Happy Life’s Journey To The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting 2024

Happy Life’s Team “Invest in Yourself” 5K Run Group Photo

The Buffett Shareholders Meeting, officially known as the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting, is an annual significant event in the global investment community, held on the first Saturday of May every year. From May 3 to May 5, 2024, the Happy Life team was invited to Omaha, Nebraska, USA, to attend the meeting for the third year in a row.

*Photos Credit by Happy Life Wealth Management Inc.*

Over the past half century, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have joined forces to create Berkshire Hathaway, the world's largest investment company, with total assets of more than $900 billion and a return rate of 18,261 times. Every year, more than 40,000 shareholders from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and places around the world come to Omaha to see the stock God, participate in this pilgrimage of investors, and hear first-hand Buffett’s views on stocks, Federal Reserve policy, gold real estate, investment trends, and guidance. Participants can also ask Buffett any questions during the 6-hour marathon open question session and gain valuable advice from the stock God.

In addition, unlike previous years, this conference is the first solo appearance of "Stock God" Buffett after the passing of his old partner, Charlie Munger. Along with him, Greg Abel, the head of Berkshire's non-insurance business, and Ajit Jain, the leader of the insurance business, faced questions from shareholders. At the same time, industry leaders such as Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and Apple CEO, Tim Cook, attended the conference.

*Apple CEO, Tim Cook, Attends Buffett’s Annual Meeting*

On the eve of the opening, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway issued relevant performance announcements:

Revenue in the first quarter of 2024 was US$89.869 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%, and market expectations were US$85.92 billion, compared with US$85.393 billion in the same period last year; first-quarter net profit reached US$12.702 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 64.2%, and market expectations were 98.92 billion, compared with US$35.504 billion in the same period last year. The company repurchased $2.6 billion of common stock in the first quarter, compared with $2.2 billion in the previous quarter, bringing the total share repurchases for the full year of 2023 to $9.2 billion.

Looking at business segments, insurance and other business revenue was US$65.473 billion, compared to US$63.457 billion in the same period in 2023. Railway, utility and energy business revenue was US$24.396 billion, compared with US$21.936 billion in the same period in 2023.

May 3: Shareholder Shopping Day

This day is the warm-up day before the general meeting of shareholders. At the central venue of the general meeting, CHI Health Center Omaha, the organizers organized various entertainment activities, large and small, so everyone was busy shopping and being entertained. The shopping section belongs to the Shareholder Shopping Day, ranging from candies, books, kitchen appliances, to RVs, yachts, and jets. Dozens of booths are arranged, and special shareholder discounts are always provided, which is a big incentive. Among them, the counter of Brooks, Berkshire’s independent sports brand, is the most lively. At the door is a sign in the shape of Buffett calling on everyone to exercise. Everyone loved taking photos with it, and the inspiring slogan - "Invest In Yourself" is extremely well-known and practiced. Are there any investments more important than investing in yourself and investing in your health?

Among them, as the only non-Berkshire subsidiary's booth on site, Bookworm, which usually sells a series of books, only sold "Poor Charlie's Almanack" this year. Although Buffett still recommended a reading list for this year, only this book was designated for sale on site, in memory of Munger.

In addition, another crowded place is the registration counter for the "Invest in Yourself 5K Run" taking place on May 5th. This is a repertoire of the annual Buffett shareholder meeting and the highlight of gathering popularity. Buffett advocates the value of time. He recommends walking or jogging or running. The traditional five-kilometer run demonstrates his core concept of value investment, and this concept is also the same as the investment concept of Happy Life.

"Life is like a snowball. The important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill.

—— Warren Buffett

May 4: Shareholder Meeting

This day was the official day of the shareholders’ meeting. It was just dawn at 6 o’clock in the morning, so we rushed to the stadium to queue up. Unexpectedly, there was already a sea of people at the venue (even more than a Taylor Swift concert!). It is said that some people spent the night at the door with sleeping bags—they are worthy of being Buffett’s true fans. When the doors opened at 8 o'clock sharp, people immediately poured in. In less than ten minutes, the museum was packed with people. It was estimated that there were 40,000 to 50,000 people, all of whom were Buffett believers from all over the world.

