...Warren Buffet Warren Buffet was born August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska. He lived much of his life in Nebraska and later moved to Washington D.C. At 11 he purchased his first stock which he ended up making a five-dollar profit on this investment. He got his bachelors degree from The University of Nebraska. For some time he attended Wharton’s School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. This institution is rated as one of the top five business schools in the nation. His Masters of Science in Economics was completed at Columbia University.... [tags: Berkshire Hathaway] 338 words (1 pages) FREE Essays [view] Warren Buffet - Warren Buffet Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and His Investment Strategy Warren Buffet is arguably the most successful investor of all time. His initial investment of $105,000 in the beginning, ultimately grew into a $16 billion dollar fortune made from his trading company, Berkshire Hathaway. If you had invested $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway when he took over the company in 1965, it would be worth $22,000,000 today. Warren’s stockpicking prowess however, is what he is know for and is also why Berkshire Hathaway has had a returning average of 24% a year for the last three decades.... [tags: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework] :: 3 Sources Cited 551 words (1.6 pages) $14.95 [preview] Case Study of Warren E. Buffet - Case Study of Warren E. Buffet In 1995 Berkshire Hathaway has made a bid for the shares of GEICO. This report reviews the...
Words: 492 - Pages: 2
...Berkshire Hathaway AFIN250 Monday 5pm Christopher Lam 43820832 Savneet Kambo 44677987 Jason Weng 43885772 Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................2 Culture, a catalyst for Berkshire’s success ...........................................................................................2 Heir to Berkshire Hathaway ...............................................................................................................3 Graham & Dodd valuation model .......................................................................................................3 Bruner’s Disaster Framework, a risk assessment tool ..........................................................................4 Diversification of Berkshire Hathaway ................................................................................................5 Volatility timing .................................................................................................................................6 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................7 Appendix ...........................................................................................................................................8 Reference ..........................................................................
Words: 3371 - Pages: 14
...Study 2: Warren E. Buffett, 1995 This case was prepared by Professor Robert F. Bruner as the basis for classroom discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. On August 25, 1995, Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, announced that his firm would acquire the 49.6 percent of GEICO Corporation that it did not already own. The $2.3 billion deal would give GEICO shareholders $70.00 per share, up from the $55.75 per share market price before the announcement. Observers were astonished at the 26 percent premium that Berkshire Hathaway would pay, particularly since Buffett proposed to change nothing about GEICO, and there were no apparent synergies in the combination of the two firms. At the announcement, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares closed up 2.4 percent for the day, for a gain in market value of $718 million.1 That day, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 0.5 percent. The acquisition of GEICO renewed public interest in its architect, Warren Buffett. In many ways he was an anomaly. One of the richest individuals in the world (with an estimated net worth of about $7 billion), he was also respected and even beloved. Though he had accumulated perhaps the best investment record in history (a compound annual increase in wealth of 28 percent from 1965 to 1994),2 Berkshire Hathaway paid him only $100,000 per year to serve as its CEO. Buffett and other insiders controlled 47.9 percent of the company, yet Buffett ran...
Words: 6381 - Pages: 26
...Warren E. Buffett, 1995, Case Questions The purpose of this case is to introduce the themes that we will be covering in this course. In fact, if you look at Buffett’s investment philosophy (question 3 below) and compare it to the syllabus, you will find extensive overlap. 1. What is the possible meaning of the changes in the stock price for GEICO and Berkshire Hathaway on the day of the acquisition announcement? Specifically, what does the $718 million gain in Berkshire’s market value of equity imply about the intrinsic value of GEICO? (Note that Berkshire owned 33.25 million shares before the acquisition was announced.) Geico stock price will move up on the day of the acquisition announcement. Meant, GEICO intrinsic value also increase, total value will be more than $718 million in the market. 2. How well has Berkshire Hathaway performed? In the aggregate? In its investment in Scott & Fetzer? In its investment in earlier purchases of GEICO stock? Scott & Fetzer conservatively financed with Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett offered to buy the company for $315 million. Scott and Fetzer paid Berkshire Hathaway $125 million. Buffett noted that in terms of return on book value of equity, Scott & Fetzer would have easily beaten the Fortune 500 firms. 3. Please critically assess Buffett’s investment philosophy, and prepare to identify points where you agree and disagree with him. Graham’s approach was to focus on the value of assets, such as cash, net working...
