a recession, I sense that some good, old-fashioned value plays will be ripe for the picking, especially as companies with a strong franchise like lululemon trade into lower and lower territories.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Almost perfect

So far, things have gone pretty smoothly while planning this little trip to Omaha. When I started, there were about 20 people on the waiting list, it was expensive just to go down and back for one day, and I personally had a LOT of work to do before being comfortable with the concept of squaring off in a Q&A session with one of the smartest financial minds on the planet.

Now, there are only 2 people on the waiting list since the fence-sitters have all withdrawn, the school allocated an enormous amount of funding for the trip, and I've begun to craft a good list of questions for Mr. Buffett, to ask on March 31st. Plus, the papers have begun to cover the trip, nobody has made any of the planning difficult, and we've even been invited to a reception at the University of Omaha on the 30th, which will be nice.

All in all, I can't complain. Corralling 66 MBAs toward a common goal has been okay so far. This entry better not jinx that...

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Big News

Yesterday evening I sent out a big e-mail to all the MBA travelers on the trip, with a few action items regarding attendance at receptions, tours, and other things on and around March 31st. The biggest piece of news in the 9-point e-mail was an announcement that Ivey's Advancement department was going to heavily subsidize our travels to Omaha and back. Of course, I expected my colleagues to be happy about the news, but as with all situations involving free money, a lot of people undoubtedly wanted to know exactly how they were going to be allocated their share. I purposely didn't disclose the allocation methodology that the Professor has devised, simply to avoid getting into arguments with my fellow forensic accountants about its structure. Moreover, we're not going to be issuing reimbursements until after the trip, once everyone has submitted their qualifying travel receipts. By the end of the night, the inquiries had pretty much tailed off, but I expect another round of questions today, in class and at lunch. Argh.

On another note, I'm excited to start listening to my audio copy of The Intelligent Investor, which I bought from iTunes the other day. Besides actually reading and learning the material, I think this is one of those texts that'll get played in my car, on drives from London to Toronto and back, just to stay sharp and drive home the message. For the record, this is the first audio book that I've ever bought, so I hope the narrator helps rather than hinders the knowledge transfer process. We'll see...

Monday, February 4, 2008

The Article from the Toronto Star

"Business students get to meet investing guru Buffett"


Feb 02, 2008 04:30 AM

SPECIAL TO THE TORONTO STAR

For years, business students have read about and studied the theories and methods of value investing guru Warren Buffett, chair and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Now, a select group of students from McGill University, the Rotman School of Management and University of Western Ontario's Ivey School of Business are getting the opportunity of a lifetime to meet the financial genius in person and, possibly, pitch an investment opportunity to him.

Students from the three Canadian universities will travel to Berkshire Hathaway's head office in Omaha, Neb., to tour one of its companies and then have a luncheon and question and answer session with Buffett.

"This is a great way to link textbook learning with the real world," says Matt Hertz, a student at McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management.

At the end of March, about 60 students from the Ivey School of Business will travel to Omaha for their meeting with the value investing guru.

One of George Athanassakos's mandates as chair of Ivey's Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing is to develop a program on value investing and spread the word about its methods and benefits.

What better way than to take students for an audience with Buffett?

"If Mohammed won't come to the mountain, bring the mountain to Mohammed," says Athanassakos.

"The trip isn't about learning about value investing, it's about hearing his (Buffett's) opinions, which are always very well thought out, on life, politics and other things."

The concept of value investing was first put forward in 1934 by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in their book, Security Analysis. Buffett was a student of Graham's at Columbia University.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Media Day

I'm going to call yesterday 'Media Day' for two reasons. The first is because The Toronto Star ran an article about Ivey's trip to visit Warren Buffett in Omaha, in a special section devoted to MBA programs in Ontario. What I learned from that piece was that McGill (Montreal) and Rotman (Toronto), two of our respected competitors, are also making a similar trip this year. I have been led to believe that March 31st is Ivey Day with Warren. So, my assumption is that the other two schools are going at different times.

The second reason is that I spent two hours on YouTube, watching clips of Warren Buffett speaking to MBA students, journalists, and shareholders. I've already read a lot of his writings and books about value investing, but this was the first time that I had actually heard him speak. What strikes me about Mr. Buffett is the clarity of his thoughts and messages. I would love to see his weekly schedule/routine to find out just how much he reads. It must be volume and volumes, to be as well-informed, intuitive, and wise as he comes across. On top of that, he seems perfectly chipper at all times and excited about allocating capital.

Anyway, there's more good news to come in this blog, that I can't quite reveal yet, but involves a HUGE amount of support for our trip from Ivey...

Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Pieces are Coming Together

Over the past few days, I've continued to send out e-mails containing some details surrounding the course, the trip, and other requirements to qualify. One of those requirements is that all students attend a video-conference with Walter Schloss -- Warren Buffett's good friend, former colleague, and extremely intelligent and profitable value investor. I have no idea what to expect from this event, but I hope it provides a good foundation for the eventual course and trip to Omaha. March 31st is a big chance to make a good impression on Mr. Buffett, both as individuals and as Canada's best business school. So, I hope people take it all seriously, from day one.

As of today, all spaces on the private plane have been fully subscribed for, the waiting list only has 10 people left on it as students continue to make decisions about taking the tough "Value Investing" course while also weighing the costs and benefits of the trip to Omaha versus their budgets, and the bus company in Omaha is on board to provide us with some stylish wheels for March 31st. I'm only waiting to hear back from our travel agent about the possibility of securing another small plane for the day for about 40 travelers at a fixed price of about $500 per person. All in all, it looks like this trip is coming together without too many hiccups, political issues, or externalities. Fingers crossed.

Now, the icing on the cake is that 13 members of our prestigious DBK fraternity, so far, booked an early travel package this afternoon, which puts us in Omaha on Saturday morning. The opportunity to see the city, pop across the river to the casino in Iowa, party with some corn huskers, and soak up the vibes of some March Madness B-Ball was irresistible. I just hope they can handle us....

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Gathering Steam

Between this post and my last, a few more details have been learned, about the trip to visit Warren Buffett on March 31st in Omaha. The total number of Ivey travellers was graciously increased from 110 to 116, to accommodate some extra people who signed up for the trip at Professor Athanassakos' "Value Investing" information session. Based on that, I e-mailed everyone who qualified to be short-listed as a traveler for the trip.

Of course, the 15 or so people left on the waiting list generally aren't happy, with some practically begging to do anything to get on the traveler list. Questions about the selection process, odds of being upgraded to a traveler, and the like, have been trickling in every day. However, I can say that it hasn't been to nasty...fingers crossed.

Yesterday I placed a call to the bus company in Omaha, who I hope will agree to provide us with bus and/or van transportation for the day, between sites. I haven't heard back from "Jolene" yet, so I plan to follow up with another call tomorrow. Further, I need to remind myself to pursue my travel agent with respect to the odds of chartering a Northwest plane for the day, from Detroit to Omaha and back, for a capacity of 38 people. Although this seems like a terrible shortfall from the 66 MBAs traveling in the group, many people will be going early to party in Omaha and experience some true 'March Madness', such as myself...

In any event, my hope is that the planning continues to go smoothly, that my BRK.B shares continue to rise slowly but steadily, and that the Oracle of Omaha doesn't have an emergency board meeting suddenly arise, days before our departure and immediately after slaving through Professor Athanassakos' course.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Go time -- the most exciting day of 2008!

Today (Friday, January 19th) has been the most exciting day of 2008, and that says a lot considering that I rang in the new year at a beach party in Haad Rin, Thailand. Anyway, today our MBA class was presented with the opportunity to spend a private day with Warren Buffett. Our 'Value Investing' professor, George Athanassakos, offered us this chance as part of his course, which he will be conducting in the Spring months. Needless to say, this provided me with the most intense surge of adrenaline felt in a classroom, probably ever. And Ivey's a great school, don't get me wrong.

Anyway, this blog will be about my next two months leading up to March 31st, 2008 -- the day on which myself and a group of about 55 MBA and 55 HBA students from Ivey will travel from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada to visit Mr. Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, at the Berkshire Hathaway headquarters in Nebraska. I have taken the opportunity to help organize the trip for our lucky lot of us. As a holder of a modest 4 BRK.B shares, an amateur value investor, and the owner of a Berkshire Hathaway Edition of the Monopoly board game, the opportunity to spend a day in Omaha and with Mr. Buffett himself is invaluable.

I can't promise that this first and only blog of mine will be riveting, but I'm going to try and share all of the important aspects of preparing for an opportunity such as this, ranging from logistical information, to my readings and learnings, to some of the stocks that I might study, and maybe even about some of the things that will surely fall by the wayside in my life as this takes everything over.

So, today I digested 79 requests to attend the all-day event. Some people are going to be mad about not being able to go, but the beauty of a FIFO system is that I don't have to get emotional about enforcing the cap. And still, the opportunity is only open to those who register to take Professor Athanassakos' 'Value Investing' course. I also got in touch with my travel agent to ask about group rates for flights from Detroit, which were quoted as being quite affordable actually, versus chartering a private plane for the day.

Sitting here at 2:30 AM and reflecting on the day, I know I have a lot of old-fashioned hard work ahead of me, but I also know that I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for years, which is why I jumped at the chance to help out...