# Who holds BRK.A/B?



## Kravis (28 July 2007)

Any Australian investors own this wonderful US organsation would be great to hear from you..


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## drillinto (28 July 2007)

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/


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## Kravis (28 July 2007)

do you hold drillinto?


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## drillinto (28 July 2007)

The Berkshire Hathaway Stock Holdings (2006)

http://loschmanagement.com/Berkshire Hathaway/Berkshire Holdings/2006.pdf


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## Kravis (28 July 2007)

Thanks for that attachment. Much appreciated. What do you think at current price seeing how close in parity we are to the usd, is it screaming a buy??


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## drillinto (4 August 2007)

Kravis said:


> Thanks for that attachment. Much appreciated. What do you think at current price seeing how close in parity we are to the usd, is it screaming a buy??




::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Berkshire Hathaway quarterly profit up 33%

By Ed Walsch - MarketWatch, US
Aug 3, 2007

Berkshire Hathaway reported Friday second-quarter net income of $3.12 billion, or $2,018 a share, up 33% from $2.35 billion, or $1,522 a share, during the year-ago period. 

Revenue during the quarter was $27.35 billion, compared with $24.19 billion a year earlier, according to the company's quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Berkshire Hathaway is an investment holding company based in Omaha, Neb.


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## Kravis (4 August 2007)

Dont forget the $40bn it has on its balance sheet!!


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## Kravis (18 August 2007)

Who has been watching NYSE?
Last week when markets have been in turmoil, BRK.A up about $6k per share and BRK.B up $300 per share.

Warren also made the Berkshire community that extra bit richer on the back of Rupes' Dow Jones bid. God love the man!


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## boiler123 (27 November 2007)

We have 3 Berkshire B shares in our SMSF.  I know it is not a lot, but we were experimenting with it because of the complexity in buying US shares.  We bought through Comsec, it was a simple process.  Now they have changed the settlement rules so it will be more complex as we have to put money up front before we can even place an order.  I am doing research on other brokers.  We plan to add 3 shares to our SMSF each year.

Why did we buy some Berkshire B shares?  Like the table shows, buying into Berkshire is like buying 30 or so companies in the US.  With little money to invest across all of these stocks, it makes sense to buy Berkshire.  It is like an LIC or managed fund, I suppose.  Also we like this share because it does not pay dividend, making the tax issues less complex for us.  Of course, when we are ready to sell it, then we will pay tax then.


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## Kravis (4 January 2008)

I like the thinking boiler!

Lets not forget that Berkshire has been leaving the S&P 500 in its tracks for the past 30 years.

The other thing you forgot to mention is not only the publicly held stocks it owns, but also the private businesses in the mix. Geico, dairy queen, NFM, Net jets, Sees Candy et al.... oh and probably the two best minds that you would want to manage your money in Messrs Buffett & Munger!


Are you going to the Annual in May? Would be great to hear from you and more of your thoughts. Drop me a line.


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## Kravis (4 January 2008)

BTW I was with Commsec (or Pershing) as the international affiliate.

I was livid with the new rules.


I am switching to Macquarie. They seem to have a great international desk and if you look at their margin loans for international, brk.b is on their. This allows to conservatively add more brk.b with the help of some leverage.


Cheers.


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## dan-o (8 July 2008)

hey guys, im looking at the price of berkshire and the near parity of the AUD/USD and thinking this could be a good opportunity!

What do others think?


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## dan-o (8 July 2008)

the B shares im referring to, the A shares aree out of my reach...


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## boiler123 (7 August 2008)

Kravis:  Sorry I have not checked this forum for months!  Just spotted your message.  No, we did not go to Berkshire's AGM in May this year.  Would like to, but we went to a wedding in Texas in April.  And, hubby could not afford more time off.  Been nagging him to prepare for the AGM in May 2009, but he said his work would be really busy at that time of the year.  Arrrrrrrrrrgh!  I have told hubby that we should try to go to Berkshire AGM in May 2010 - before Warren Buffett gets run over by a bus (a proverbial question he got asked at each AGM - what if?)

Anyway, the groom at the wedding in Texas works for a managed fund in the US and of course he spoke highly of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger (WB's partner at Berkshire).  And, he actually attended the Berkshire AGM in May this year with a couple of his mates.  So, he emailed me some notes from the meeting and it was good reading.

Since we are investing in BRK.b with our super fund money, so we don't do margin loans or leverage.  Like you said, the fees by ComSec are outrageous, but we have not much choice.  We plan to buy a few more BRK.b shares, then stop.  By then, we will ditch ComSec.