Words: 397 - Pages: 2
...Case Study of Warren E. Buffet In 1995 Berkshire Hathaway has made a bid for the shares of GEICO. This report reviews the offer made by Warren Buffet and will try to prove that the acquisition of GEICO will serve the long-term goal of Berkshire Hathaway and the bid price was appropriate. Furthermore, it will explain what may have caused for the share price increase for Berkshire Hathaway at the announcement of GEICO’s acquisition. Would the GEICO acquisition serve the long-term goals of Berkshire Hathaway? In 1976, Warren Buffet paid $45.7 million for 34.25 shares of GEICO. Review of GEICO’s historical dividends shows that GEICO has been a very profitable investment for Berkshire Hathaway. The growth rate for 1994 is a sharp increase, but even if the growth rate for 1994 is not considered, GEICO’s historical increase in dividends has been considerably high so that acquisition of GEICO will serve the long-term goals of Berkshire Hathaway. What might account for the share price increase for Berkshire Hathaway at the announcement? Review of Warren Buffet’s historical investment success might explain the increase in share price for Berkshire Hathaway at the announcement. Given that he has had a good track record, it is expected that shareholders respond positively. In 1977, the price of Berkshire Hathaway was $89 closing at $25,400 by 1995, an unparalleled annual growth of 37.7%. In comparison, the growth rate of the S&P...
Words: 1725 - Pages: 7
...greediest person, or the most depressed person, it is hard to argue that the market always prices rationally. In fact, market prices are frequently nonsensical.” ------------------------------------------------- This report will analysis the statement by Warren Buffett, and it considers the contrasting evidence on the validity of the observation on the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. The report briefly outlines the forms of the Efficient Market Hypothesis, the report also analysis’s the evidence both seminal and recent on the theory relating to the three forms of the hypothesis. It also examines the theoretical role and motivation of analysts in creating market efficiency; lastly it looks at alternative perspectives on the pricing of securities. Introduction In 1984 Warren Buffett penned an article titled “The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville”, based on a speech he had given on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his mentor Ben Graham’s legendary textbook, Security Analysis. In it, Buffett rejected the then growing (and now entrenched) view in academia that markets are ''efficient'' because ''stock prices reflect everything that is known about a company’s prospects and about the state of the economy.'' Warren Buffett argued against EMH, saying the preponderance of value investors among the world's best money managers rebuts the claim of EMH proponents that luck is the reason some investors appear more successful than others. (Hoffman, 2010) This report will either agree...
Words: 2524 - Pages: 11
...UVA-F-1483 Version 2.3 WARREN E. BUFFETT, 2005 On May 24, 2005, Warren E. Buffett, the chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., announced that MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, would acquire the electric utility PacifiCorp. In Buffett’s largest deal since 1998, and the second largest of his entire career, MidAmerican would purchase PacifiCorp from its parent, Scottish Power plc, for $5.1 billion in cash and $4.3 billion in liabilities and preferred stock. “The energy sector has long interested us, and this is the right fit,” Buffett said. At the announcement, Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares closed up 2.4% for the day, for a gain in market value of $2.17 billion.1 Scottish Power’s share price also jumped 6.28% on the news2; the S&P 500 Composite Index closed up 0.02%. Exhibit 1 illustrates the recent share-price performance for Berkshire Hathaway, Scottish Power, and the S&P 500 Index. The acquisition of PacifiCorp renewed public interest in its sponsor, Warren Buffett. In many ways, he was an anomaly. One of the richest individuals in the world (with an estimated net worth of about $44 billion), he was also respected and even beloved. Though he had accumulated perhaps the best investment record in history (a compound annual increase in wealth for Berkshire Hathaway of 24% from 1965 to 2004),3 Berkshire paid him only $100,000 per year to serve as its CEO. While Buffett and other insiders controlled...
Words: 7766 - Pages: 32
...Many individual investors will find it agonizing to talk about China’s stock market bubble in 2007. I fully appreciate their feelings since many lost as much as 60% of their fortune in the stock market that year. When Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index fell from 6000 to 5500 points, almost everyone who lost money still believed in the market’s strength and hoped it would bounce back so that they could recoup all their losses in the near future. Few were willing to withdraw their investments though most knew that “stop losses” is a basic investment principle. Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index is struggling against 3000 points these days and the investors who watched their investments shrank from when the Index was 6000 points are suffering huge losses. A lot of my friends who are not investors ask the same question when we talk about the bear market: why didn’t those investors get out of a falling market sooner? I always laugh at the question because the answer is quite simple: This is human behavior. People set reference points when they start investing. Selling off their positions at a loss is against their natural instinct. An Interesting Study A 1979 study by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed an interesting phenomenon. Subjects were told to choose between two prospects: Prospect 1: A 100 percent chance of losing $3,000 Prospect 2: An 80 percent chance of losing $4,000, but a 20 percent chance of losing nothing. Ask yourself which one...
