Subject: Re: S&P vs. Rodriguez-Chart
I congratulate Said for his decision and for having the courage of his convictions. If I agreed with the predictive power of his chart as applied to my portfolio, I would do the same. And I have sold some stocks recently - partly because I thought they had more downside than up, and party to keep my cash levels healthy. However, I do not sell BRK, which I consider equivalent to the S&P 500 only better. It will reliably outpace inflation, and it is built to last well past my lifetime. I do buy and sell other stocks opportunistically - buy low sell high, and I like to have cash on hand at all times so I can sleep at night. If BRK is really low (rare) I buy more but not otherwise. I would sell BRK if I really needed cash but not otherwise. It will probably be the last stock I sell as it is the best one I own.

The ups and downs of BRK's price and its ratio to peak book interest me but do not concern me. The future of the company does. Management (Greg & Ajit) seem to be doing fine, but I don't see how they can do as well in the equity markets going forward. To deploy the cash BRK generates, they will need to keep investing and growing the businesses they have (BHE) and increasing their investment in companies like OXY and AAPL that will reliably generate cash for years to come. I suspect Warren's wet dream is a collapse in the price of AAPL so he could buy more.

I take great comfort in the belief that Warren built this company for the long term, and the man is good at what he does.

Here is Warren's explanation of why a good business is one 'your idiot nephew' could run:
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/...

Also, "I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years." That's my attitude towards BRK.

abromber