原文信息：

• 标题：1966 November Letter to Partners
• 作者：Warren Buffett
• 发表时间：1966-11-01
• 链接：To My Partners
• 中文翻译参考：RanRan
• 整理：Yoan

BUFFETT PARTNERSHIP. LTD.

610 KIEWIT PLAZA

OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68131

TELEPHONE 042-4110

November 1, 1966

To My Partners for 1967:

致 1967 年的各位合伙人：

Enclosed is the usual packet of light reading for the fall semester:

随函附上秋季学期的阅读材料：

1. Two copies of the Commitment Letter for 1967, one to be kept by you and one to be returned to us. You may amend the Commitment Letter right up to midnight, December 31, so get it back to us early and, if it needs to be changed, just let us know by letter or phone. Commitment Letters become absolutely final on December 31 -- there can be no exceptions to this rule since I turn them over to Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.at that time.

   两份 1967 年的承诺书，一份由你保留，一份寄还给我们。你可以在 12 月 31 日零点之前修改承诺书，所以请尽早返还给我们。如果需要更改，提前写信或打电话给我们即可。12 月 31 日，承诺书最终生效，不可更改。因为我会将承诺书转交给毕马威会计师事务所，所以此项规定没有例外。

2. A tax letter giving my best present estimate of how the picture will look at yearend regarding 1966 realized investment transactions.

   一份包含税收数据的信函。我会根据当前情况，对 1966 年年末可能实现的投资交易进行估算。

3. A copy of my annual sermon, "The Ground Rules." This should be read -- slowly -- before you execute your Commitment Letter. We should vibrate on the same frequency regarding the fundamental matters outlined the rein. If we don't, we should not be in partnership together.

   还有一份《基本原则》，这是我每年布道必不可少的材料。读这份材料的时候，要慢慢细读！读完了再签承诺书。这里面的基本原则应当能在我们之间产生共鸣，否则我们就不能做合伙人。

Any withdrawals will be paid January 5. You may withdraw any amount you desire from $100 up to your entire equity. Similarly, additions may be for any amount and should reach us by January 10. In the event you are disposing of anything, this will give you a chance to have the transaction in 1967 if that appears to be advantageous for tax reasons. If additions reach us in November, they take on the status of advance payments and draw six percent until yearend. Additions reaching us in December do not draw interest.

所有提现将在 1 月 5 日支付。提现金额没有限制，最低 100 美元，最高所有权益。同样，追加投资金额也没有限制，但应在 1 月 10 日之前存入。这样你可以选择在 1967 年完成上述交易，或许能节省一些税款。如果追加资金在 11 月份存入，则将视为预先存入资金，在年底前可获得 6% 的利息。12 月份存入的追加资金无利息。

Because the door has been shut regarding new entrants (unless they have something to contribute to the partnership other than simply capital), several partners have inquired regarding friends or relatives contributing indirectly through the present partner's account. General Provision 9 of our Partnership Agreement prohibits such arrangements. A Ruling Letter issued by the Treasury Department in 1961 finds that we are a partnership rather than an association taxable as a corporation, but a condition attached to that Ruling Letter is that we act in accord with our Partnership Agreement as submitted to them. We have always done this. Furthermore, partners acquiescing to such an indirect arrangement might find themselves in awkward, tedious and perhaps contentious proceedings if such untoward events as death, disappearance, divorce, tax examinations, etc. occurred. For these and other reasons, it is most important to you and the partnership that you contribute no funds on behalf of others.

因为我们已停止接纳新合伙人（除非他们对合伙基金的贡献不只是资金），有几位合伙人询问能否让亲戚朋友通过自己的账户间接投资。《合伙协议》第 9 条不允许此类情况。按照 1961 年财政部向我们授予的裁决书，我们属于合伙性质，纳税地位有别于公司法人，但是裁决书规定我们必须遵守我们递交的《合伙协议》。我们一直都按裁决书的规定行事。另外，如果合伙人私下做出上述间接投资安排，一旦节外生枝，出现身故、失踪、离婚、税务检查等情况，可能陷入尴尬、繁琐甚至出现争执的局面。由于上述原因以及其他原因，请各位合伙人务必不要代替他人向合伙基金投资。

We continue to enjoy a better than average year but the second half has proven much more difficult than the first half. Our general market securities "relatively undervalued" category, which substantially outperformed the Dow through June, has performed somewhat worse than the Dow since that time. Our much smaller investment in workouts has done well, approximately offsetting this poor comparative performance in "generals - relatively undervalued." Combining all categories leaves ? margin over the Dow a shade better than the seventeen percentage points reported at midyear. 1 If this advantage persists through yearend, it should be regarded as decidedly better than expected and partially the reflection of a falling market. With the Dow down 14% at its recent level near 810, this leaves us at about plus 4% (before any payments to partners) for the year to date. Recent markets have been fairly volatile and any further important decline in the Dow will most certainly reflect itself in our figure.

我们今年的业绩还是高于平均水平，但是下半年比上半年困难得多。六月份之前，我们的相对低估类大幅领先道指，此后则略微落后。我们在套利类中投资规模较小，但是收益不错，基本弥补了相对低估类下半年较差的表现。我们在年中报告领先道指 17 个百分点。目前，综合所有类别的收益，我们的领先优势比 17 个百分点略高。如果能将这个优势保持到年末，那我们的表现就远远高于预期，这也是因为市场表现较差。到目前为止，按照道指最近的 810 点计算，它下跌了 14%，我们则上涨 4%（不计算合伙人的利息）。最近的市场波动相当大，如果道指继续大幅下跌，我们也必然会受到影响。

There is some chance, therefore, that our results will be a net minus ? the year.2 If they are anything less than plus 6%, partners who have been drawing that amount will find their yearend capital account reduced from January 1. Also, any result below plus 6% will result in a carry-forward of that deficiency which will apply in future years before I, as general partner, participate in any gain attributable to your capital in excess of 6% per annum.