Words: 4708 - Pages: 19
...QUT | Case Study 4: Market Efficiency | Bill Miller and Value Trust | | Name: Huey Ngu Student ID: 08324093Tutor Name: David FairDate: 1 November 2013 | Words: 1097 | Contents Introduction 2 Past and current performance of Value Trust 2 Investment strategy of Bill Miller 3 Efficient Market Hypothesis 3 Bill Miller’s letter to shareholders 4 Changes in Chief Investment Officer (CIO) 4 Recommendation and Conclusion 4 Reference 6 Appendices 8 Appendix A: Data of LMVTX, S&P 500, and 30 years bond 8 Appendix B: Alpha and Beta between 1991 and 2013 9 Appendix C: Alpha and Beta between 1991 and 2005 9 Appendix D: Alpha and Beta between 2006 and 2013 9 Introduction Bill Miller is known as famous fund manager that hold the record of beating benchmark index for 15 years in a row. However, his poor performance after 2005 was the reason that the investors run away from his fund. Hence, arguments of whether Bill Miller’s previous performances involve luck or skills appear. Furthermore, this report will also discuss whether investors should invest in Bill Miller’s Value Trust. Past and current performance of Value Trust Figure [ 1 ]: LMVTX VS S&P500 (Morningstar Principia , 2013) Bill Miller had made an achievement of longest streak performance of beating the market. Refer to figure 1, it had showed that Bill Miller’s Value Trust had consistently beat the benchmark index of Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) between 1991 and...
Words: 2114 - Pages: 9
...Case 2: Warren E. Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway Question 1: The possible meaning of the change in the stock price of Berkshire Hathaway on the day of the announcement is that the shares of GEICO were undervalued at a price of $55,75 and Berkshire Hathaway paid a $14,25 premium per share. However, even though Berkshire Hathaway paid $70 per share, that price was lower than the fair value of GEICO but the shareholders couldn’t turn the offer down. Consequently, Berkshire Hathaway increased it’s market value by $718 millions because the intrinsic value of GEICO was higher than the price it was sold for. The company had outstanding 1,177,750 shares and on august 25 BH share price changed by positive $609.60. At the end of the session, the price was $25,400. 1,117,750 * 609.60 = 717,956,400 gain. In addition, BH already owned 50.4% of GEICO. GEICO had on april 30 1995 a total of 67,889,574 shares outstanding. BH is buying 49.6% of the total outstanding shares: 67,889,574 * 49.6% = 33,673,229 shares Before the acquisition, BH had a value of Total shares * opening price 1,177,750*24,790.40= $29,196.89 million And GEICO had a value of 33,673,229*55.75=$1,877.28 million Resulting to the BH+GEICO = 29,196.89+1,877.28 = $31,074.17 million After the acquisition, BH had a value of Total shares*closing price 1,177,750*25,400= $29,914.85 million And GEICO had a value of 33,673,229*70=$2357.13 Resulting to the total BH+GEICO = 29,914.85+2357.13 = $32,271.98 million and...
Words: 580 - Pages: 3
...Assessing Your Leadership Style to Achieve Organizational Objectives EILEEN NEWMAN RUBIN Research has shown that there are more than 30 differently named leadership styles, ranging from micro-management to hands-off, each with its own proponents. Six, however, stand out as most com- monly found in business: authoritarian, democratic, transformational, laissez-faire, servant, and situa- tional. A review of the experiences of six leaders who embody these styles reveals that each mode of operating has its pros and cons; there is no sin- gle best approach. Being aware of one’s leadership style and that of others makes it possible to lever- age strengths and compensate for weaknesses and to properly match individuals to a particular role or task—for the good of the entire organization. ©C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Whether they are involved in politics, corporate America, or a nonprofit endeavor, the style in which managers and other professionals exert their lead- ership can determine the outcome of their efforts. As the American businessman and political fig- ure Erskine Bowles said, “Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts” (Kruse, 2012). But what is the best leadership style to use? There is no simple answer to this seemingly simple ques- tion. One’s leadership style depends on several fac- tors, including the personality of the leader, the or- ganizational culture (and the many subcultures that may exist within it), the personalities of the people...
