巴菲特致合伙人的信（1960年）⑤桑伯恩地图

Sanborn Map:

Last year mention was made of an investment which accounted for a very high and unusual proportion (35%) of our net assets along with the comment that I had some hope this investment would be concluded in 1960. This hope materialized. The history of an investment of this magnitude may be of interest to you.

桑伯恩地图(Sanborn Map)：

去年的信中说到，我们投资了一只股票，在我们的净资产中，它所占的仓位极重(35%)。我还说希望能在1960年将这笔投资兑现。我的希望实现了。这是一笔大投资，大家可能想知道详细情况。

Sanborn Map Co. is engaged in the publication and continuous revision of extremely detailed maps of all cities of the United States. For example, the volumes mapping Omaha would weigh perhaps fifty pounds and provide minute details on each structure. The map would be revised by the paste-over method showing new construction, changed occupancy, new fire protection facilities, changed structural materials, etc. These revisions would be done approximately annually and a new map would be published every twenty or thirty years when further pasteovers became impractical. The cost of keeping the map revised to an Omaha customer would run around $100 per year.

桑伯恩地图公司的业务是出版并持续修订美国所有城市的超精细地图。例如，它绘制的奥马哈地图卷重量有40多斤，包含每个建筑的细节。桑伯恩采用粘贴覆盖的方法修订地图，展现新建筑物的情况、房屋的变化、新的消防设施、结构材料的变化等等。地图一般一年修订一次。过了二三十年，地图无法继续通过粘贴覆盖更新，就重新出版。每位奥马哈客户向桑伯恩交纳的地图修订费用是每年100美元左右。

This detailed information showing diameter of water mains underlying streets, location of fire hydrants, composition of roof, etc., was primarily of use to fire insurance companies. Their underwriting departments, located in a central office, could evaluate business by agents nationally. The theory was that a picture was worth a thousand words and such evaluation would decide whether the risk was properly rated, the degree of conflagration exposure in an area, advisable reinsurance procedure, etc. The bulk of Sanborn's business was done with about thirty insurance companies although maps were also sold to customers outside the insurance industry such as public utilities, mortgage companies, and taxing authorities.

地图中的详细信息包括街道地下自来水管道的直径、消防栓的位置、屋顶材料等，这些信息对火灾保险公司非常有用。保险公司总部的承保部门可以用这些信息评估全国各地代理商提供的业务。保险公司认为一图胜千言，他们由此厘定一项风险评估是否合理，一个区域是否可能发生大规模火灾，什么样的再保险流程合适。桑伯恩虽然也有保险行业以外的客户，例如，公用事业公司、抵押贷款公司、税务机关等，但它的主要客户是30多家保险公司。

For seventy-five years the business operated in a more or less monopolistic manner, with profits realized in every year accompanied by almost complete immunity to recession and lack of need for any sales effort. In the earlier years of the business, the insurance industry became fearful that Sanborn's profits would become too great and placed a number of prominent insurance men on Sanborn's board of directors to act in a watch-dog capacity.

在75年里，这家公司几乎是垄断经营，每年都能实现盈利，几乎完全不受经济衰退影响，也不需要推销。在公司早期，保险公司客户不想让桑伯恩赚得太多，安排了许多有名的保险行业人士进入桑伯恩的董事会，让他们看着桑伯恩。

In the early 1950’s a competitive method of under-writing known as "carding" made inroads on Sanborn’s business and after-tax profits of the map business fell from an average annual level of over $500,000 in the late 1930's to under $100,000 in 1958 and 1959. Considering the upward bias in the economy during this period, this amounted to an almost complete elimination of what had been sizable, stable earning power.

50年代初期，一种更好的承保方法出现了，人们称之为“记分卡”(carding)方法，桑伯恩的业务受到了影响，地图业务的税后利润从30年代的平均每年500,000美元下降到1958年和1959年的不足100,000美元。从30年代起，人们的整体感觉是美国经济欣欣向荣、越来越好，在人们眼里，桑伯恩这样的表现几乎就是完全丧失了过去丰厚稳定的盈利能力。

However, during the early 1930's Sanborn had begun to accumulate an investment portfolio. There were no capital requirements to the business so that any retained earnings could be devoted to this project. Over a period of time, about $2.5 million was invested, roughly half in bonds and half in stocks. Thus, in the last decade particularly, the investment portfolio blossomed while the operating map business wilted.

