(Reuters) -Charlie Munger, the longtime vice chairman and second-in-command to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, died on Tuesday morning at a California hospital.
Munger was 99, and would have turned 100 on January 1. He died peacefully, Berkshire said. No cause was given.
COMMENTS:
BURNS MCKINNEY, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, NFJ INVESTMENT GROUP, DALLAS, TEXAS
“He is definitely one of the masters of the game. For stock-pickers like us to lose Charlie Munger, would be like if you’re a basketball fan and you lose Bill Russell. He is truly one of the greats.”
“He helped Warren Buffett build his investment philosophy and process and so it’s hard to say that Berkshire Hathaway would be what it is if not for him.”
PHIL ORLANDO, CHIEF EQUITY MARKET STRATEGIST, FEDERATED HERMES, NEW YORK
“His longevity was beyond impressive, and I loved that he was a brilliant investor, but very blunt and plain spoken, he didn’t pull any punches and he refused to suffer any fools gladly.”
BILL STONE, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, GLENVIEW TRUST COMPANY
“With so much cash on the balance sheet you shouldn’t expect a big decline in the stock, or if you do see one it will be only temporary because they would be big buyers of their own stock if it were to crater.”
“I can’t imagine investors haven’t thought about what happens when Buffett is gone as well. They have been upfront about succession plans and there are so many operating companies that should do well without either of [Buffett or Munger.] You don’t need them to be as good as Buffett or Munger to make Berkshire a good company and arguably a great company.”
PHILLIP WOOL, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF RESEARCH, RAYLIANT GLOBAL ADVISORS, CALIFORNIA
“When I read the news, it struck me as a huge loss. To me, I think the most impressive thing about Charlie Munger, beyond his amazing track record—which would make him a legend in its own right—was the way he was able to really clearly articulate his investing wisdom so that all of the rest of us could learn something from his process and his experience.”
“I’m a quant, but it was still so interesting to read how Munger thought about fundamentals and the businesses underlying companies’ stocks, and that has shaped the way I think about concepts like ‘value’ and ‘quality’, which has made me better at what I do. It’s rare for his level of stock picking skill to combine with such wit and willingness to share the insight, and it’s a shame to lose that.”
STEVE SOSNICK, CHIEF STRATEGIST, INTERACTIVE BROKERS, CONNECTICUT
“Charlie Munger was one of the true all-time greats. His track record and ability to stay relevant for so many decades are truly astounding, and rivaled only by his long-time partner, Warren Buffett.”
“I personally like that he was ‘Mr. Inside’ to Buffett’s ‘Mr. Outside.’ Though he became an investment legend in his own right, he seemed quite content to let Buffett be the face of Berkshire Hathaway while taking a much less public role.”
WIN MURRAY, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, DIAMOND HILL, COLUMBUS, OHIO
“The investment world has lost a legend. Charlie Munger was not just brilliant, he was incredibly gifted in his ability to communicate his brilliance in ways that everyone could grasp.”
“And despite being 99 years old, he was still perfectly cogent and produced new insights until the end. The investment community was blessed to have access to his thoughts for as long as we did.”
BILL SMEAD, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, SMEAD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, PHOENIX AREA
“Munger was a common sense genius. So that he would he could filter through the unimportant information and give Warren the important second thoughts that he needed. That second opinion was unfiltered, pulled no punches, very effective. he wasn’t worried about who he was going to offend with his opinion.”
“Berkshire has talented people there that will help with the stock picking, but it will never be the same. The beauty of Munger is that he convinced Buffett in the late 60s that he no longer was going to have an information advantage and he needed to pivot to a decision making advantage. Munger convinced Buffett to make the best long term decisions and they worked on that together.”
“Buffett is going to feel like he lost his right arm.”
“Hopefully Warren will survive quite a while and give us some time with the other two stock pickers (Todd Combs and Ted Weschler) being kind of brought up alongside him on the bench the way Charlie was.”
PAUL LOUNTZIS, PRESIDENT, LOUNTZIS ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, WYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA
“It’s a sad sad day. Charlie really helped Warren move from cigar-butt purchases of lower quality companies at very cheap prices, to much better companies purchased at fair prices. Part of that was stimulated by Charlie’s philosophy of focusing on quality rather than quantity.”
“Warren will miss someone who he often, not always, bounced ideas off of, and who helped clarify his thinking.”
“I don’t think Berkshire will change much. Their going-forward team led by Greg Abel is well prepared for the future.”
