1970年2月25日致合伙人信

BUFFETT PARTNERSHIP. LTD.
610 KIEWIT PLAZA
OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68131
TELEPHONE 042-4110

巴菲特合伙有限公司
基威特广场610号
内布拉斯加州奥马哈68131
电话 042-4110

February 25th, 1970

1970年2月25日

To My Partners:

致各位合伙人：

This letter will attempt to provide a very elementary education regarding tax-exempt bonds with emphasis on the types and maturities of bonds which we expect to help partners in purchasing next month. If you expect to use our help in the purchase of bonds, it is important that you carefully read (and, if necessary, reread) this letter as it will serve as background for the specific purchases I suggest. If you disagree with me as to conclusions regarding types of bonds or maturities (and you would have been right and I would have been wrong if you had disagreed with me on the latter point either one or two years ago), you may well be correct, but we cannot be of assistance to you in the purchase of bonds outside our area. We will simply have our hands full concentrating in our recommended area, so will be unavailable to assist or advise in the purchase of convertible bonds, corporate bonds or short term issues.

这封信旨在提供关于免税债券的非常基础的知识，重点介绍我们预计下个月帮助合伙人购买债券的种类和期限。如果您希望我们在购买债券方面提供帮助，仔细阅读（必要时重读）这封信非常重要，因为它将作为我建议的具体购买方案的背景。如果您对我关于债券种类或期限的结论有不同意见（如果一两年前在期限问题上您和我意见相左，您可能是对的而我是错的），您很可能是正确的，但在我们关注领域之外的债券购买，我们无法提供帮助。我们将全力专注于我们推荐的领域，因此无法协助或建议购买可转换债券、公司债券或短期债券。

I have tried to boil this letter down as much as possible. Some of it will be a little weighty - some a little over-simplified. I apologize for the shortcomings in advance. I have a feeling I am trying to put all the meat of a 100 page book in 10 pages - and have it read like the funny papers.

我尽量精简这封信。有些部分会有点沉重，有些部分又过于简化。我先为这些不足之处道歉。我感觉自己正试图把一本100页的书的所有内容塞进10页，还要让读起来像漫画书一样轻松。

I am sure you understand that our aid in the purchase of bonds will involve no future assistance regarding either these specific bonds or general investment decisions. I want to be available at this time to be of help because of the unusual amount of cash you have received in one distribution from us. I have no desire to be in the investment counseling business, directly or indirectly, and will not be available for discussion of financial matters after March 31st.

我相信您理解，我们在债券购买上的帮助不会涉及未来对这些特定债券或一般投资决策的任何后续协助。我希望此时能提供帮助，因为您从我们这里的一次分派中收到了不寻常的大量现金。我无意直接或间接从事投资咨询业务，3月31日之后将不再讨论财务事宜。

The mechanics of Tax-Free Bonds.

免税债券的运作机制

For those who wish our help, we will arrange the purchase of bonds directly from municipal bond dealers throughout the country and have them confirm sale of the bonds directly to you. The confirmation should be saved as a basic document for tax purposes. You should not send a check to the bond dealer since he will deliver the bonds to your bank, along with a draft which the bank will pay by charging your account with them. In the case of bonds purchased in the secondary market (issues already outstanding), this settlement date will usually be about a week after confirmation date whereas, on new issues, the settlement date may be as much as a month later. The settlement date is shown plainly on the confirmation ticket (in the case of new issues this will be the second and final ticket rather than the preliminary "when issued" ticket), and you should have the funds at your bank ready to pay for the bonds on the settlement date. If you presently own Treasury Bills, they can be sold on a couple of days notice by your bank upon your instructions, so you should experience no problems in having the money available on time. Interest begins to accrue to you on the settlement date, even if the bond dealer is late in getting them delivered to your bank.

