For investors May and June are AGM or Annual General Meeting time. As an investor, you can vote for the Board of Directors, the audit company, executive compensation and in larger companies a few ballot measures. If you use the app called Proxy Vote, when it comes time to cast your vote you can often accept the Board’s recommendations or vote each item separately. Generally, if the company is successful, the propensity to accept management’s recommendations is much higher. Rather does anyone get 100% of the votes. If the Board controls or has influence on more than 50% of the vote, there is little drama in terms of voting. After the voting, the President makes remarks and then questions may be offered.

In an article by Josh Funk of the Associated Press, the biggest AGM on the planet is Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska. This AGM has drawn over 40,000 people and for the last several years the question-and-answer session could easily be found on You Tube. This year with Warren Buffett being 95 years of age and with the passing of Charlie Munger, attendance is down. The arena which used to fill up was at a little more than half capacit, which is still the largest AGM in the country. One company the writer owns is having their AGM in a conference room at a lawyer’s office.

One of the better known companies of Berkshire Hathaway is Geico which is in the insurance industry. Insurance companies that ensure insurance companies are known as reinsurance companies and Berkshire owns a couple which are Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group and Gen Re. Vice Chairman Ajit Jain said, if the US gave a military guarantee, Berkshire would cover the ships going through the Strait of Hormuz.

Part of investing is holding your securities or the expectation of holding securities for a few months or years. If you are trading one day options, then Mr. Buffett believes you are not investing but gambling.

Greg Abel the new CEO said there was $380 billion in cash or cash equivalents or US T bills. This gives Berkshire patience to do something or nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is a good thing. The best time to buy is when the markets are down or when people are rushing to cash out.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, investing means having patience, if you have no patience, you likely will both win and lose lots of money. In the you have patience to do your homework, to hold onto to profitable companies for a few years or more, they will likely grow in value and you will be wealthier.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.