Dan-o:  Agree, it would have been good if you got BRK.b shares a month ago.  Of course, the A$ dived in less than 3 weeks and it has become more expensive now.  However, we did buy some US$ in July - sitting in ComSec / Pershing account.  We have left buy orders for some more BRK.b shares, but it has gone north.  20/20 hindsight said we should have left buy order when we bought the US$ for it.  We may have to increase our price before it goes further north.


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## MMarz (16 February 2009)

Hi Boiler123

I bought a 'B' share through Comsec lately.  I plan to go to the meeting in 'May 09.  Can you tell me if Berkshire sends the Annual Report directly to us.  

I understand we can then get the meeting credentials from filling out a form/card from the report.


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## boiler123 (16 February 2009)

MMarz said:


> Hi Boiler123
> 
> I bought a 'B' share through Comsec lately.  I plan to go to the meeting in 'May 09.  Can you tell me if Berkshire sends the Annual Report directly to us.
> 
> I understand we can then get the meeting credentials from filling out a form/card from the report.




Congratulations that you got some BRKb shares - very good prices in the last few months.

If you bought BRKb shares through Commsec, the annual report will go to Commsec, and get posted to you by Commsec via Pershing in the US.  Therefore, there will be some delay.  The AGM credentials are posted along with the annual report.  Each shareholder gets 4 credentials - so you can bring family members or friends.

We have transferred our BRKb shares from Commsec / Pershing to Wells Fargo - the transfer agent for Berkshire.  It was such a drama in doing it, and took a long time for Commsec / Pershing to get their act together (months not weeks).  Our reason for doing the transfer because we are not likely to buy any more BRKb shares for our super fund and if we don't do any more trade within a year, then Commsec will slug us for US$70 (I think, from memory).  Having said this, we may be tempted to buy some more BRKb shares at currently levels - notwithstanding the shocking A$ / US$ low rate.

You do know that Warren Buffett normally releases his well-known letter to the shareholders in February.  As soon as it is released, it will be widely broadcast in the internet.  And, it is well worth reading.  The annual report is released in April - a few weeks before the AGM.  Again, it is also worth reading.

I want to go to the AGM but hubby's work timetable does not allow us to go to the US in early May.  I am still hoping one day we will make it to Omaha, NE.  If you plan to go to the AGM, then you are in luck with the airfare war to the US at the moment.  Also, I believe, you need to book your accommodation well in advance because all the hotels (expensive and cheap) always block out the first weekend in May each year!


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## boiler123 (17 February 2009)

Hi MMarz

If you plan to go to Bershire AGM in May 2009, check out posts in this forum for gatherings and meetings with other shareholders

http://cornerofberkshireandfairfax....PSESSID=c8srh2ble8inajff7ic4ajdr57&topic=12.0


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## MMarz (17 February 2009)

Thanks Boiler123. You've answered my concerns.
I've booked my tickets and hotels already.  Now, I want to be sure to get the credentials.  It would appear that by buying through Commsec/Pershing that securities are held under "Street Name" Registration
 (See http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/holdsec.htm).  I was worried that you might not get the Annual Report and hence the credentials.  Now, I'm more relieved. 

Can you tell us more about transferring BrkB shares using Wells Fargo?  What's the process? Are there any costs involved?  
I too intend to hold my BrkB shares for a long time and find the inactive fee annoying (I think there's also a $2 monthly "Foreign securities custody fee").  There's probably other Brk'ers in the same boat. 

>You do know that Warren Buffett normally releases his well-known letter to the shareholders in February.
Yes, I look forward to it every year.  There's always something new to learn and old lessons to be reminded about.

Thanks for the link.  I've also found a Facebook group of people going to the AGM this year.


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## boiler123 (17 February 2009)

MMarz said:


> Can you tell us more about transferring BrkB shares using Wells Fargo?  What's the process? Are there any costs involved?
> I too intend to hold my BrkB shares for a long time and find the inactive fee annoying (I think there's also a $2 monthly "Foreign securities custody fee").  There's probably other Brk'ers in the same boat.




You need to contact Commsec (in writing) asking them to transfer your BRKb shares from Pershing to Berkshire's transfer agent (currently Wells Fargo Bank).  Commsec then instructs Pershing to do the transfer - this is known as the DRS (direct registration system) in the SEC link you provided.

Yes, there is a fee involved - from memory, I think it is about US$65.  However, in our case, Commsec messed around with our request for so long - I had to send them emails after emails, make phone calls after phone calls, asking why the transfer had not been done.  It took months for the transfer to complete - when one would thought it should only taken no more than 4 weeks!  So, the end result was that they refunded us the transfer fee.


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