对于那些希望我们帮助的人，我们将安排直接从全美各地的市政债券交易商处购买债券，并让他们直接向您确认债券出售。确认单应作为税务目的的基本文件保存。您不应向债券交易商寄送支票，因为他会将债券交付给您的银行，并附上一张汇票，银行将通过扣收您的账户来支付。对于在二级市场购买的债券（已发行的债券），结算日通常在确认日之后约一周；而对于新发行债券，结算日可能晚至一个月后。结算日清楚地显示在确认单上（对于新发行债券，这将是第二张也是最终确认单，而不是初步的“发行时”确认单），您应确保在结算日银行账户中有足够资金支付债券。如果您目前持有国库券，您可以指示银行在提前几天通知的情况下卖出，因此您应该不会在及时准备好资金方面遇到问题。利息从结算日开始由您享有，即使债券交易商延迟将债券交付给您的银行。

Bonds will be delivered in negotiable form (so-called "bearer" form which makes them like currency) with coupons attached. Usually the bonds are in $5,000 denominations and frequently they can be exchanged for registered bonds (sometimes at considerable expense and sometimes free-it depends upon the terms). Bonds in registered form are nonnegotiable without assignment by you, since you are the registered owner on the Transfer Agent's books. Bonds trade almost exclusively on a bearer basis and it is virtually impossible to sell registered bonds without converting them back into bearer form. Thus, unless you are going to own great physical quantities of bonds. I recommend keeping bonds in bearer form. This means keeping them in a very safe place and clipping the coupons every six months. Such coupons, when clipped, can be deposited in your bank account just like checks. If you have $250,000 in bonds, this probably means about fifty separate pieces of paper ($5,000 denominations) and perhaps six or eight trips a year to the safe deposit section to cut and deposit coupons.

债券将以可转让形式（所谓的“无记名”形式，使其像通货一样）交付，附有息票。通常债券面额为5,000美元，而且经常可以换为记名债券（有时费用相当高，有时免费——取决于条款）。记名债券未经您转让背书不可转让，因为您是过户登记簿上的记名持有人。债券几乎完全以无记名方式进行交易，如果不将记名债券转换回无记名形式，几乎不可能出售。因此，除非您将持有大量实物债券，我建议以无记名形式持有。这意味着将它们放在非常安全的地方，并每六个月裁剪一次息票。剪下的息票可以像支票一样存入您的银行账户。如果您持有25万美元的债券，这可能意味着大约50张单独的纸（5,000美元面额），每年可能需要跑六到八次保管箱区去裁剪和存入息票。

It is also possible to open a custody account with a bank where, for a fairly nominal cost, they will keep the bonds, collect the interest and preserve your records for you. For example, a bank will probably perform the custodial service for you for about $200 a year on a $250,000 portfolio. If you are interested in a custodial account, you should talk to a Trust Officer at your commercial bank as to the nature of their services and cost. Otherwise, you should have a safe deposit box.

您也可以在银行开立托管账户，只需支付一点象征性的费用，银行将保管债券、收取利息并保存您的记录。例如，对于一个25万美元的投资组合，银行可能每年收取大约200美元提供托管服务。如果您对托管账户感兴趣，您应该与您的商业银行信托专员讨论他们的服务性质和费用。否则，你应该有一个保险箱。

Taxation

税收

The interest received upon the deposit of coupons from tax-free bonds is, of course, free from Federal Income Taxes. This means if you are at a 30% top Federal Income Tax bracket, a 6% return from tax-free bonds is equivalent to about 8-1/2% from taxable bonds. Thus, for most of our partners, excluding minors or some retired people, tax-free bonds will be more attractive than taxable bonds. For people with little or no income from wages or dividends, but with substantial capital, it is possible that a combination of taxable bonds (to bring taxable income up to about the 25% or 30% bracket) plus tax-free bonds will bring the highest total after-tax income. Where appropriate, we will work with you to achieve such a balance.

