WSJ: Li Lu emerges in Berkshire succession plan

[Parsad]

Buffett never tips his hand...at all!  While we all appreciate the frankness of Munger, Buffett never lets you know his cards, and again, I find it difficult to believe Buffett will annoint one investment successor when he is gone (Lou Simpson was the exception, and the results are extraordinary).  Berkshire will have no less than two CIO's and I would bet at least four will be on the team.  This guy worries about the most unlikely scenarios and it won't matter if Munger is really high on Lu.  Cheers!

[shalab]

I would agree with this.

[mountboney]

Despite the press and CNBC running wild with this one, I've never seen a reference from Buffett or Munger for less than 3 investment managers.  I'd be comfortable with Li Lu as one of 3 but not as the sole manager.  BYD may do fantastic over the next 10 years, but it is a bet on them being able to ride the wave of a mass transformation to solar energy, transformative batteries, and electric cars.  Charlie is convinced of these changes and he's probably right but betting on one company to lead the technology and create value is not a sure thing.

My limited reading on Lithium batteries led me to believe there is a serious problem with the weight and a breakthrough is needed to utilize air rather than water.
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"Theoretically at least, lithium-air batteries could provide about 10 times the energy density – the amount of energy stored per kilogram – than the roughly 200 kilowatts per kilogram that cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries now provide, said Spike Narayan, the functional manager for science and technology at IBM's Almaden research lab.

The main challenge metal-air batteries pose is that it's very hard to reverse the chemical reaction that provides their energy without putting more energy into it than you'd get out of it. Meaning: Short of replacing the chemical components of the batteries, they can't be recharged, Narayan said.

It's a problem researchers have been trying to figure out for decades."

Greentechmedia.com
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Lot's of VC money, IBM, and others are working on this problem.

[scorpioncapital]

This article drives home to me the point that there is risk in succession. Despite the quibs about running Berkshire from beyond the grave, there is a real risk when you pass the reins on to the next generation, maybe not so much in managing what is already built, but in growing forward.

[CruiseTown]

Can someone help explain why doesnt he have any 13F-HR filings? Isnt he running more than $100M?   Thanks

[maxprogram]

I believe the $100M rule only applies to long public US equities/options (including ADRs that trade on US exchanges). So if all your US-traded holdings are under $100M, you wouldn't file a 13F. Li probably has most of his fund in equities traded on foreign exchanges.