Buffett Names Berkshire Bear Kass to Analyst Panel

Warren Buffett said Monday that Doug Kass, a hedge-fund manager who is selling Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) short, will be added to the panel of analysts who participate in the company's annual meeting.

Mr. Buffett on Friday wrote is his annual letter to shareholders that he was looking for a Berkshire "bear" to appear on the panel. The panelists take turns asking questions of Mr. Buffett and his Vice Chairman, Charlie Munger, at the widely attended meeting in Omaha, Neb.

In an appearance on CNBC on Monday, Mr. Buffett said he's found a Berkshire skeptic in Mr. Kass, the president of Seabreeze Partners Management Inc. and a frequent presence on CNBC. Mr. Buffett said Mr. Kass had expressed interest in the job after the letter came out Friday, but that he hadn't told Mr. Kass about being picked for the role, so Mr. Kass would learn of his appointment via the announcement on CNBC.

"Wow! I am going to Disneyland, I mean Omaha, Neb. to be the 'credentialed bear,'" Mr. Kass wrote on Twitter.

Mr. Kass will join two analysts Buffett named to the panel Friday: insurance analyst Cliff Gallant of Nomura Securities, who participated last year, and newcomer Jonathan Brandt of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb. Brandt is charged with asking questions about the non-insurance business after Buffett said he heard shareholders wished the insurance- centric analyst panel last year covered more than just that single topic.

The panel of analysts will ask about one-third of the questions at the meeting. One-third will be asked by a panel of reporters who collect and screen questions from shareholders in the weeks before the meeting. The remaining one-third come from the thousands of shareholders who travel to Omaha every year for a gathering that's been called "Woodstock for Capitalists."

Write to Erik Holm at erik.holm@dowjones.com

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  03-04-130825ET
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