巴菲特致股东的信（1998年）⑥通用再保险

General Re

On December 21, we completed our $22 billion acquisition of General Re Corp. In addition to owning 100% of General Reinsurance Corporation, the largest U.S. property-casualty reinsurer, the company also owns (including stock it has an arrangement to buy) 82% of the oldest reinsurance company in the world, Cologne Re. The two companies together reinsure all lines of insurance and operate in 124 countries.

通用再保险(GenRe，General Reinsurance Corp)

12 月 21 号我们完成对通用再保险公司 220 亿美金的并购案，除了拥有这家全美国最大的财产险再保险公司之外，这家公司还拥有世界上历史最悠久的科隆再保险公司(Cologne Re)82%的股权(包含预计准备要买进的股份。2003 年通用再保险支付法国安盛保险公司 8.17 亿完成了交易，持股比例提高到 89%)，两家公司共同为所有险种提供的再保险服务，并在全世界 124 个国家开展业务。

For many decades, General Re's name has stood for quality, integrity and professionalism in reinsurance -- and under Ron Ferguson's leadership, this reputation has been burnished still more. Berkshire can add absolutely nothing to the skills of General Re's and Cologne Re's managers. On the contrary, there is a lot that they can teach us.

几十年来，通用再保险代表的是再保险行业的品质、诚信与专业，而在罗恩·弗格森(Ron Ferguson)的领导之下，这个招牌更加获得肯定，关于通用再保险的专业，伯克希尔实在没有太多的东西可以给他们，反倒是他们应该有很多的东西可以教我们。

Nevertheless, we believe that Berkshire's ownership will benefit General Re in important ways and that its earnings a decade from now will materially exceed those that would have been attainable absent the merger. We base this optimism on the fact that we can offer General Re's management a freedom to operate in whatever manner will best allow the company to exploit its strengths.

不过我们仍然相信通用再保险加入伯克希尔将在许多方面受益，而在往后的十年内，通用再保险的盈利情况应该可以比合并之前要好的许多，而我们的自信心完全建立在我们能够提供通用再保险一个可以完全自由发挥其经营优势的环境。

Let's look for a moment at the reinsurance business to understand why General Re could not on its own do what it can under Berkshire. Most of the demand for reinsurance comes from primary insurers who want to escape the wide swings in earnings that result from large and unusual losses. In effect, a reinsurer gets paid for absorbing the volatility that the client insurer wants to shed.

让我们花一点时间来了解，为何通用再保险自己运营没有办法像加入伯克希尔后那样发挥其优势，再保险的需求大部分来自于直保保险公司，他们想要规避大型的意外损失导致的盈利大幅波动，事实上，再保险公司就是靠吸收直保保险公司想要规避的波动性而获得利润。

Ironically, though, a publicly-held reinsurer gets graded by both its owners and those who evaluate its credit on the smoothness of its own results. Wide swings in earnings hurt both credit ratings and p/e ratios, even when the business that produces such swings has an expectancy of satisfactory profits over time. This market reality sometimes causes a reinsurer to make costly moves, among them laying off a significant portion of the business it writes (in transactions that are called "retrocessions") or rejecting good business simply because it threatens to bring on too much volatility.

讽刺的是，一家上市的再保险公司必须要同时接受股东以及外界评估其盈利稳定的检验，因此收益波动过大将会影响其金融市场的债信评级和股票市场的市盈率估值。就算就长期而言，这家公司可以期望获得令人满意的平均回报。市场的短期需求有时却可能导致再保险公司因此犯下重大的错误，包含被迫放弃原先接下的一大部分业务(业界一般称为转分保)，或者仅仅因为可能给盈利带来太大的波动性而放弃上门的好生意。

Berkshire, in contrast, happily accepts volatility, just as long as it carries with it the expectation of increased profits over time. Furthermore, we are a Fort Knox of capital, and that means volatile earnings can't impair our premier credit ratings. Thus we have the perfect structure for writing -- and retaining -- reinsurance in virtually any amount. In fact, we've used this strength over the past decade to build a powerful super-cat business.

不过伯克希尔却很愿意接受这样的波动性，只要就长期而言，它的预期回报能够有好的表现。更重要的是，伯克希尔可以说是资本的诺克斯堡金库，也就是说任何收益的剧烈变动一点也不会影响到我们的债信评级，也因此我们有能力也有意愿签下并自留没有任何上限的再保保单，事实上，过去十年来，我们早已运用这个优势建立起强大的巨灾再保险业务。

What General Re gives us, however, is the distribution force, technical facilities and management that will allow us to employ our structural strength in every facet of the industry. In particular, General Re and Cologne Re can now accelerate their push into international markets, where the preponderance of industry growth will almost certainly occur. As the merger proxy statement spelled out, Berkshire also brings tax and investment benefits to General Re. But the most compelling reason for the merger is simply that General Re's outstanding management can now do what it does best, unfettered by the constraints that have limited its growth.

而通用再保险可以提供给我们的是营销渠道、技术背景与管理技能，让我们得以将原本拥有的资本优势更充分运用到保险业的每一个层面，尤其是通用再保险与科隆再保险现在可以加速进军国际市场，这块市场是大家看好将呈现高成长的处女地，而就像合并案的公告说明书中所强调的，伯克希尔将为通用再保险带来税收与投资上的优势，但是更重要的原因还在于，通用再保险的优秀管理层将可以在既有的基础上，摆脱原有的种种束缚，尽情地发挥其成长潜能。

Berkshire is assuming responsibility for General Re's investment portfolio, though not for Cologne Re's. We will not, however, be involved in General Re's underwriting. We will simply ask the company to exercise the discipline of the past while increasing the proportion of its business that is retained, expanding its product line, and widening its geographical coverage -- making these moves in recognition of Berkshire's financial strength and tolerance for wide swings in earnings. As we've long said, we prefer a lumpy 15% return to a smooth 12%.

伯克希尔将会承担管理通用再保险投资组合的工作(但科隆再保险不包含在内)，除此之外我们并不会干涉通用再保险的承保业务，我们只是很简单地要求他们继续维持原有的承保原则，同时利用伯克希尔强大的资本实力以及对收益变动的超强忍受力，增加自留业务的比例、扩大现有产品线、增加业务区域。就像是我们一再强调的，我们宁可接受波动剧烈的 15%，也不要稳健平顺的 12%。

Over time, Ron and his team will maximize General Re's new potential. He and I have known each other for many years, and each of our companies has initiated significant business that it has reinsured with the other. Indeed, General Re played a key role in the resuscitation of GEICO from its near-death status in 1976.

相信只要给他们一点时间，Ron 跟他的团队一定能够将通用再保险的潜力发挥到极致，我跟他结识多年，彼此之间也一直维持有再保险业务上的往来。事实上，通用再保险在 1976 年 GEICO 保险当初东山再起的过程中，扮演极为重要的角色。

Both Ron and Rich Santulli plan to be at the annual meeting, and I hope you get a chance to say hello to them.

Ron 跟 Rich 两人都将出席今年的股东会，希望届时大家可以过来跟他们两位打声招呼。