然而，从30年代初，桑伯恩就开始逐步积累自己的投资组合。公司的业务不需要资本投入，所有留存收益都可以用于投资。日积月累，桑伯恩一共投入了大约250万美元，一半投资债券，一半投资股票。在过去十年里，桑伯恩的投资组合不断增长，主营的地图业务却日益萎缩。

Let me give you some idea of the extreme divergence of these two factors. In 1938 when the Dow-Jones Industrial Average was in the 100-120 range, Sanborn sold at $110 per share. In 1958 with the Average in the 550 area, Sanborn sold at $45 per share. Yet during that same period the value of the Sanborn investment portfolio increased from about $20 per share to $65 per share. This means, in effect, that the buyer of Sanborn stock in 1938 was placing a positive valuation of $90 per share on the map business ($110 less the $20 value of the investments unrelated to the map business) in a year of depressed business and stock market conditions. In the tremendously more vigorous climate of 1958 the same map business was evaluated at a minus $20 with the buyer of the stock unwilling to pay more than 70 cents on the dollar for the investment portfolio with the map business thrown in for nothing.

我详细讲一下，你就知道两者之间的天壤之别了。1938年，道指在100-120之间，桑伯恩的股价是110美元。1958年，道指在550附近，桑伯恩的股价是45美元。在此期间，桑伯恩的投资组合价值则从每股20美元左右增长到每股65美元。1938年，在经济和股市都不景气的情况下，买入桑伯恩股票的人给地图业务的估值是90美元（110美元减去与地图业务无关的、价值20美元的投资）。1958年，经济和股市远比当年繁荣，同样的地图业务，买入桑伯恩股票的人给它的估值是负20美元，地图业务白给都不要，真金白银还得打七折。

How could this come about? Sanborn in 1958 as well as 1938 possessed a wealth of information of substantial value to the insurance industry. To reproduce the detailed information they had gathered over the years would have cost tens of millions of dollars. Despite “carding” over $500 million of fire premiums were underwritten by “mapping” companies. However, the means of selling and packaging Sanborn’s product, information had remained unchanged throughout the year and finally this inertia was reflected in the earnings.

为什么会这样？1958年的桑伯恩和1938年一样，仍然拥有对保险行业来说非常宝贵的大量信息。桑伯恩花了这么多年积累这么详尽的信息，如果要重头做起，要耗费上千万美元。虽说“记分卡”这种新承保方法出现了，还是有5亿多美元的火险保费是保险公司使用“地图”承保方法获得的。可是这么多年来，桑伯恩销售和包装产品和信息的方法一成不变，最后这种因循守旧的作风反应到了盈利上。

The very fact that the investment portfolio had done so well served to minimize in the eyes of most directors the need for rejuvenation of the map business. Sanborn had a sales volume of about $2 million per year and owned about $7 million worth of marketable securities. The income from the investment portfolio was substantial, the business had no possible financial worries, the insurance companies were satisfied with the price paid for maps, and the stockholders still received dividends. However, these dividends were cut five times in eight years although I could never find any record of suggestions pertaining to cutting salaries or director's and committee fees.

公司的投资组合表现这么好，在很多董事看来，没什么振兴地图业务的必要。桑伯恩每年销售额大约是200万美元，有价证券市值700万美元。投资组合能带来巨大收益，公司没财务负担，保险公司对地图价格很满意，股东也能收到股息。但是，在过去8年里，公司削减了5次股息，至于降低工资或削减董事和委员们的薪酬，我发现公司从没提过一句。

Prior to my entry on the Board, of the fourteen directors, nine were prominent men from the insurance industry who combined held 46 shares of stock out of 105,000 shares outstanding. Despite their top positions with very large companies which would suggest the financial wherewithal to make at least a modest commitment, the largest holding in this group was ten shares. In several cases, the insurance companies these men ran owned small blocks of stock but these were token investments in relation to the portfolios in which they were held. For the past decade the insurance companies had been only sellers in any transactions involving Sanborn stock.

我进入董事会之前，在14位董事中，有9位是保险业的知名人士，公司一共有105,000股流通股，这9位董事合计持有46股。他们在大公司身居要职，完全有财力多买点桑伯恩的股票，可是他们这些人持股最多的就10股。过去，这些董事经营的保险公司买过一点桑伯恩公司的股票，但是在它们的投资组合里不过是沧海一粟。在过去十年里，涉及桑伯恩股票的交易，这些保险公司都是卖方。

The tenth director was the company attorney, who held ten shares. The eleventh was a banker with ten shares who recognized the problems of the company, actively pointed them out, and later added to his holdings. The next two directors were the top officers of Sanborn who owned about 300 shares combined. The officers were capable, aware of the problems of the business, but kept in a subservient role by the Board of Directors. The final member of our cast was a son of a deceased president of Sanborn. The widow owned about 15,000 shares of stock.

第10位董事是公司的律师，持有10股。第11位董事是一个银行家，也持有10股，他认识到了公司的问题，积极主动地把问题指出来，后来买了更多的股票。还有两位董事是桑伯恩的高管，他们合计持有300股左右。这两位高管有能力，他们很清楚公司有问题，但是只能屈从于董事会。最后一位登场的董事是桑伯恩已故总裁的儿子。已故总裁的遗孀持有15,000股。

In late 1958, the son, unhappy with the trend of the business, demanded the top position in the company, was turned down, and submitted his resignation, which was accepted. Shortly thereafter we made a bid to his mother for her block of stock, which was accepted. At the time there were two other large holdings, one of about 10,000 shares (dispersed among customers of a brokerage firm) and one of about 8,000. These people were quite unhappy with the situation and desired a separation of the investment portfolio from the map business, as did we.

1958年底，儿子眼见公司生意萎靡，看不过去，要求出任公司总裁，但遭到了拒绝，他提交辞呈，得到了董事会的同意。此后不久，我们提议收购他母亲持有的股票，他们同意了。当时，还有另外两个大股东，一个持有10,000股左右（由一家券商代客户持有），另一个持有8,000股左右。他们都对现状很不满，和我们一样，要求把投资组合从地图业务剥离出来。

Subsequently our holdings (including associates) were increased through open market purchases to about 24,000 shares and the total represented by the three groups increased to 46,000 shares. We hoped to separate the two businesses, realize the fair value of the investment portfolio and work to re-establish the earning power of the map business. There appeared to be a real opportunity to multiply map profits through utilization of Sanborn's wealth of raw material in conjunction with electronic means of converting this data to the most usable form for the customer.

后来，我们在公开市场继续买入，持股增加到24,000股，另两个大股东也在增持，我们三个股东的持股总量增加到46,000股。我们希望将两部分业务拆分，实现投资组合的公允价值，并恢复地图业务的盈利能力。桑伯恩拥有丰富的原始信息，把数据转换为方便客户使用的电子形式，地图业务似乎完全可以创造更多利润。

There was considerable opposition on the Board to change of any type, particularly when initiated by an outsider, although management was in complete accord with our plan and a similar plan had been recommended by Booz, Allen & Hamilton (Management Experts). To avoid a proxy fight (which very probably would not have been forthcoming and which we would have been certain of winning) and to avoid time delay with a large portion of Sanborn’s money tied up in blue-chip stocks which I didn’t care for at current prices, a plan was evolved taking out all stockholders at fair value who wanted out. The SEC ruled favorably on the fairness of the plan. About 72% of the Sanborn stock, involving 50% of the 1,600 stockholders, was exchanged for portfolio securities at fair value. The map business was left with over $l,25 million in government and municipal bonds as a reserve fund, and a potential corporate capital gains tax of over $1 million was eliminated. The remaining stockholders were left with a slightly improved asset value, substantially higher earnings per share, and an increased dividend rate.

虽然管理层完全赞同我们的计划，博思艾伦咨询公司(Booz Allen Hamilton)也提出了类似的方案。董事会竭力阻碍任何变革，特别不欢迎外部人的介入。一方面是为了避免委托书争夺战（我们不会打委托书争夺战，我们也肯定能赢）；另一方面，桑伯恩投资组合中有大量蓝筹股，我觉得当时已经很贵了，不能再拖延了，我们达成了一个方案，给予希望退出的所有股东公允价值。SEC裁定该方案公平合理。桑伯恩大约72%的股票，涉及1,600位股东的50%，以获得投资组合中证券公允价值的方式退出。这些股东退出后，公司保留了地图业务，125万美元的政府和市政债券作为资金储备，100多万美元的公司资本利得税得以免除。对于留下的股东而言，公司的资产质量略有改善，每股盈利显著增加，股息率也提高了。

Necessarily, the above little melodrama is a very abbreviated description of this investment operation. However, it does point up the necessity for secrecy regarding our portfolio operations as well as the futility of measuring our results over a short span of time such as a year. Such control situations may occur very infrequently. Our bread-and-butter business is buying undervalued securities and selling when the undervaluation is corrected along with investment in special situations where the profit is dependent on corporate rather than market action. To the extent that partnership funds continue to grow, it is possible that more opportunities will be available in “control situations.”

篇幅有限，这笔投资背后的故事我只能简单讲讲。但是，我们从中可以看出两点：第一，我们必须对我们的投资操作保密；第二，我们的投资业绩是无法短期衡量的，一年时间都太短。这种控股投资可能很少出现。我们的主要利润来源还是买入低估的证券，在低估得到修复时卖出，再就是投资利润取决于公司行动，而不是市场行为的特殊情况。随着合伙公司资金规模的增长，我们可能有更多机会做控股投资。

The auditors should be mailing your financial statement and tax information within about a week. If you have any questions at all regarding either their report or this letter, be sure to let me know.

审计师会在一周内将财务报表和税收信息寄给你们。如果你有关于报表或这封信的任何疑问，请随时告诉我。

Warren E. Buffett
1-30-61

沃伦.巴菲特
1961年1月30日

The auditors should be mailing your financial statement and tax information within about a week. If you have any questions at all regarding either their report or this letter, be sure to let me know.

Warren E. Buffett 1-30-61

Warren E. Buffett
1-30-61