maxprogram Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Hi all. This post is a bit promotional but I thought many on this board, especially those attending the meeting this week would find it of interest. A few years ago I worked with Buffett's office to release the "Letters to Shareholders" compilation book, which a lot of people purchased and enjoyed. At the meeting this year there will be a limited-edition hardcover version updated with all 50 letters. Because only 1,000 copies will be printed (due to hardcover cost & lower demand), price will be more expensive but I still think reasonable for fans. What I'm more excited about is the "50 Years of BRK" wall print (36x18") I created that visualizes Berkshire over 50 years. Data was obtained from many sources but primarily from a complete analysis I've done of the full BRK annual reports going back to 1965. The print will be $16 to shareholders at the meeting. I've showed to a handful of people and they all really seem to like it (see this short vid from Guy Spier after I gave Saurabh an early version: https://vimeo.com/123019888) Here is the full blog post with more details: http://www.explorist.io/blog/2015/4/28/berkshire-hathaway-50th-anniversary-print-book There's a lot of other data I couldn't include on the poster b/c of size, but hopefully I'll be able to put it into some other form later on. Some might be used in a WSJ article with their coverage on the meeting later this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgis Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Will look forward for the wall print online sales. Please post here when you have it available. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CassiusKing1 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Will look forward for the wall print online sales. Please post here when you have it available. Thanks Definitely interested in a couple as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I'm interested in the poster online sales too. Looks pretty neat. Please let us know when it's online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuberan Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Will get both from you in Omaha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxprogram Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 Great, I'll post here when both are available online later this month. Yesterday I posted some interesting stats I learned from the research on Twitter for anyone interested: My favorite: Best return from public market investment: GEICO, added 1,570% to BV until purchase in '96, 7,119% including subsequent underwriting gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgis Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Some great info (p*87 8) ) Can you elaborate on: Berkshire’s 50-year annualized book value growth *without* gains from stock investments: 9.6% (vs 19.4% actual & 9.9% S&P) #brkstats Is this from captive businesses? How did you account for BRK selling stocks and reusing this in internal businesses? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dual_bid Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 What I'm more excited about is the "50 Years of BRK" wall print (36x18") I created that visualizes Berkshire over 50 years. Data was obtained from many sources but primarily from a complete analysis I've done of the full BRK annual reports going back to 1965. The print will be $16 to shareholders at the meeting. I've showed to a handful of people and they all really seem to like it (see this short vid from Guy Spier after I gave Saurabh an early version: https://vimeo.com/123019888) Max, where exactly will you sell the poster at the meeting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merkhet Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 It was at Bookworms yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dual_bid Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 It was at Bookworms yesterday OK. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxprogram Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 Some great info (p*87 8) ) Can you elaborate on: Berkshire’s 50-year annualized book value growth *without* gains from stock investments: 9.6% (vs 19.4% actual & 9.9% S&P) #brkstats Is this from captive businesses? How did you account for BRK selling stocks and reusing this in internal businesses? Thanks This just comes from taking the investment portion out of each year's return and then annualizing the number. So not perfect of course but interesting nonetheless. The 9.6% number assumes investments earn nothing. I also estimated the 50 year annualized return if investments were put in 10-year bonds. Final result is 13.5% annual BV growth over 50 years. Interesting to think about but unrealistic as it doesn't account for reinvestment, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCMessina Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Got a copy. Awesome stuff man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest longinvestor Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I picked one up. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Also would love to be able to buy a print of the poster online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLValue Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Also would love to be able to buy a print of the poster online. Same! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxprogram Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'll be making the poster & the remaining copies of the book available for purchase online in the next couple weeks. When it's ready I'll let everyone here know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest notorious546 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 i would like one if there are any left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I'll be making the poster & the remaining copies of the book available for purchase online in the next couple weeks. When it's ready I'll let everyone here know. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxprogram Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 Hey everyone, the poster and hardcover shareholders book are now available for purchase on Amazon. Book: http://www.amazon.com/Berkshire-Hathaway-Letters-Shareholders-Buffett/dp/069244842X/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A3ODHOECJIJSTW Wall print: http://www.amazon.com/Years-Berkshire-Hathaway-Wall-Print/dp/0692448438/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A3ODHOECJIJSTW For the book, there are ~100 copies at the warehouse now but many more are on the way, so if stock runs out just check back in a few days. Also, below is a chart from a post I just published. It shows the cumulative contribution to book value of selected investments over 50 years. (More details are in the post.) http://static1.squarespace.com/static/552198cde4b0ae29d9efc86b/t/5567a173e4b0dc7d532585dc/1432854903217/BRK-individual-investments?format=1000w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubsfan Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Max - fantastic stuff - just ordered both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest notorious546 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 how do i buy one if i'm in canada? doesn't look like they ship to canada or are available on the amazon.ca website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 how do i buy one if i'm in canada? doesn't look like they ship to canada or are available on the amazon.ca website. I have the same question. Also, very interesting new chart. Great way to see how most of the returns from most investments seem to happen within 5-8 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombgrt Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 And what about the poor folks in Europe? :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest notorious546 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 it appears you can buy it for 162.44 plus shipping on ebay... http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Berkshire-Hathaway-Letters-to-Shareholders-1965-2014-Warren-Buffett-50-YEARS-/321530319009?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4adcb350a1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombgrt Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I'm not a frickin billionaire though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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