Warren Buffett Chooses Defense Over Offense
I am quoted in this Bloomberg article on Warren Buffett, October 27, 2010:
Buffett Picking Combs Means Defense Beats Offense at Berkshire
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett’s selection of little-known hedge-fund manager Todd Combs to help oversee investments at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shows how the billionaire values limiting losses when markets decline.
Work Ethic
Combs received an undergraduate degree from Florida State University and a master’s of business administration from Columbia University, where Buffett studied.
Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire, is seeking candidates to take over his duties when he steps away. He said in 2006 that hedge funds, which he described as “hyper-helpers,” overcharge investors.
“Particularly expensive is the recent pandemic of profit arrangements under which Helpers receive large portions of the winnings when they are smart or lucky,” he said in an annual letter.
“He’s not tarring every hedge fund manager with the same brush,” said David Kass, finance professor at the University of Maryland. “Warren has said that he hires people who he likes, those that share his same work ethic and value system. They love their work more than the money.”
October 27, 2010 00:01 EDT
The entire article is available at:
