1st in line to replace Buffett

[mpauls]

I'm convinced that Li Lu is first in line to replace Buffett & Munger's role as investment officer.  Sokol the likely CEO at this point.

 

More details to come once I compile notes. 

[frog03]

Looking forward to hear your rationale as well as learning more about this person.

[maxthetrade]

Li Lu is the founder and general partner of LL Investment Partners. He is a friend of Munger and brought BYD to him. Here is a bit more bachground info:

 

Finally, there’s a fascinating footnote to this story, and it involves a man named Li Lu, who was born in China in 1966, the same year as Mr. Wang. When I began reporting the story, I wondered how Buffett and Charlie Munger had become aware of BYD. That question led me to Li Lu, who runs an investment firm, in which Munger is an investor, based in Pasadena that owns about 2.5% of BYD. He was the link between Berkshire and BYD.

 

Li Lu, it turns out, also was a leader of the pro-democracy movement that organized the mass student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989—20 years ago next month. He fled China after hundreds of demonstrators were killed and appeared on China’s “Twenty-one Most Wanted List.”

 

Escaping to New York, Li Lu was embraced by the human rights community and wrote a memoir called Moving the Mountain that reads like a movie. His well-educated parents were forced into labor camps during the Cultural Revolution and, as a 10-year-old-boy, he barely survived an earthquake that killed 250,000 in the city of Tangshin.

 

During the 1990s, Li Lu earned three degrees in six years from Columbia—a B.A. in economics, a law degree and an M.B.A. He worked for Allen & Co. and at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette before starting his investment fund. When David Sokol first flew to China to visit BYD, he stopped at LAX to have dinner with Li Lu, after which they traveled together to Hong Kong. Li Lu is still not permitted to travel freely to China.

 

Li Lu politely declined to speak with me for my story, telling me that some people in China are still unhappy about his role in the Tianenmen protests. Mr. Wang is not among them. “That’s past history,” he said. “Today, Mr Li and I share the belief that the best way to help China move forward is to make BYD a world-class company.”

 

http://www.marcgunther.com/tag/charlie-munger/

[twacowfca]

That's an astonishing Horatio Alger boy makes good type story about Li Lu.  When asked yesterday at the AGM about how well the  four Chief Investment Officer candidates had performed recently, Warren was vague, repeating his statement of last year that they didn't exactly cover themselves with glory and were down about 50% during the market meltdown.  He went on to say that they had all had nice rebounds since then, apparently recovering most or all of their mark to mark losses or perhaps then some.

 

Then, Charlie chirped that one candidate (here, I had a slight impression that that person may not necessarily have been one of the four official shortlisted candidates) was up 200% from the bottom without using leverage or shorting. To the best of my knowledge, this could only be Li Lu as mpauls and maxthetrade have described him.  I also got an impression from non verbal cues that there was some wait and see type of disagreement between Charlie and Warren about whether or not Li Lu was THE ONE.  If my impression was correct, this apparent scepticism may be related to the lack of a very long term track record by Li Lu or perhaps because Li Lu's recent returns were greatly influenced by a large holding of BYD or the recent bubble in the Chinese market.

 

mpauls, and maxthetrade PLEASE PLEASE comment on this!

[beerbaron]

That's an astonishing Horatio Alger boy makes good type story about Li Lu.  When asked yesterday at the AGM about how well the  four Chief Investment Officer candidates had performed recently, Warren was vague, repeating his statement of last year that they didn't exactly cover themselves with glory and were down about 50% during the market meltdown.

 

That probably eliminates Seth Klarman from the group. I doubt Klarman can go 50% down.

 

BeerBaron

[shalab]

Seriously, I think it eliminates all people who have a serious name recognition from the group. People who are independently wealthy and running their own concerns with name recognition probably would see little value in running Berkshire portfolio after Buffett.

[frog03]

Any way to see LL's holdings?  No luck with mffais. Maybe too small in US-only holdings?

[mountboney]

Very interesting thanks.  I was at the meeting and have been wondering who the 200% guy might be.  Another tidbit I thought I heard was that the 4 on the list now are not necessarily the original 4.

 

I think the idea that Seth Klarman is om the list is a non-starter.  Why would he want it?  He has his own very successful firm and is a value investing "icon" in his own right.  I suppose he could do both, but I think the amount of money involved would be tough to fit into his investment style.