Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK-A, BRK-B) annual shareholders meeting on Saturday will be the first in a new era for the group.
For the first time in decades, Warren Buffett was not joined by Vice Chairman Charlie Munger as he took several hours of questions from Berkshire shareholders. Munger died late last year at the age of 99.
In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett described Munger as the “architect” of modern Berkshire Hathaway, which took its name from a now-defunct textile company in New England and grew into the largest conglomerate in the Standard & Poor’s 500.
Buffett, along with Berkshire Vice Chairman Greg Appel and Ajit Jain, began taking several hours of questions from shareholders at about 10:15 a.m. ET.
For the first time, non-contributors were also able to watch the Annual Contributors Film, which includes a montage of some of Munger’s best powerful quotes over the years, as well as some of the celebrities who have appeared in these films over the years.
At the beginning of the Q&A session, Buffett discussed the company’s decision to reduce its holdings of Apple (AAPL) during the first quarter, saying that even though the company sold its shares, in his view, it was “very likely” that the company would still retain its ownership. The largest investment in stocks by the end of the year.
As for the increasing amount of cash and treasury holdings of the company, Buffett said that the value of these holdings is likely to exceed $200 billion during the current quarter, indicating that he is “quite satisfied” with the situation.
In response to a question about Berkshire’s desire to increase investments abroad, and in China specifically, Buffett said: “Our primary investments will always be in the United States.”
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