存入免税债券息票所得的利息当然免征联邦所得税。这意味着，如果您处于联邦所得税最高30%的税级，免税债券6%的收益率大致相当于应税债券8.5%的收益率。因此，对于我们大多数合伙人来说，除未成年人和某些退休人士外，免税债券将比应税债券更具吸引力。对于那些几乎没有工资或股息收入但拥有大量资本的人，可能将应税债券（使应税收入提高到大约25%或30%的税级附近）与免税债券相结合，会带来最高的税后总收入。在适当情况下，我们将与您合作实现这种平衡。

The situation in respect to State Income Taxes is more complicated. In Nebraska. where the State Income Tax is computed as a percentage of the Federal Income Tax, the effect is that there is no state tax on interest from tax-free bonds. My understanding of both the New York and California law is that tax-free bonds of entities within the home state are not subject to State Income Tax, but tax-free bonds from other states are subject to the local State Income Tax. I also believe that the New York City Income Tax exempts tax-free bonds of entities based within the State of New York, but taxes those from other states. I am no expert on state income taxes and make no attempt to post myself on changes taking place within the various states or cities. Therefore, I defer to your local tax advisor, but simply mention these few general impressions so that you will be alert to the existence of a potential problem. In Nebraska there is no need to have any local considerations enter into the after-tax calculation. Where out-of-state issues are subject to local taxation, the effective cost of your State or Municipal Income Tax is reduced by the benefit received from deducting it on your Federal Income Tax return. This, of course, varies with the individual. Additionally, in some states there are various taxes on intangible property which may apply to all tax-free bonds or just those of out-of-state entities. There are none of these in Nebraska, but I cannot advise on the other states.

各州所得税的情况更为复杂。在内布拉斯加州，州所得税按联邦所得税的一个百分比计算，实际上对免税债券的利息不征收州税。据我了解，纽约州和加利福尼亚州的法律规定，本州内实体的免税债券免征州所得税，但其他州的免税债券需缴纳当地的州所得税。我还认为，纽约市所得税对本州内实体的免税债券免税，但对其他州的免税债券征税。我不是州税专家，也不打算让自己跟上各州或城市的变化。因此，我遵从您当地的税务顾问，只是列举这几点一般印象，以便您注意到可能存在潜在问题。在内布拉斯加州，不存在将地方因素纳入税后计算的需要。在外州债券需缴纳地方税的情况下，您缴纳的州或市所得税的实际成本，可从联邦所得税申报时将其扣除的收益中降低。当然，这因人而异。此外，一些州对无形资产征收各种税，可能适用于所有免税债券，也可能仅适用于外州实体的债券。内布拉斯加州没有这些税，但我无法就其他州提供建议。

When bonds are bought at a discount from par and later are sold or mature (come due and get paid), the difference between the proceeds and cost is subject to capital gain or loss treatment. (There are minor exceptions to this statement as, unfortunately, there are to most general statements on investments and taxes but they will be pointed out to you should they affect any securities we recommend). This reduces the net after-tax yield by a factor involving the general rate of future capital gains taxes and the specific future tax position of the individual. Later on, we will discuss the impact of such capital gains taxes in calculating the relative attractiveness of discount bonds versus "full coupon" bonds.

当以低于面值的折扣价购买债券，随后出售或到期（到期并获支付）时，所得与成本之间的差额按资本利得或亏损处理。（就像关于投资和税收的大多数一般性陈述一样，这一说法也有少量例外，如果它们影响我们推荐的任何证券，将向您指出）。这会根据未来的资本利得税率和个人未来的具体税务状况降低净税后收益率。稍后，我们将讨论此类资本利得税在计算折扣债券相对“全额息票”债券的吸引力时的影响。

Finally, one most important point. Although the law is not completely clear, you should probably not contemplate owning tax-free bonds if you have, or expect to have, general purpose bank or other indebtedness. The law excludes the deductibility of interest on loans incurred or continued to purchase or carry tax-free bonds, and the interpretation of this statute will probably tend to be broadened as the years pass. For example, my impression is that you have no problem if you have a mortgage against real property (unless the debt was incurred in order to acquire municipal bonds) in deducting the mortgage interest on your Federal Tax return, even though you own tax-free bonds at the same time. However, I believe that if you have a general bank loan, even though the proceeds were directly used to purchase stocks, a handball court, etc. and the tax-free bonds are not used for security for the loan, you are asking for trouble if you deduct the interest and, at the same time, are the owner of tax-free bonds. Therefore, I would pay off bank loans before owning tax-free bonds, but I leave detailed examination of this question to you and your tax advisor. I merely mention it to make you aware of the potential problem.