今年我们的业绩可能出现净亏损。如果我们的收益率低于 6%，则提取利息的合伙人会发现 1 月 1 日他们的账户里资金减少了。如果我们的收益率低于 6%，收益不足的部分将在今后抵减，将不足的部分弥补后，我作为普通合伙人才能从各位合伙人资本收益超过 6% 的部分分成。

Previous letters have discussed the valuation of our investments in controlled companies. Market price, while used exclusively to value our investments in minority positions, is not a relevant factor when applied to out controlling interests. When our holdings go above 50%, or a smaller figure if representing effective control, we own a business not a stock, and our method of valuation must therefore change. Under scoring this concept is the fact that controlling interests frequently sell at from 60% to 500% of virtually contemporaneous prices for minority holdings.

我们在先前的信函中讨论过控股公司的估值。在我们的投资中，对于我们是少数股东的情况，完全使用市场价格进行估值。当我们是控股股东时，就不能用市场价格对我们的投资估值了。当我们持股超过 50% 或者不到 50% 但处于控股地位时，我们就拥有一家公司的所有权，而不是股票，这时必须使用不同的估值方法。就在同一时间，控股权益的价格可能是少数权益的 60% 到 500%，这足以证明对控股权益要采用不同的估值方法。

The dominant factors affecting control valuations are earning power (past3 and prospective) and asset values. The nature of our controlled business,4 the quality of the assets involved, and the fact that the Federal Income Tax basis applicable to the net assets substantially exceeds our valuations, cause us to place considerably more weight on the asset factor than is typical in most business valuations. We have previously used a valuation half way between net current asset value and book value for Berkshire Hathaway. This will most probably produce a figure substantially above yearend market value for minority shares and this same situation is likely to prevail throughout 1967. Early in 1966, the reverse was true. In the midyear letter, we announced our intention to use cost plus subsequent retained earnings for Hochschild, Kohn.

在对控股权益估值时，主要决定因素是盈利能力（过去的和未来的）和资产价值。从我们的控股公司的性质和资产质量出发，再考虑到就我们的控股公司而言，适用于其净资产的联邦所得税基数远远高于我们的估值，在给我们的控股公司估值时，与一般估值相比，我们对资产因素的考虑要多得多。之前，在给伯克希尔•哈撒韦估值时，我们选取介于净流动资产价值和账面价值二者之间的一个数值。今年年末，由此得出的估值很可能远远高于少数权益的市场价值，很可能 1967 年全年都是这个情况。1966 年初，情况则恰好相反。在今年年中的信中，我们说了，在给霍赫希尔德•科恩公司估值时，我们用买入成本加上我们买入后分得的留存收益计算。

Recent conditions in the securities and money markets raise the question of whether these formulae would be valid under all circumstances. The Partnership Agreement charges me with the responsibility for establishing fair value for controlling interests, and this means fair to both adding and withdrawing partners at a specific point in time. Wide changes in the market valuations accorded stocks at some point obviously find reflection in the valuation of businesses, although this factor is of much less importance when asset factors (particularly when current assets are significant) overshadow earning power considerations in the valuation process. Similarly, a dramatic change in the availability (not so much the cost) of money for financing business purchases has some effect on the value of businesses. While such circumstances may only be short term factors, my responsibility is to value our controlling interests as of a given date (yearend) and all factors (including those mentioned above) existing at that time must be considered.

在当前的证券市场和货币市场状况中，有人可能会问，上述估值方法是否无论什么时候都适用。按照《合伙协议》，我有责任对控股权益进行公允估值，这个公允是要对特定时间追加投资和提取投资的合伙人都公允。股票的市场价值存在巨大波动，有时候显然会对企业的估值造成影响。有的企业，在对其估值的过程中，资产因素所占的分量比盈利因素重得多（特别是流动资产极高时），市场价值的波动对这些企业的估值影响就小得多。此外，如果市场上用于收购企业的资金多寡（与资金成本无关）发生了重大变化，也会影响企业的估值。上述情况可能都是短期因素，但是我的责任是评估我们的控股权益在特定时间（年末）的价值，这个时间点的所有因素（包括上述因素）都必须考虑到。

As conditions stand today, I do not believe any change in our valuation formulae will be appropriate. I intend to carefully consider all factors in late December and possibly decrease our yearend valuation of Berkshire and H-K if condition (particularly those in the security and money markets) dictate such revaluations. Should a valuation decrease be warranted, you will be advised, prior to yearend, in our December 23 letter confirming the status of your Commitment Letter. If such a revision is made, it will not dramatically change the performance reported on the preceding page.

按照当前的情况，我不认为我们的估值方法需要更改。12 月末，我会仔细考虑所有方面的因素，如果有现实必要（主要考虑证券市场和货币市场情况），可能对伯克希尔和科恩公司减值。如果有减少估值的必要，我们会在年末之前，在 12 月 23 日确认各位的承诺书的信函中通知各位。如果进行了上述减值，不会严重影响上一页中报告的业绩。

If anything in this package needs clarification, call or write John Harding. Beat the Christmas Rush (or, better yet, the Thanksgiving Rush) and get your Commitment Letter back to us promptly.

如有任何疑问，请致电或写信给约翰•哈丁。请赶在圣诞节之前，最好是在感恩节之前，将承诺书尽快寄给我们。

Cordially,

Warren E. Buffett

WEB eh

沃伦 E. 巴菲特谨上