2012: How does Buffett decide whether an investment goes in his personal account or into Berkshire?
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: We got a couple of questions on this topic.
“You said in an interview on CNBC that you had bought shares in J.P. Morgan for your personal account.
“Can you explain how you decide to make a personal investment versus one in your role as a fiduciary for us as shareholders of Berkshire?
“And while you’re at it, could you please share some names of stocks you’ve recently bought for your own account?” (Applause)
WARREN BUFFETT: The truth is I like Wells Fargo better than I like J.P. Morgan but I — but I also — we bought, and we’re buying, Wells Fargo stock, and that takes me out of the business of buying Wells Fargo. So therefore, I go into something that I don’t like quite as well but that I still like very much.
And that’s one of the problems I have, is that I can’t be buying what Berkshire is buying, and I’ve got some money around, and therefore, I go into my second choices, or into tiny little companies like I did with Korean companies and that sort of thing.
But my best ideas are all in Berkshire. That I can promise you.
Charlie? Charlie’s bought real estate, too, and different things to avoid that problem.
CHARLIE MUNGER: Yeah. But basically the Munger family is in two or three things only.
Diversification is my idea of — not something I have practically no interest in, except as it happens automatically in a big place like Berkshire.
I rejoiced the day I got rid of a quote — you know, a stock quoting machine.
And I like this buy and hold investing. It’s a lovely way to live a life and you deal with a better class of people, and it’s worked pretty well for all of us.
And I don’t think you need to worry about Warren’s side investments. His investments in Berkshire are so huge and those are so small, relevantly, that if that’s your main problem in life, you have a very favored life.
WARREN BUFFETT: Well, if you have 98 1/2 percent of your money in Berkshire and you really are trying to do your thinking about what’s best for the 1 1/2 percent, you’re a little bit crazy. (Laughs)
You should be thinking about Berkshire, which I can assure you I do. But, there could be —
CHARLIE MUNGER: And he does like Wells Fargo better than J.P. Morgan.
WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah, I do, yeah. And we have 400 and some million shares of Wells Fargo in Berkshire.
I like J.P. Morgan fine, obviously, but I know Wells better. It’s easier to understand.
So, you know, we — well, we bought Wells Fargo in the first quarter. We bought Wells Fargo last year. We’ve bought it an awful lot of years.
And if I wasn’t managing Berkshire, you know, but instead was sitting with my own money, I’d have a lot of money in Wells Fargo and I’d probably have some money in J.P. Morgan, too.