最后，非常重要的一点。尽管法律并不完全明确，但如果你目前有或预计会有一般用途的银行或其他债务，你可能不应考虑持有免税债券。法律排除了为购买或持有免税债券而借入或维持的贷款所产生利息的抵扣，而且随着时间推移，对该法规的解释可能会趋于扩大。例如，我的印象是，如果你有不动产抵押贷款（除非该债务是为了购买市政债券而举借），即使在持有免税债券的同时，在联邦税申报中抵扣抵押贷款利息应该没有问题。但是，我认为，如果你有一笔一般性银行贷款，即使贷款收益直接用于购买股票、手球场等，且免税债券并未作为贷款担保，如果你同时抵扣利息，又持有免税债券，那你就是在自找麻烦。因此，在持有免税债券前，我会先偿还银行贷款，但把这个问题的详细审查留给你和你的税务顾问。我提出来只是让你意识到潜在的问题。

Marketability

流动性

Tax-free bonds are materially different from common stocks or corporate bonds in that there are literally hundreds of thousands of issues, with the great majority having very few holders. This substantially inhibits the development of close, active markets. Whenever the City of New York or Philadelphia wants to raise money it sells perhaps twenty, thirty or forty non-identical securities, since it will offer an issue with that many different maturities. A 6% bond of New York coming due in 1980 is a different animal from a 6% bond of New York coming due in 1981. One cannot be exchanged for the other, and a seller has to find a buyer for the specific item he holds. When you consider that New York may offer bonds several times a year, it is easy to see why just this one city may have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 issues outstanding. Grand Island, Nebraska may have 75 issues outstanding. The average amount of each issue might be $100,000 and the average number of holders may be six or eight per issue. Thus, it is absolutely impossible to have quoted markets at all times for all issues and spreads between bids and offers may be very wide. You can't set forth in the morning to buy a specific Grand Island issue of your choosing. It may not be offered at any price, anywhere, and if you do find one seller, there is no reason why he has to be realistic compared to other offerings of similar quality. On the other hand, there are single issues such as those of the Ohio Turnpike, Illinois Turnpike, etc. that amount to $200 million or more and have thousands of bondholders owning a single entirely homogeneous and interchangeable issue. Obviously, here you get a high degree of marketability.

免税债券与普通股或公司债券存在实质性差异，因为免税债券有成千上万的品种，其中绝大多数持有者很少。这大大抑制了紧密、活跃市场的发展。每当纽约市或费城想要筹资，它可能出售二十、三十或四十种不完全相同的证券，因为它会提供具有这么多不同到期日的债券。1980年到期的纽约6%债券与1981年到期的纽约6%债券是不同的东西。一种不能兑换为另一种，卖方必须为他持有的特定品种找到买方。如果您考虑到纽约市可能每年多次发行债券，便容易理解仅这一个城市就可能有大约1000种未偿还品种。内布拉斯加州大岛城可能已有75种债券未偿还。每种债券的平均规模可能为10万美元，平均持有者可能每个品种只有六到八个。因此，根本不可能让所有品种随时都有报价，买卖价差可能非常大。您不可能在早晨出发去购买您选择的某个特定大岛城债券。它可能在任何地方都没有报价，而且如果您确实找到一个卖方，也没有理由要求他必须与类似品质的其他报价相比显得合理。另一方面，像俄亥俄收费公路、伊利诺伊收费公路等单一品种的债券规模达到2亿美元或更多，拥有数千名债券持有人，共同持有一种完全同质、可互换的品种。显然，这类债券具有高度的流动性。

