Blue Hen Investment Club finishes off semester in Omaha

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3:46 p.m., June 2, 2010----Student officers of the Blue Hen Investment Club (BHIC) ended the year on a high with a trip to the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., last month.

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The meeting, dubbed “Woodstock for Capitalists,” was a memorable experience for the students and offered them an opportunity to participate directly in the corporate scene of one of the BHIC's holdings.

To Phil Gasparovic, president of the BHIC, it was clear how the meeting earned such a nickname.

“People from all walks of life flooded the city of Omaha, Nebraska to see 'him' -- Warren Buffett,” said Gasparovic. “And whether it was a savvy fund manager with millions of dollars invested in Berkshire Hathaway or a local farmer with just a few shares, Buffett was spoken of as though he were a mystical figure of sorts. That was the most interesting part of the trip for me -- witnessing how so many people universally hold Buffett in the highest regard.”

BHIC officers made a long weekend of the trip and attended all events surrounding the annual meeting hosted by Berkshire Hathaway, including the Borsheims (a Berkshire subsidiary) shareholder cocktail reception, annual meeting and a barbeque dinner.

According to BHIC treasurer Joel Drosehn, the reception was a lively event and offered, along with the annual meeting, professional networking opportunities.

“The shareholders reception was a great opportunity to network with investors from around the world,” he said. “The annual meeting the next day was held in downtown Omaha's Qwest Center and nearly 40,000 investors were present.”

Part of the annual meeting included a five-hour long question and answer session with Buffett that proved to be a highlight for both Gasparovic and Drosehn.

“I found the Q&A session between Warren Buffett and Charles Munger to be especially rewarding,” said Drosehn. “The value investing approach that Buffett discussed is the same method used by the BHIC. I was also impressed by his generosity in donating to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.”

Gasparovic was also fascinated by how simple Buffett made everything out to be.

“During the Q&A session, he addressed everything from the recent news surrounding Goldman Sachs to expanding his reach to India and beyond,” said Gasparovic. “Yet he was so nonchalant about everything and explained complex issues in an easy-to-understand way. He is the world's most successful investor, and yet he takes an incredibly simple approach to his job.”

Entirely student-run, the BHIC is housed in the Lerner College of Business and Economics and welcomes any UD student with a willingness to learn about financial markets and actively participate.

The mission of the BHIC is to provide a valuable educational experience by enabling its members to manage a real dollar investment portfolio. To that end, members actively manage a portion of the University of Delaware's endowment funds, totaling approximately $1 million.

Emphasizing fundamental and technical analysis allows members of the BHIC to gain valuable investing experience. The investment goals of the BHIC are to maintain a consistent strategy in developing the BHIC portfolio; match or exceed market returns using the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index as a benchmark; and select stocks that meet the long-term investment goals of the portfolio.

Article by Kathryn Ann Marrone

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