Warren Buffett has lengthy championed a conservative monetary strategy to investing. He doesn’t advise taking up a lot debt, and definitely doesn’t assume Berkshire, or anybody, ought to overleverage themselves. But when he does, he says there’s just one good strategy to construction it. Actually, his steering on leverage at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) (BRK.A) is express: “We not often use a lot debt and, once we do, we try and construction it on a long-term fastened charge foundation.”
The road first appeared within the Berkshire govt’s 1983 shareholder letter, as a part of a broader define of manager-owner rules that emphasised conservative financing and accountability to policyholders, lenders, and shareholders. Set in opposition to the monetary surroundings of the early Eighties — when rates of interest have been unstable and refinancing threat was entrance of thoughts — the assertion served as a sensible coverage, not a slogan. It has remained a part of Berkshire’s canon ever since.
The context of the comment issues. Berkshire’s core enterprise consists of giant insurance coverage operations the place stability and claims-paying capability are important. Avoiding heavy leverage lowers the prospect that short-term funding pressures undermine long-term guarantees. Fixing charges when the corporate does borrow reduces publicity to interest-rate swings and refinancing home windows — key dangers for establishments that should keep liquid throughout cycles. The identical part of the 1983 letter presents this self-discipline as a trade-off: the corporate might forgo engaging offers in the event that they require undue leverage.
The credibility behind the road rests on each the writer’s document and the agency’s construction. As chairman and CEO, Buffett has led Berkshire by way of a number of rate of interest regimes and credit score cycles, all whereas insisting on balance-sheet energy to match a decentralized working mannequin. Within the wake of main dislocations, the corporate has traditionally prioritized excessive liquidity and modest near-term obligations, enabling it to maintain working flexibility when markets are strained. Berkshire’s 2008 shareholder letter finally framed this strategy as a everlasting purpose — keep ample liquidity and modest maturities — underscoring why the agency has repeatedly been a supplier of capital, slightly than a seeker of it, throughout stress.
