Friday, March 1, 2013
Buffett Disappointed With Berkshire's 'Subpar' 2012
Warren Buffett has admitted in his quarterly letter to shareholders that he was disappointed in Birkshire Hathaway's performance in 2012. He noted that the holding company's book-value rose 14.4% which was beaten by the S&P, which rose 16% in the period. This is only the ninth time in Mr. Buffett's 48 year career that his firm has failed to outperform the S&P and comes after a year when the company had a total return of $24 billion. Mr. Buffett rued the lack of a major acquisition in 2012 and hoped he would be more successful in this regard in 2013. I believe 2012 was a very unusual year for the markets as they posted impressive returns despite significant risks in various regions of the world. I expect that Birkshire Hathaway will be much more successful in 2013 and beat the S&P. However, if the markets continue to rise on the back of unclear catalysts, Mr. Buffett might have a difficult time keeping up with its benchmarks.
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2 comments:
With the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff i would assume that a lot of people were hesitant to invest in anything due to the fact that returns could be scarce. The stock should regain its stellar form this year with less uncertainty
Buffet has beaten the market 80% of time over the past half century, while hedge fund managers outperform the market just over 10% of the time. Buffet might not be happy, but his investors should.
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