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Jamie Dimon's 2018 letter to shareholders (Link)
Jamie Dimon released his annual letter to shareholders sharing his insights on some critical issues currently churning in the United States. Jamie speaks up for capitalism, stock buybacks and big business.
"There is no question that capitalism has been the most successful economic system the world has ever seen. It has helped lift billions of people out of poverty, and it has helped enhance the wealth, health and education of people around the world. Capitalism enables competition, innovation and choice."
"We much prefer to use our capital to grow than to buy back stock. We believe buying back stock should be considered only when either we cannot invest (sometimes as a result of regulatory policies) or we are generating excess capital that we do not expect to use in the next few years. Buybacks should not be done at the expense of investing appropriately in our company."
The rise in internal collaboration at Berkshire $(Link)
Executives at Berkshire subsidiary companies now gather regularly to share strategies and best practices.
“Even though we’re in different industries and have different business models, there’s so much that connects us,” said Mary Rhinehart, CEO of Berkshire’s building-products maker Johns Manville. “Why wouldn’t we take advantage of the talent across the Berkshire Hathaway organization?”
Buffet explains how collaboration among Berkshire companies is largely voluntary. “The best cooperation is voluntary. That’s not a change in the culture, though. It’s sort of a sign of the culture. It really is people thinking like owners and exercising, in a sense, their independence.”
