“ Then there's also what others have mentioned which is that you get a certain check by default every year versus having to think about things and deciding what to sell.”

The fully retained earnings and the significant compounding effect of not paying out dividends with BRK has really resonated with us over the years and had a big influence on the choice of other long-term positions, esp. since most of our assets are in a taxable account.

We started drawing down this year and after trying to balancing capital gains with some losses, it was sorta fun deciding where we were going to create our own dividend by selling shares. Flexibility is maintained and for instance many might trim from their Magnificent 7 for their “dividend”this year that would not a year ago where they might have trimmed perhaps a nice run up in a big oil position.

Orders are such a breeze now, unlike the old days of the 70s-80s where Dad had to go thru the expense and effort to contact his PaineWebber broker. Plenty of colleagues seem more content and secure with a bunch of dividend positions recommended by their advisors, yet I suppose that’s what makes markets.