Friday 4 May 2012

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway lags behind S&P for third year in a row


  May 3, 2012 – 6:12 PM ET 

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Warren Buffett, 81, is seeking to reassure investors that the US$200-billion company he built over 42 years as chief executive officer is positioned to thrive after his eventual departure.

    Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders missed out on better returns from the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by sticking with Chairman Warren Buffett after each of his last three annual meetings.
Berkshire fell 2.4% from the firm’s April 30, 2011, meeting through yesterday, compared with the 2.8% advance in the S&P 500. This year’s gathering, planned for May 5 in Omaha, Nebraska, concludes three years in which Berkshire climbed about 32%, trailing the S&P 500’s gain of around 60%.
Buffett, 81, is seeking to reassure investors that the US$200-billion company he built over 42 years as chief executive officer is positioned to thrive after his eventual departure. Growth slowed in the last 15 years as Buffett, a former hedge fund manager, directed Berkshire’s earnings toward takeovers in industries like machine tools, power production and railroads.

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