Bengaluru :
Lately, Meghna Wadhwa, Nameeta Mohanka, Rachna Prasad, Shalini Manglani and Vandana Agarwal have been sporting wide grins. The Bengaluru women attended Berkshire Hathaway’s annual general meeting (AGM) by Warren Buffett, over the weekend in Omaha, USA.
The women were part of a 28-member team from Millennium Mams’, a non-profit organisation that helps women be more financially literate. Mentored by investor Bhishnu Dhanuka, the group planned the trip for six months to meet the person whose principles have played an active role in their investing decisions.
“Buffett is like our guru, so it’s like a blessing to watch him speak live. We’ve been watching his webcasts but listening to him live was another experience altogether. The experience has motivated us to take good care of our financial portfolio,” said Prasad.
Of the 28 members, five belong to the Bengaluru chapter of the organisation. According to Manglani, a nutrition advisor and the honorary secretary of the city chapter, the vibe was “electric” at Omaha. “We came across others who have been attending this for 10 years. Someone from Buffett’s own company came to listen to him so we weren’t the only ones buzzing with excitement,” the 47-year-old said.
For investor Agarwal, 64, although this was the second time she was attending the AGM, it was just as memorable as her first experience in 2012. “Nothing can describe the feeling of being in the presence of such a stalwart,” she said.
While a personal interaction with Buffett wasn’t available, the women did have a fan moment when they drove past the American investor’s house. “We paused to take photographs outside his house. He’s known to be simple and never flaunts his wealth,” said Wadhwa, 33, who has been a part of the organisation since her 20s and now handles her own stock portfolio.
Lessons learned
Besides the AGM with Buffett, the team had an interactive session with Ajit Jain, vice chairman of Insurance Operations at Berkshire Hathaway. “He gave us some much-needed advice. Every investor is familiar with the panic that settles in when a market is going crazy. But Jain told us the importance of trusting our gut. He told us to trust our evaluation of a stock and to stick to our conviction, which just made us feel much better,” Nameeta Mohanka, 44, said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / Express News Service / May 09th, 2019