LauA,
>during the last two years I bought BRKb's under
>$1400/share ... WSC was selling below $200/share.
Agreed.
>During the past year it has been possible to buy
>AXP, G, GLK, GMT, and HMSV
I did not ask for what Buffett bought. I asked for
companies with management on the level of Buffett.
None of these are. :-( It's enough to spend one
glance at AXPs CEO's pay to ascertain that.
Actually, I can repeat:
"Except of BRK and WSC there are no such companies".
And even inside BRK things break once in a while -
see Buffett's comments on GenRe.
Yeah, like you said, there are opportunities to invest
and make money. I am invested 100% myself.
But I would say that Buffett is
disingenuous if he believes that any companies can
achieve his standards of business conduct. Maybe he
realizes this, because he tolerates in his
investments the same things that he criticizes in his
letters. Stock options? Sure, look at AXP, GMT. Complicated,
impossible to understand off-balance-sheet entities?
Sure, look at KOs relationship with its bottlers.
GMT also looks complex.
Management originated ego-mergers? Sure, look at G and
KO - Buffett stopped KOs acquisition of Quaker though.
High debt levels? AXP, G, GMT. Negative ROE? GLK.
Low insider ownership? All of them.
I don't think these are reasons not to invest in companies
above. Actually, I have looked at them and will look at
them again. All I am saying that I would not buy any of them
on the belief that their management is of the same
quality as Buffett. And even if I would buy them, I would
not "buy and forget" as I could do with BRK or WSC.
Jurgis - it is a jungle out there |
