Low Attendance

That's right, low attendance. A big-time reporter sought me out last week in desperation because of difficulty getting quality interviews. "Nobody is going to the meeting" this reporter said. Now, obviously a lot of people went to the meeting, 40,000 people or so. But the serious money managers this particular reporter wanted to interview were not going.

Ed Studzinski of Harris Associates (Oakmark Funds), a superb value manager who has attended for many years since the Red Lion Inn days, had the following explanation for why he did not attend. He said, "you can quote me" as saying that the meeting this year is "a hospice for value managers."

Woah!

Clearly a lot of high-quality people went to the meeting, but the brain drain was noticeable. I attribute to a lot of factors including:

> People didn't want to fight the bigger crowd.

> Some have been irritated the past couple of years by the hotel situation, ever since Berkshire took over allocating the rooms. This, though, was minor factor compared to....

> The airline price-gouging, which became the last straw for some people. The cost of attending the meeting was cited by several I spoke to.

> Massive increase in media and near-instant transmission of anything notable means the value of attending in person has declined for those who are there to learn.

> People dressed as foam bricks, model train sets, stilt walkers create carnival atmosphere that many people love yet as it increasingly dominates, some of those who attend for business reasons are starting to drop out. "The meeting itself has become trivialized compared to the circus," as one person put it.

> A side industry has sprung up around the meeting of people holding commercial events promoting their own businesses that has now reached a scale that rivals a small convention. Some people think it's gotten out of hand.

> Lastly, a number of people are not there to hear Warren trash Rich Santulli, defend Goldman Sachs and justify lobbying about derivatives. The answers to the questions used to delight and give enlightenment; now the audience is parsing them to figure out whether they can be trusted. Some people simply do not feel this is worth a plane ride.

With that said, the meeting is still informative, has been a big part of my life for many years, and holds a nostalgic place in my heart. I like to go if only for that reason. So yes, I am booking a hotel room for next year and hope the airlines do not gouge us too badly on airfares.