My impression is that marketability is generally a function of the following three items, in descending order of importance: (1) the size of the particular issue; (2) the size of the issuer (a $100,000 issue of the State of Ohio will be more marketable than a $100,000 issue of Podunk, Ohio); and (3) the quality of the issuer. By far the most sales effort goes into the selling of new issues of bonds. An average of over $200 million per week of new issues comes up for sale, and the machinery of bond distribution is geared to get them sold, large or small. In my opinion, there is frequently insufficient differential in yield at time of issue for the marketability differences that will exist once the initial sales push is terminated. We have frequently run into markets in bonds where the spread between bid and asked prices may get to 15%. There is no need to buy bonds with the potential for such grotesque markets (although the profit spread to the dealer who originally offers them is frequently wider than on more marketable bonds) and we will not be buying them for you. The bonds we expect to buy will usually tend to have spreads (reflecting the difference between what you would pay net for such bonds on purchase and receive net on sale at the same point in time) of from 2% to 5%. Such a spread would be devastating if you attempted to trade in such bonds, but I don't believe it should be a deterrent for a long-term investor. The real necessity is to stay away from bonds of very limited marketability - which frequently are the type local bond dealers have the greatest monetary incentive to push.

我的印象是，流动性通常是以下三个因素的函数，按重要性降序排列：(1) 特定发行规模；(2) 发行人的规模（俄亥俄州发行10万美元债券的流动性会高于俄亥俄州小镇 Podunk 发行的10万美元债券）；(3) 发行人的质量。到目前为止，大部分销售努力都投入到新发行债券的销售中。每周平均有超过2亿美元的新债券被拿出来出售，债券分销机制就是为了将它们销售出去，无论大小。在我看来，发行时在收益率方面，往往没有对初始销售努力结束后将出现的流动性差异给予足够的补偿。我们经常遇到债券市场里买卖价差可能达到15%的情况。没有必要购买可能造成如此怪诞市场的债券（尽管最初出售这些债券的交易商从中获得的利润差通常比流动性更高的债券更大），我们也不会为您购买此类债券。我们预计购买的债券通常会有2%至5%的价差（反映您购买时净支付价格与在同一时点出售时净获得价格之间的差异）。如果您试图在这些债券中进行交易，这样的价差将是毁灭性的，但我认为这不应成为长期投资者的障碍。真正的关键是要远离流动性非常有限的债券——这种债券往往是地方债券交易商最有金钱动力去推销的品种。

Specific Areas of Purchase

具体购买领域

We will probably concentrate our purchases in the following general areas:

我们可能会将购买集中在以下几个大致领域：

(1) Large revenue-producing public entities such as toll roads, electric power districts, water districts, etc.
Many of these issues possess high marketability, are subject to quantitative analysis, and sometimes
have favorable sinking fund or other factors which tend not to receive full valuation in the market place.

(1) 有大量收入的公共实体，如收费公路、电力区、水区等。这些债券中有许多具有高流动性，可进行定量分析，有时具有有利的偿债基金或其他因素，而这些因素在市场中没有得到充分估值。

(2) Industrial Development Authority bonds which arise when a public entity holds title to property leased
to a private corporation. For example, Lorain, Ohio holds title to an $80 million project for U.S. Steel
Corp. The Development Authority Board issued bonds to pay for the project and has executed a net and
absolute lease with U.S. Steel to cover the bond payments. The credit of the city or state is not behind
the bonds and they are only as good as the company that is on the lease. Many top-grade corporations
stand behind an aggregate of several billion dollars of these obligations, although new ones are being
issued only in small amounts ($5 million per project or less) because of changes in the tax laws. For a
period of time there was a very substantial prejudice against such issues, causing them to sell at yields
considerably higher than those commensurate with their inherent credit standing. This prejudice has
tended to diminish, reducing the premium yields available, but I still consider it a most attractive field.
Our insurance company owns a majority of its bonds in this category.