Words: 6648 - Pages: 27
...Case 1 Warren E. Buffett, 1995 How is Berkshire Hathaway’s business composition from Exhibit 1 different or similar today? Be specific. Provide an overall statement to describe Berkshire Hathaway’s performance over time compared to the S&P 500. Can you discern a trend in the investment decisions of Mr. Buffett and are his decisions consistent with the principals learned from his mentor Dr. Graham? Based on the types of company’s that BK now owns, have the Acquisition Criteria been held to, modified, expanded upon? Is there something more to his theories? Comment on the quote “all you need to know to become a successful investor is two courses, (1) A course on how to value companies and (2) a course on human behavior”. How does Buffet’s philosophy statements on page 19 and 20 compare to what you have learned so far in your other management classes or personal experiences? What does the advice that Buffet gave the University of Florida students mean to you? Select 2 quotes on page 22 and comment on why they are meaningful to you. How has Mr. Buffet taken advantage of the recession of the past 4 years? Comment on Mr. Buffet’s quote “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful”. By use of research, how has Buffet and his company applied this statement with their current actions? Case 2 INTUIT Your textbook on page 19 makes reference to the fact that most entrepreneurs learn...
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT http://mycourses.hult.edu MODULE B 2012-13 INSTRUCTOR Professor Xiaozu Wang EMAIL xiaozu.wang@faculty.hult.edu INSTRUCTOR AVAILABILITY Please contact by email CLASS TIMES & ROOM(S) MIB1: Jan 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 21, 23, 25, 1:30-4:50, Feb. 1, 9:00-12:20, Feb. 7, 1:30-4:50 COURSE AIMS AND DESCRIPTION OF CONTENT This is an introductory course of finance for MIB students. The course aims to provide students with a conceptual framework and a set of technical tools for making corporate investment decisions. The focus will be maximizing the value of the firm and capital budgeting. Some ethical issues will be highlighted throughout the course. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES Key (Assessed) Learning Outcomes: On completion of this course, students should understand and be able to do the following: 1. Estimate the cost of capital for corporate investment decisions; 2. Make corporate investment decisions using discounted cash flow method; 3. Manage working capital and corporate long-term growth. Supplemental Learning Outcomes: While not assessed, it is anticipated that students will develop the following: 4. Understand the importance of corporate governance for achieving long-term corporate financial objectives and valuation; 5. Understand some unique features of Chinese capital markets. TEACHING AND LEARNING The course will be a mixture of lectures, case discussions and individual and group practices. Students are expected to do the following. 1. 2...
Words: 3258 - Pages: 14
...Value investing is the strategy of purchasing an asset which is trading at a significant discount from its determined intrinsic value. It has long been regarded as a low risk method of providing outstanding investment returns (Klarman 2001). The investment strategy was described by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in their book, Security Analysis (1940, p. 724). Over subsequent decades the investment approach has evolved utilizing varying fundamental methodologies but always maintaining the principle of investing when a discount to intrinsic value exists. Graham and Dodd (1940, p. 368) referred to this principle as the 'margin of safety'. This essay will explore the various methodologies, expand on the 'margin of safety' concept and discover the factors that have led to the success of the exponents of value investing. Bierig’s (2000) assessment of the Graham and Dodd approach indicated that a value investor doesn’t just follow share market fads but instead ‘searches for stocks selling for less than their intrinsic value’ and after purchasing, waits for market recognition that corrects this discrepancy. Athanassakos (2011b) has illustrated that a search for undervalued stocks is the initial process undertaken. He maintains that these stocks tend to be ‘avoided by large institutional investors’ and are not the ‘glamour stocks everyone wants to own’. Graham (1973, p. 211) describes two methods of searching for fundamentally undervalued stocks; companies selling at a low price to...
Words: 2215 - Pages: 9
...The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America Essays by Warren E. Buffett Selected, Arranged, and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham Includes Previously Copyrighted Material Reprinted with Permission THE ESSAYS OF WARREN BUFFETT: LESSONS FOR CORPORATE AMERICA Essays by Warren E. Buffett Chairman and CEO Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Selected, Arranged, and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham Professor of Law Director, The Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center on Corporate Governance Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Yeshiva University © 1997; 1998 Lawrence A. Cunningham All Rights Reserved Includes Previously Copyrighted Material Reprinted with Permission TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PROLOGUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 27 I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. B. C. D. E. Owner-Related Business Principles................ Boards and Managers............................. The Anxieties of Plant Closings An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity. A Principled Approach to Executive Pay.......... 29 29 38 43 47 54 II. CORPORATE FINANCE AND INVESTING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. 63 Mr. Market........................................ 63 Arbitrage......................
Words: 86030 - Pages: 345