“I’ve been in the investing business 40 years. I’ve never listened to anyone who thought the way Charlie did. Short, brief and to the point was always how Charlie responded. And you’ll never have one say ‘I have nothing to add’ after Warren speaks.”
STEPHEN DODSON, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, THE BRETTON FUND, SAN FRANCISCO
“Warren Buffett is a wonderful and gifted communicator and in some ways better than Charlie was but Charlie was always more honest and willing to give the unvarnished truth about their mistakes and wins.”
“The biggest loss for shareholders is losing that insider’s take on Berkshire and investing in general. I don’t see anyone else stepping up to take over that mantle.”
“He knew his audience and when he was on his own he was much more comfortable pontificating about architecture or life and more confident being the center of attention.”
PAUL NOLTE, SENIOR WEALTH ADVISOR AND MARKET STRATEGIST FOR MURPHY & SYLVEST IN ELMHURST, IL
“He always struck me as a very practical, pragmatic individual when it came to investing. He tried not to complicate things and Warren Buffet has the same style which is why they’ve held onto investments as long as they have.”
QUINCY KROSBY, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, LPL FINANCIAL IN CHARLOTTE, NC
“There was an honesty about his comments that many who worked on Wall Street would say, ‘If only we could say that and get away with it’. He cut right into what everyone was thinking about something that didn’t seem quite right. … Every new idea that we all thought was so brilliant, he would come out and pierce that balloon. And you know, invariably, he was correct, and he didn’t embellish his comments with jargon. He went right to it, and that was his brilliance.”
RICK MECKLER, PARTNER, CHERRY LANE INVESTMENTS, NEW VERNON, NEW JERSEY
“He was certainly one of the greatest investors, as a team with Buffett. I’m sure it is an enormous loss for Buffett personally.”
“The most amazing thing about him was how cogent he remained and how his views still rang true for so many investors even at a very advanced age. He obviously was still at or near the top of his game right up until almost the end.”
DOUG KASS, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, SEABREEZE PARTNERS MANAGEMENT LP
“Being the credentialed bear and sitting next to Charlie and Warren (Buffett) at Berkshire’s 2013 annual meeting was the highlight of my investment career. A legend and voice of reason – anti-meme, practical and witty.”
THOMAS RUSSO, PARTNER, GARDNER RUSSO & QUINN, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA,
“It’s a shock. It will leave a big void for investors who have modeled their thoughts, words and activities around Munger and his insights. He gave so much advice over how to live life, as well as how to manage assets and investments.”
“He was an extraordinary partner and sounding board for Buffett. There will be a lot of impact on Buffett. I expect him to feel this loss very deeply.”
“I wouldn’t think Berkshire will look much different, apart from Buffett no longer being able to share ideas with Munger. Berkshire may be a little less fun without him.”
CATHERINE SEIFERT, VICE-PRESIDENT, CFRA RESEARCH, NEW YORK
“Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are not going to be directly or negatively impacted from the passing of Charlie Munger. His impact has been felt positively. Shareholders have benefited from his years of collective and very candid counsel that he’s provided Berkshire Hathaway and, more specifically, Warren Buffett, but at this juncture, I do not expect any material adverse effect to the company or to the shares as a result of his passing.”
“He’s one person at a large corporation that has a systems of checks and balances in place. He was a vice chairman of the company. There was already a transition plan in place and there’s a transition plan in place when Warren Buffett passes away. So while this transition plan may be tested, it’s you know, this is not going to be again the company has benefited from his wisdom.”
ANTHONY SAGLIMBENE, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, AMERIPRISE, TROY, MICHIGAN
“Munger was a gifted investor who had a knack for providing a measured and rational perspective when the market at times seemed irrational.”
THOMAS HAYES, CHAIRMAN, GREAT HILL CAPITAL, NEW YORK
“I think what may be most underestimated about Charlie was his willingness to generously share his intellect and thought processes. That positively impacted so many people around the world. It certainly had an immense impact on how I think about investing. I think the big change that Charlie brought to the value investing community was not just looking for what was cheap but looking for what was out of favor but high quality – which means buying businesses that were still compounding capital not just that you could buy at a discount to liquidation value. That was an immense contribution.
“He was a wealthy guy and he didn’t have to share it. He didn’t have to spend time speaking publicly. He gained nothing by doing so yet he was unrelenting generous with his time, intellect, philosophy and secrets.”
(Compiled by the Global Finance & Markets team)