(2) 工业发展署债券，当公共实体持有租赁给私营公司的财产所有权时产生。例如，俄亥俄州洛雷恩市持有美国钢铁公司一项8000万美元项目的所有权。发展署董事会发行债券为该项目建设融资，并与美国钢铁公司签订了净额和绝对租赁合同以覆盖债券支付。该市或该州的信用并不支持这些债券，其信用仅与承担租赁的公司一样可靠。许多顶级公司拥有总计数十亿美元的这类债券，尽管由于税法变化，现在新发行的债券金额很小（每个项目500万美元或更少）。在一段时间内，这类债券遭到了相当大的偏见，导致其收益率远高于与其内在信用地位相称的水平。这种偏见已趋于减弱，导致可获的溢价收益率降低，但我仍然认为这是一个非常吸引人的领域。我们的保险公司持有的债券大部分属于这一类。

(3) Public Housing Authority Issues for those of you who wish the very highest grade of tax-free bonds. In
effect, these bonds bear the guarantee of the U.S. Government, so they are all rated AAA. In states
where local taxes put a premium on buying in-state issues, and I can’t fill your needs from (1) and (2),
my tendency would be to put you into Housing Authority issues rather than try to select from among
credits that I don't understand. If you direct me to buy obligations of your home state, you should expect
substantial quantities of Housing Authority issues. There is no need to diversify among such issues, as
they all represent the top credit available.

(3) 公共住房管理局债券，适用于那些希望获得最高等级免税债券的合伙人。实际上，这些债券承载着美国政府的担保，因此它们均被评为AAA级。在那些地方税使得购买本州债券有利的州，并且我无法从(1)和(2)中满足您的需求时，我倾向于将您安排到住房管理局债券，而不是从我不了解的信用中挑选。如果您指示我购买您本州的债券，您应该会看到大量的住房管理局债券。这些债券无需分散投资，因为它们都代表着可获得的最高信用。

(4) State obligations of a direct or indirect nature.

(4) 直接或间接性质的州政府债券。

You will notice I am not buying issues of large cities. I don't have the faintest idea how to analyze a New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc. (a friend mentioned the other day when Newark was trying to sell bonds at a very fancy rate that the Mafia was getting very upset because Newark was giving them a bad name). Your analysis of a New York City - and I admit it is hard to imagine them not paying their bills for any extended period of time - would be as good as mine. My approach to bonds is pretty much like my approach to stocks. If I can't understand something, I tend to forget it. Passing an opportunity which I don't understand - even if someone else is perceptive enough to analyze it and get paid well for doing it - doesn't bother me. All I want to be sure of is that I get paid well for the things I do feel capable of handling - and that I am right when I make affirmative decisions.

您会注意到我没有购买大城市的债券。我对如何分析纽约市、芝加哥、费城等一无所知（一位朋友前几天提到，当纽瓦克试图以极具吸引力的利率出售债券时，黑手党非常不满，因为纽瓦克给他们带来了坏名声）。您对纽约市的分析能力——我承认，很难想象他们会在任何较长时期不付账单——将与我一样出色。我对待债券的方式与对待股票的方式非常相似。如果我无法理解某个东西，我倾向于忘掉它。错过一个我不理解的机会——即使有人足够敏锐，能够分析它并因此获得丰厚报酬——并不困扰我。我只想确保我能从那些我感觉有能力处理的事情中获得优厚回报，并且在我做出肯定决定时，我是正确的。

We will probably tend to purchase somewhere between five and ten issues for most of you. However, if you wish to limit me to your home state, it may be fewer issues - and perhaps those will only be Housing Authorities. We will try not to buy in smaller than $25,000 pieces and will prefer larger amounts where appropriate. Smaller lots of bonds are usually penalized upon resale, sometimes substantially. The bond salesman doesn't usually explain this to you when you buy the $10,000 of bonds from him, but it gets explained when you later try to sell the $10,000 to him. We may make exceptions where we are buying secondary market issues in smaller pieces - but only if we are getting an especially good price on the buy side because of the small size of the offering.

