Buffett Partnership Letter 1965 Annual
1965 annual letter showing 47.2% partnership gain vs 14.2% Dow
warren-buffettbuffett-partnershipperformance1965
Buffett Partnership Letter 1965 Annual
Warren E. Buffett | January 20, 1966
Performance Summary
| Year | Dow | Partnership | Limited Partners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | -8.4% | 10.4% | 9.3% |
| 1958 | 38.5% | 40.9% | 32.2% |
| 1959 | 20.0% | 25.9% | 20.9% |
| 1960 | -6.2% | 22.8% | 18.6% |
| 1961 | 22.4% | 45.9% | 35.9% |
| 1962 | -7.6% | 13.9% | 11.9% |
| 1963 | 20.6% | 38.7% | 30.5% |
| 1964 | 18.7% | 27.8% | 22.3% |
| 1965 | 14.2% | 47.2% | 36.9% |
Key Highlights
1965 Results:
- Partnership gained 47.2%
- Dow gained 14.2%
- Limited partners gained 36.9%
- Buffett: "Our War on Poverty was successful in 1965. Specially, we were $12,304,060 less poor at the end of the year."
10-Year Cumulative Performance (1957-1965):
| Metric | Dow | Partnership | Limited Partners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative | 164.1% | 943.2% | 588.5% |
| Annual Compounded | 11.4% | 29.8% | 23.9% |
On Repeatability
"After last year the question naturally arises, 'What do we do for an encore?' A disadvantage of this business is that it does not possess momentum to any significant degree."
"We are going to have loss years and going to have years inferior to the Dow - no doubt about it."
Comparison with Investment Companies
Buffett compared his results with four major investment funds managing $5 billion:
- Massachusetts Investors Trust
- Investors Stock Fund
- Tri-Continental Corp.
- Lehman Corp.
"The public batting average of this highly paid and widely respected talent indicates performance a shade below that of the Dow."
Source
Warren E. Buffett, January 20, 1966.