I can think of few people I would like to interview or have a beer with more than Warren Buffett.
How does one achieve so much wealth, give so much away to charity, care so much for his country and yet retain such an admirable sense of humility?
That's why I am looking forward to the BizTimes Media Wealth Management Summit on Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 7:30 to 11 a.m. at The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.
The keynote speaker of the event will be financial expert and author Jeff Matthews, who started on Wall Street in 1979 as an oil analyst with Merrill Lynch, and after working as an analyst at investment firms, as well as companies ranging from Aetna to Penn Central Corp., he founded the hedge fund Ram Partners LP in 1994. Ram Partners LP is a Greenwich, Conn.-based, value-oriented hedge fund focusing on consumer, technology and health care investments.
Matthews began writing financial commentary for various trade publications in the 1980s and in 2005 started a financial blog that was recommended by Barron's and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal's Market Beat. His blog has a loyal following among Wall Street analysts, traders, and portfolio managers, as well as investors around the world.
A long-time observer of Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, Matthews is the author of "Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha: A Hedge Fund Manager's Dispatches from Inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting" (McGraw-Hill 2008), which has been called "the most insightful analysis of Buffett and Berkshire I've ever read" by investment advisor Vitaliy Katsenelson.
At the conference in Milwaukee, Matthews will use his financial acumen to shed light on the philosophies of Buffett, known as the "Oracle of Omaha," and share the secrets of the world's most successful investor.
In a recent review, CNBC wrote about Matthews' book: "There are very few secrets to be revealed about a man who really doesn't have many secrets. But this book does take you inside that secret place - the Mecca of the Midwest. It's very easy to read and full of classic Buffett-isms - well worth the pilgrimage for those of us who don't own any Berkshire Hathaway shares or for anyone who wants to learn more about investing from the man who says the first rule of investing it to, 'read everything.'"
Attendees of the conference will receive a copy of Matthews' book about Buffett.
The forum will focus on wealth management strategies for southeastern Wisconsin's affluent professionals.
Strategy discussions at the conference will address topics such as: planning for retirement and wealth preservation; transfer of family wealth and establishing trusts; what to look for in choosing a financial advisor; an overview of the tax landscape.The panel discussions will be led by Jay Czarapata and Pete Jelacic, wealth managers at SVA Wealth Managers Inc.; and John Herbers and Anthony Handzlik, shareholders at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. Attorneys at Law.
To register to attend, visit biztimes.com/wealth.
Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes in Milwaukee and is past president of the Milwaukee Press Club. BizTimes provides news and operational insight for the owners and managers of privately held companies throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
Steve has won several journalism awards as a reporter, a columnist and an editor. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
When he is not pursuing the news, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife, Kristi, and their two sons, Justin and James. Steve can be reached at steve.jagler@biztimes.com.