对于你们大多数人，我们可能会购买大约五到十种债券。但是，如果您希望我仅限于您所在的州，那么可能会更少——而且可能只会是住房管理局债券。我们将尽量不购买低于25,000美元面值的部分，并在适当时更偏好较大的金额。较小批量的债券在转售时通常会受到惩罚，有时惩罚还相当严重。债券销售员在您从他那里购买10,000美元债券时通常不会向您解释这一点，但当您后来试图将这笔10,000美元债券卖回给他时，他便会解释。当我们以较小的数量购买二级市场债券时，我们可能会破例——但前提是我们可以利用这种小规模发行的特点在买入价上获得特别好的价格。

Callable Bonds

可赎回债券

We will not buy bonds where the issuer of the bonds has a right to call (retire) the bonds on a basis which substantially loads the contract in his favor. It is amazing to me to see people buy bonds which are due in forty years, but where the issuer has the right to call the bonds at a tiny premium in five or ten years. Such a contract essentially means that you have made a forty year deal if it is advantageous to the issuer (and disadvantageous to you) and a five year deal if the initial contract turns out to be advantageous to you (and disadvantageous to the issuer). Such contracts are really outrageous and exist because bond investors can't think through the implications of such a contract form and bond dealers don't insist on better terms for their customers. One extremely interesting fact is that bonds with very unattractive call features sell at virtually the same yield as otherwise identical bonds which are noncallable.

如果债券发行人有权在实质上使合同对其有利的基础上赎回（提前偿还）债券，我们将不会购买这种债券。看到人们购买四十年后到期的债券，而发行人却有权在五年或十年后以微小溢价赎回，这让我感到惊讶。这样的合同本质上意味着，如果情况对发行人有利（而对您不利），您就做成了一笔四十年的交易；如果初始合同结果对您有利（而对发行人不利），您就做成了一笔五年的交易。这类合同实在令人愤慨，其存在只是因为债券投资者无法想透这种合同形式的含义，而债券交易商也不坚持为其客户争取更好的条款。一个极其有趣的事实是，具有非常不利赎回特征的债券，其收益率与不可赎回的同等债券几乎完全相同。

It should be pointed out that most Nebraska bonds carry highly unfair call provisions. Despite this severe contractual disadvantage, they do not offer higher yields than bonds with more equitable terms.

应该指出的是，内布拉斯加州的大多数债券都带有极不公平的赎回条款。尽管存在这种严重的合同劣势，它们提供的收益率并不比条款更公平的债券高。

One way to avoid this problem is to buy bonds which are totally noncallable. Another way is to buy discount bonds where the right of the issuer to call the bond is at a price so far above your cost as to render the possible call inconsequential. If you buy a bond at 60 which is callable at 103, the effective cost to you of granting the issuer the right to prematurely terminate the contract (which is a right you never have) is insignificant. But to buy a bond of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power at 100 to come due at 100 in 1999 or to come due at 104 in 1974, depending on which is to the advantage of the issuer and to your disadvantage, is the height of foolishness when comparable yields are available on similar credits without such an unfair contract. Nevertheless, just such a bond was issued in October, 1969 and similar bonds continue to be issued every day. I only write at such length about an obvious point, since it is apparent from the continual sale of such bonds that many investors haven't the faintest notion how this loads the dice against them and many bond salesmen aren't about to tell them.

避免这个问题的一种方法是购买完全不可赎回的债券。另一种方法是购买折价债券，此时发行人的赎回价格远高于您的成本，使得可能的赎回变得无关紧要。如果您以60的价格购买了可按103赎回的债券，您授予发行人提前终止合同的权利（您自己绝没有这种权利）给您带来的有效成本微不足道。但是，以100的价格购买洛杉矶水电局的债券，该债券在1999年按100到期，或者根据哪一种方式对发行人有利而对您不利，在1974年按104到期，当在类似信用等级上可以找到没有这种不公平合同的同等收益率时，这样做是极其愚蠢的。然而，就在1969年10月，确实发行了这样的债券，而且类似债券每天都在继续发行。我只对一个显而易见的观点如此长篇大论，是因为这类债券的持续出售表明，许多投资者根本不知道这如何让骰子对他们不利，而许多债券销售员也不打算告诉他们。

