Buffet dumps silver

Fountainhead

He had a long position for years!



<< <i>Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said on Saturday he thought there had been market speculation in commodities such as copper, and also said he no longer had a holding in silver.

Silver hit a 23-year peak of $14.68 on April 20.

Commenting on the commodities market in general, Buffett said: "What the wise man does at beginning, the fool does in the end... any asset that has a big move based on fundamentals will attract speculators..." >>

CoinHusker

Speaking of that. Anybody come to Omaha for the shareholders meeting over the weekend? A good time was had by all.


I found it interesting that there was no reference made as to when Warren dumped his holdings.

Merc

I wonder if he sold on April 21 when silver fell $2 an oz.

IndianHeadMan

Buffet is too smart to dump all his silver at once. You can bet he has been dumping it for the past few weeks.

dlimb2

Buffett owns ....now aren't they the ones who started the ETF? There ya go this is where he dumped his silver.
He does not own it anymore but Berkshire Hathaway in the form of ETF's owns his silver.

In reality Buffett still owns what has not sold on the ETF...but on Paper Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns the silver.

RedTiger

I am surprised by this. Sounds to me like they started getting out at $10 or so, from the paragraph below. (You can't dump 130 million ounces in one day or even one week without causing a tidal wave.)

from
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=12519 link
...
It remains unknown exactly when Buffett sold, but he admitted that he bought very early, and sold very early so Berkshire did not partake in the move upward in the metal. Silver prices are currently around $14 per ounce. Some analysts believe that Berkshire was forced to sell its silver holdings by federal regulations in order to avoid allegations of market manipulation.

Buffett said that commodities have risen in price because they have had strong fundamentals; however he cautioned that rising prices attract speculative traders. He said that he didn’t know how much longer the bull market in commodities would run. Despite his prudence on commodities, Buffett said that he is still bearish on the U.S. dollar. However, he is changing his currency hedging strategy from owning foreign currencies to foreign businesses.
...

RedneckHB

I would imagine that Buffett sold between $7 to $8. His selling is what kept a lid on silver all of last summer and fall. Of course he may have sold much earlier.

Bottom line is he took a position and it didnt work out. Just like his dollar bet. He has had some winners and some losers. He is not this demi-god that many wish to believe.

fc

i always pictures the man thinking like this when it came to silver.
i have a ton of money, but i need some metals to round out my
portfolio. hey you peon, get me 10 million ounces! we shall hold it
in my vault in my bathroom.

RedTiger

<< <i>I would imagine that Buffett sold between $7 to $8. His selling is what kept a lid on silver all of last summer and fall. Of course he may have sold much earlier.

Bottom line is he took a position and it didnt work out. Just like his dollar bet. He has had some winners and some losers. He is not this demi-god that many wish to believe. >>



I have to laugh at the demi-god comment. No one bats 1000. However, Buffett has had enough winners and few enough losers to become the second richest man in America--all through superior investing, almost all public record for anyone to examine and second-guess. Buying early and selling early is a necessity when you move in size.

The Buffett approach may be analogous to how a patient collector assembles a collection. Look for opportunity, look for value, look for quality, look for a margin of error, be extremely patient and plan to hold for a long time. Avoid what you don't understand even if you think it will go up in value, avoid buying what is "hot" even if you think it is going up in value. I think many coin collectors could take a page out of the Buffett book and apply it well.

/edit minor typos /

dlimb2

He is selling the hoard he sold to Berkshire Hathaway Inc...by way of ETF's...he made a profit when he sold it and is making a profit with the ETF's....what a man!

Russ

<< <i>He said that he didn’t know how much longer the bull market in commodities would run. >>



Translation:

It's over.

Russ, NCNE

keets

Buffet dumps silver

did he dump silver or did he dump those nasty little scraps of paper that said he had silver?? i would wonder if he ever physically had any silver stored anywhere besides on a computer harddrive at some brokerage house.

Fountainhead

I wonder if Buffet sold the silver, then, knowing that his selling damped the price, invested in silver mining companies, knowing that the price would shoot up.

Fountainhead

Keets: Yes, it was a physical position, equivalent to several months' of worldwide silver production.

techeff

Translation:

It's over.

Russ, NCNE


He said he sold before the bull run...

Translation:

Oops!

Keith, CBGB