Commentary

A reprint of the original 1984 essay by Warren Buffett.

This was a day of the heavyweights - akin to the headline acts at a music festival. Nestle (held - Swiss listed food and beverages) started off proceedings followed by L’Oreal (held - Paris listed beauty and cosmetics), Coca-Cola (US listed beverages) and with Colgate (US listed personal care) bringing the event to a close.

Companies presenting on day 2 included Kellogg (the U.S listed: cereals and snacks), International Flavors and Fragrances (the US-listed; specialty ingredient supplier), PepsiCo (the US-listed soft beverages and snacks) and The Hershey Company (the US-listed: Confectionary). Day 3 involved more tobacco companies and commodity food producers both outside my areas of capability but the company representing one of our fund’s largest positions; Procter and Gamble (P&G) presented along with Kimberly Clark and Clorox.

Every year the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) gathers together the leaders of the top consumer staples firms to discuss their businesses with members. This provides unique access to their current thinking. I am attending this year’s virtual version of the event and will report back on my main observations. This log covers day 1.

Perhaps the best we can say about the UK stock market over the last two decades is that it has held its own against some other European markets. The stand-out winners have been NASDAQ, the U.S technology-focused market, and India. Japan, Singapore and Switzerland have been nearer the bottom than the top and, perhaps surprisingly, China has been around the middle of the pack. Korea and Sweden performed well.....