It started on time at 8:45 am, and a short film about this year’s Berkshire Annual Meeting appeared on the big screen—a documentary about Munger, who Buffett calls the “Architect of Berkshire.” These precious shots recorded his journey with Buffett. Along the way, the whole process of creating a huge value investment ecosystem. It’s a tearful tribute from Buffett to Munger and their lifelong friendship, which, in a way, created Buffett’s legacy. Although Munger's departure may mean the end of an era, the Berkshire ship is still moving forward smoothly, because Buffett's preparations for inheritance reflect his wisdom and are also conveyed by this shareholder meeting.

After the short video at Berkshire’s annual meeting, Buffett asked the staff to turn on the lights in the venue for Munger. About 30,000 shareholders at the scene stood up and applauded Munger to pay tribute to Buffett's business partner for more than 60 years. Afterwards, Buffett took the stage to start the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.

There are only three seats on the rostrum of this year’s conference. Abel, Buffett's successor and the helmsman of Berkshire's non-insurance business, sat in the middle. Jain, the helmsman of the insurance business, sat to the left of Abel, and Buffett sat on the right, even though he was the focus of the audience. The three old and new leaders interpreted Berkshire's 2023-2024 financial statements for shareholders and investors, from which we can once again clearly see the important position of the insurance sector in Buffett's investment map.

*Photos Credit By Happy Life Management Inc.*

Then the 94-year-old Buffett began a nearly six-hour question and answer session that spanned the morning and afternoon. He successively talked about his friend Munger, reducing his holdings in Apple, cash reserves, AI and other issues. The full mental state, quick thinking and humorous conversation he displayed throughout the whole process led to warm applause and laughter from the audience time and time again. It was truly admirable. But at the same time, it could also be seen that Buffett feels very uncomfortable without Munger around for the first time. After answering questions several times, he habitually turned to his left and shouted "Charlie" because this had always been his routine. For the past 50 years, every time he answered a question, he would call him Charlie, and Munger would add something later. But this time Munger is gone. So Buffett said, 'Gee, I've done that many times. "

May 5: “Invest in Yourself” 5K Run

Buffett, who loves long-distance running, has integrated running into his company culture and management philosophy. This competition named "Invest in Yourself" consists of 2,000 company shareholders from 25 countries and dozens of company senior managers. At around 7 o'clock in the morning, thousands of people had gathered in the city center, wearing uniform dark blue t-shirts and eager to run. The organizers have thoughtfully set up various supply stations around the area to provide drinks, bananas and energy bars, and the giant flamingo inflatable pile creates a lively atmosphere. To this end, the Happy Life Team formed a team to participate in the competition with a high spirit.

Happy Life Team “Invest in Yourself” 5K Run Group Photo

At 8 o'clock sharp, under the passionate command of the host, everyone started running together. Inhaling, exhaling, and steady breathing are the key to long-distance running. Just like the long river of time, the potential value-added power of a steady and long-lasting compound interest investment is astonishingly considerable. The running team is large and long, with men, women, old and young. Some run fast and some walk slowly, but everyone is happily encouraging and supporting each other, because persistence leads to victory!

Summary of the core views of the 2024 shareholders' meeting:

1. Response to the reduction of Apple holdings: Apple is very likely to remain Berkshire's largest single stock at the end of 2024, and we will still hold Apple, Coca-Cola and American Express for a long time.

2. Investing in BYD: BYD's investment is similar to the investment in Japan five years ago, which is a rare large investment outside the United States.

3. Talking about artificial intelligence: I know nothing about artificial intelligence, but this does not mean that this technology is not important. The development of AI makes me a little nervous. AI will cause fraud problems.

4. Missing Munger: Munger has disagreed with me twice, suggesting investment in BYD and COSTCO. Both times Munger slammed the table and strongly demanded to buy. Looking back now, both decisions were correct for Munger.

5. Talking about huge cash reserves: There are no attractive targets to allocate assets now.

6. About stock recommendations: Although I fully trust my children and wife, it does not mean that I have to recommend them what stocks to buy.

7. On succession: We will see how the next management of Berkshire will play out, and fortunately, you won't have to wait too long.

8. Loss of money case: The entire Paramount Global shares have been sold at a loss. This was entirely my decision, and we lost a lot of money.

9. On investing in India: We are paying attention to India, and I believe there are a lot of opportunities in India, but my question is, do we have an advantage in our insights into India?

10. On the shareholders' meeting: Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting next year, of course, first of all, I have to make sure that I can attend the meeting next year.

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