Day with Buffett leaves its mark
The 38
UNO CBA students will never forget their time with Warren Buffett.
UNO CBA
seniors in investment portfolio management and MBA students in the fixed income
management classes visited Buffett Feb. 19, spending the morning with him at
Berkshire Hathaway followed by lunch at Gorat's Steak House. After welcoming
students at Berkshire, Buffett (Buffett warmly welcomed CBA students, including
Destynie J. Jenkins, left, and Kate Clark.) opened the floor to questions, and
the students were ready:
• "What
is the relevance of commodity prices in today's global economy and how should
companies use them in their financial planning?"
• "Would
you credit your success as an investor to an accurate foresight of the future,
company fundamentals coupled with a strategic vision, or something else?"
• "In
determining the 'margin of safety' for a company and 'intrinsic value,' could
you please explain these concepts in more detail?"
Buffett
was ready, too, explaining the global relevance of commodity prices,
information requirements needed by an investor, and his take on the margin of
safety.
Students
in UNO's Maverick Investment program relished Buffett's advice to get their
feet wet and then dive in, which is just what they had been doing. First
National Bank of Omaha gave the program's graduate students the opportunity to
manage a $1 million fixed income asset account. A contribution by UNO CBA
alumnus Colonel Guy M. Cloud created a separate portfolio that is managed by
undergraduates in the portfolio management course.
Students'
investment decisions earned the portfolio an 18-percent return in 2006 to keep
alive the Mav's streak of outperforming the S&P 500 every year since the
fund's inception in 2000.
But
Buffett did far more than share his views about investing. He encouraged
students to recognize the valuable resources they had been handed by life and
to invest in their own success.
John
Szalewski appreciated Buffett's analogy about every human on earth drawing
their life's 'ticket' from a barrel. Buffett asked students to consider whether
they would be willing to trade their current ticket for 100 more draws from the
barrel. "That really hit home with me," said Szalewski. "He has a way of making
people appreciate what they have. He has a great outlook on life."
Tyler
Cary enjoyed Buffett's appreciation of his good timing historically. "My
favorite comment was when he said, 'If I had been born 1,000 years ago, some
animal would be chasing me. I'd be yelling, "I allocate capital!" and the
animal would be thinking, "Those are the kind that taste the best!"' That was
pretty funny."
Students
also appreciated Buffett's emphasis on energetic hard work to improve one's
skills, e.g., public speaking. Nolan Anderson and Michael Asmus noted that
Buffett recognized that public speaking can be very difficult but that he
believes it can be learned and improved. The two students were encouraged to
hear about Buffett's own efforts to improve his skills because he believed,
"That although some will be better than others, anyone can become a proficient
speaker and writer — with practice." Early in his professional career Buffett purposefully
developed his speaking skills by teaching several courses in investment at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Prior to
the day with Buffett UNO students hosted a reception for students from the
University of California, Davis. Professor David Volkman, chair of the
department of finance, banking, and law, said that UNO students enjoyed hosting
and networking with UC Davis students, who shared the next day's meetings. The
students also visited and received business strategy presentations from two
Berkshire Hathaway companies: Nebraska Furniture Mart and Borsheims.
"They
anticipated that Warren Buffett would be impressive, but they did not expect
his humor," said Volkman. Said UNO MBA student Kate Clark: "I'm still flying
high! What an honor."
