Mario Gabelli, John Rogers, and other elite investors discussed Warren Buffett's $23 billion of new bets at Berkshire Hathaway's annual weekend meeting. Here are the best quotes.
- Mario Gabelli, John Rogers, and other top investors discussed Warren Buffett's latest deals.
- They welcomed Berkshire Hathaway's $23 billion of bets on Occidental Petroleum, HP, and Alleghany.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding its annual shareholders meeting this weekend, after staging it virtually for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands of Berkshire shareholders have made the pilgrimage to Buffett's hometown of Omaha, which has been described as "Woodstock for Capitalists." Gabelli Funds, run by the billionaire investor Mario Gabelli, held its Value Investing Conference on Friday morning.
Gabelli, Ariel Investments co-CEO John Rogers, and a slew of other Buffett experts discussed Berkshire's recent purchases of Occidental and HP stock, and its agreement to acquire Alleghany.
Here are some of the best quotes from the event:
John Rogers, CEO of Ariel Investments:
"Sports companies got cheap during the pandemic. We've bought Madison Square Garden Sports and Manchester United, those are two of our favorite stocks right now." (Rogers, who once captained Princeton's basketball team, said he was following Buffett's advice of investing within his circle of competence.)
"Volatility should be our friend. Just take advantage of the fact stocks are trading lower for non-economic reasons that have nothing to do with their cash flows."
"I'm optimistic that he's planning to talk about the fact that he's seeing opportunities in the market. He'll give all of us confidence that the economy is strong and resilient." (Rogers was discussing what he's hoping to hear from Buffett at the annual meeting.)
Mario Gabelli, founder and CEO of Gabelli Funds:
"Bitcoin — the pitch is there's a shortage of them. How many baseball teams are going to be created?" (Reiterating Rogers' point that sports teams have a natural competitive moat due to their strong brands, fan followings, and restrictions on new teams being created.)
"Reed Hastings is going to have to adjust to the dynamics of the world, and he will." (Referring to Netflix's co-CEO and the challenge of "churn" or users canceling their subscriptions, which has helped drive the stock down more than 60% this year.)
"Wages are going up and food and energy prices are going up. That cycle has to be broken." (Gabellie was underscoring a key challenge posed by inflation.)
"It underscores the notion of the rotation to value." (Commenting on Buffett's latest bets, and how value stocks are seeing a renaissance as investors face threats such as rising energy prices.)
Chris Bloomstran, president and CIO of Semper Augustus Investments:
"Alleghany is a far, far better insurer inside of Berkshire." (Bloomstran noted Berkshire will likely pay off Alleghany's debt, and gradually shift the insurer's investment portfolio from bonds to higher-returning stocks thanks to its superior balance sheet, potentially generating $600 million in additional earnings annually).
Adam Mead, the author of "The Complete Financial History of Berkshire Hathaway":
"Uncertainty in markets today is certainly working in Buffett's favor." (Mead was likely referring to the combination of rampant inflation, slowing global growth, the Russia-Ukraine war, widespread supply disruptions, and rising interest rates, all of which have weighed on the stock market in recent weeks.)
Tom Gayner, co-CEO of Markel:
"This is no different than it would have been six days ago, six months ago, six years ago." (Gayner was applauding Berkshire's latest bets, and noted the Berkshire chief has been following the same investing process for more than six decades).
"It's like going to church on Sunday. I'm not expecting to learn something new, but it's good to be reminded of the basics and the things that matter. (Gayner said he wasn't expecting any big surprises from the Berkshire meeting, but noted that wasn't the point of going.)