Warren Buffet's vagueness as to who will succeed him has caused investors to worry, Reuters reported.
While Buffet has taken steps to bolster the confidence of shareholders about the performance of Berkshire Hathaway Inc after he leaves his post or passes away, he has not made his succession plans very clear.
Sather Financial Group President Dave Sather said, "I feel sorry for the person who follows in his shoes. Buffett's in a very unique position... to where he can just think 100 percent independently. I worry that the next person will not have quite the same flexibility to be a dealmaker." Sather Financial Group, which has $365 million under management, puts over 5 percent of its assets in Berkshire.
Indeed, Buffet's successor faces a heavy task. Because Buffet has led Berkshire for a long-time and has outperformed the market for most of the time he has been at the helm, he has leeway for errors or underperformance. This is a mistake that other CEOs cannot afford to make, the report said.
It's a known fact that Buffet's success in making deals has been advantageous and at certain times, has even changed the insurance and investment company. Buffet told shareholders this weekend through his annual letter that, Berkshire's performance lagged the Standard & Poor's 500 last year and has been trailing on a five-year basis when compared with the benchmark. In the five year period, Berkshire's net worth per share increased 91% while the index increased 128%. However, the book value per share of Berkshire has grown from $19 in 1965 to $134,973 representing an annualized gain of almost 20%. This is two times the S&P 500's growth rate, the report said.
According to Buffet, Berkshire will most likely beat the benchmark in a weak or moderate market compared to when equities would make a showing, such as what happened last year, the report said.
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