This year's iconic Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting (AGM) in Omaha, Nebraska, where tens of thousands of global investors, corporate leaders and economists flock to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, will be different on two counts. While the AGM will be held virtually on May 2 - exclusively live-streamed by Yahoo Finance - only one of the 'two wise men' will connect with you online. Breaking the decade long tradition, Munger will give the AGM a miss. The Oracle of Omaha will be joined by Greg Abel, Berkshire's Vice Chairman-Non-Insurance Operations, the only two persons to be physically present at the virtual meeting.
Buffett and Abel will have no prior knowledge of what questions will be asked. However, they will not discuss politics or specific investment holdings, informs Berkshire Hathaway in a release.
Shareholders have already submitted the questions to three journalists Becky Quick, Carol Loomis and Andrew Ross Sorkin. "Mr Quick will ask those questions that the journalists decide are the most interesting and important," informs Berkshire.
Know the IST schedule
The AGM, dubbed as the 'Woodstock for Capitalists' is scheduled for May 2 at 3:45 PM central time. Taking into account India Standard Time (IST), it will kick off at 1:30 AM IST on May 3.
Berkshire will release its first quarter earnings release and its quarterly report around 5:30 pm IST on May 2. You can access it on www.berkshirehathaway.com.
Watch the live stream here
You can watch the Berkshire Hathaway AGM live on the following link:
https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream/
An audio replay of the meeting and accompanying interviews will be available via podcast on iTunes and other podcast stores from May 4.
What to watch out in AGM
The AGM is happening at a time when the world is grappling with coronavirus that not just led to a medical but also a financial crisis with analysts expecting a global recession worse than the Great Depression of 1929.
Investors will be keen to hear Buffett's views on the pandemic who has been surprisingly quiet about the impact of global outbreak of COVID-19. Unlike the market crash post global financial crisis in 2008, when Buffett went on a buying spree, he has been laying low amid the ongoing crisis leaving investors to wonder about his outlook on markets and economy and how he intends to deploy Berkshire's $128 billion cash pile. The AGM 2020 could be an occasion where he spills some beans.