Having lunch with Mr. Buffett was an amazing experience in itself. Mr. Buffett talked about various subjects including key characteristics that he looks for in individuals while forming a team, his interests in Indian, Chinese, and Korean markets, and the importance of being surrounded by smarter people than oneself.
Buffet’s energy, humour, and exuberance for life were all over the table. We had an interesting discussion on going long and short on stocks. He shared that going short is like catching a falling knife. In general value investors don’t like going short as in falling stock price scenario investors can’t capitalize on it while on rising stock price scenario investors stand to lose. In contrast, going long allows value investors buy more and hence take advantage of the market in falling stock price scenario whereas in rising price scenario investors have capital gains.
It was fascinating to hear stories from Mr. Buffett on how he met Charlie Munger, during early stage of investment management partnership formation, over a dinner in Omaha while Charlie Munger was laughing and rolling over the carpet on his own jokes. Equally inspiring was to hear that Mr. Buffett and Charlie Munger never had any argument with each other. To young investment and business managers in the group Mr. Buffett recommended to follow our passion rather than choosing job based on starting salary.
Ravi kant Joshi is a gold medallist in Organic Chemistry and has a masters degree in Marketing. While pursuing an MBA at Ivey, Ravi has been working on two entrepreneurial ventures with partners in India and USA and wishes to continue his entrepreneurial journey post MBA. He is an ardent chess player and a value investing enthusiast.