My point is simple: Berkshire has substantially outperformed the benchmark in each of the six years since 2000 that the S&P 500 had negative returns.

Year 2000 Berkshire Hathaway +26.6% S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -9%
Year 2001 Berkshire Hathaway +6.5% S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -11.9%
Year 2002 Berkshire Hathaway 13.8 S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -22%
Year 2008 Berkshire Hathaway -31.8% S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -37%
Year 2018 Berkshire Hathaway +2.8% S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -4.4%
Year 2022 Berkshire Hathaway +4% S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -18.1%

Average Berkshire Hathaway +7.2% S&P 500 (with Dividends included) -17.1%

"The pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining." ~Behavioral Economics

Avoiding that pain is priceless...

Happy annual meeting day!