Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
William Smith
Mar 14, 2023 9:50PM ET
Sounds like they are hiding things.
0
4
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
⏰ React to the Market Faster with Custom, Real-Time News Get Started
Berkshire Hathaway to beef up risk disclosures following SEC request
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett rides on a golf cart through the exhibition hall as investors and guests arrive for the first in-person annual meeting since 2019 of Berkshire Hathaway Inc in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. April 29, 2022. REUTER
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc agreed to better explain how its board of directors manages risks, including those taken by longtime Chairman Warren Buffett, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked that it do a better job.
In correspondence made public on Tuesday, the SEC's division of corporate finance asked Berkshire to "enhance" its risk management disclosures in its annual proxy filings, and Berkshire agreed to make the requested changes.
Despite Buffett's legendary status as an investor and manager, some analysts have long urged the billionaire's Omaha, Nebraska-based company, whose market value is about $670 billion, to disclose more about itself.
The SEC sought more disclosures on how Berkshire's board addresses short- and long-term risks, the extent to which the board speaks with management and outside experts to identify future risks, and why the board oversees risk management instead of delegating it to a committee.
It also asked Berkshire to address whether its lead independent director can override Buffett on risk matters or ask the board to consider them. Former Yahoo President Susan Decker was named to that position in September 2021.
The SEC made its requests in a Sept. 2, 2022 letter, and Berkshire Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg agreed to them six days later.
Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment to Buffett's assistant. Its 2023 proxy filing is expected this week.
Buffett's company owns dozens of businesses such as Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad.
Many are discussed in only a few sentences or paragraphs in its annual reports.
Berkshire also does not hold analyst calls, and communicates to the public mainly through financial disclosures, its annual meeting and Buffett's annual shareholder letter.
Buffett, 92, has focused on capital management and investments since ceding day-to-day oversight of Berkshire-owned businesses in 2018 to Vice Chairmen Greg Abel, who is Buffett's expected successor as chief executive, and Ajit Jain.
He has also said Berkshire's disclosures are sufficient, and many businesses are too small to merit lengthy discussion.
Related Articles
Comments (1)
Kip Oberting
Mar 14, 2023 9:50PM ET
Well, if anyone reads one percent of what buffett has written, they would understand berkshire is not. For example, risk management? They invest 100 percent of their cash in short term treasuries. They have been doung this for fifty years. When they acquired GenRe twenty five years ago, they shut down the derivatives book. The one thing that has allowed buffett to be successful, is avoiding any black holes. He does not like to collect pennies in front of a freight train. Unlike SVB, credit swiss, etc….
0
0
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.