Maturity and the Mathematics of Bonds

期限与债券的数学

Many people, in buying bonds, select maturities based on how long they think they are going to want to hold bonds, how long they are going to live, etc. While this is not a silly approach, it is not necessarily the most logical. The primary determinants in selection of maturity should probably be (1) the shape of the yield curve; (2) your expectations regarding future levels of interest rates and (3) the degree of quotational fluctuation you are willing to endure or hope to possibly profit from. Of course, (2) is the most important but by far the most difficult upon which to comment intelligently.

许多人在购买债券时，根据他们认为自己想持有债券多久、自己要活多久等因素来选择期限。虽然这并非愚蠢的方法，但也不一定是最富逻辑性的。选择期限的主要决定因素或许应当是：(1) 收益率曲线的形状；(2) 您对未来利率水平的预期；(3) 您愿意承受或希望从中获利的报价波动程度。当然，(2)最重要，但也最难做出明智的评论。

Let's tackle the yield curve first. When other aspects of quality are identical, there will be a difference in interest rates paid based upon the length of the bond being offered. For example, a top grade bond being offered now might have a yield of 4.75% if it came due in six or nine months, 5.00% in two years, 5.25% in five years, 5.50% in ten years and 6.25% in twenty years. When long rates are substantially higher than short rates, the curve is said to be strongly positive. In the U. S. Government bond market, rates recently have tended to produce a negative yield curve; that is, a long term Government bond over the last year or so has consistently yielded less than a short term one. Sometimes the yield curve has been very flat, and sometimes it is positive out to a given point, such as ten years, and then flattens out. What you should understand is that it varies, often very substantially, and that on an historical basis the present slope tends to be in the high positive range. This doesn't mean that long bonds are going to be worth more but it does mean that you are being paid more to extend maturity than in many periods. If yields remained constant for several years, you would do better with longer bonds than shorter bonds, regardless of how long you intended to hold them.

让我们先来看收益率曲线。当质量的其他方面相同时，根据所提供债券的期限长短，支付的利率会存在差异。例如，现在发行的最高等级债券，如果六或九个月后到期，收益率可能是4.75%；两年期是5.00%；五年期5.25%；十年期5.50%；二十年期6.25%。当长期利率远高于短期利率时，曲线就被称为强正向。在美国政府债券市场，近期利率呈现出负收益率曲线的趋势；也就是说，在过去一年左右的时间里，长期政府债券的收益率始终低于短期债券。有时收益率曲线非常平坦，有时直到某一点（如十年）都是正向，然后变平。您应该明白的是，它变化多端，往往差异显著，并且从历史来看，目前的斜率趋于高正向范围。这并不意味着长期债券会更有价值，但这意味着相对于很多时期，您现在延长期限能获得更高的报酬。如果收益率几年保持不变，无论您打算持有多久，长期债券的表现都会优于短期债券。

The second factor in determining maturity selection is expectations regarding future rate levels. Anyone who has done much predicting in this field has tended to look very foolish very fast. I did not regard rates as unattractive one year ago, and I was proved very wrong almost immediately. I believe present rates are not unattractive and I may look foolish again. Nevertheless, a decision has to be made and you can make just as great a mistake if you buy short term securities now and rates available on reinvestment in a few years are much lower.

决定期限选择的第二个因素是对未来利率水平的预期。任何在这个领域做过大量预测的人，往往会很快显得非常愚蠢。一年前，我不认为利率不具吸引力，而事实几乎立刻证明我错了。我认为目前的利率并非不具吸引力，我可能又显得愚蠢。然而，必须做出决定，而如果您现在购买短期证券，几年后用于再投资的利率却低得多，您同样可能犯下大错。

The final factor involves your tolerance for quotational fluctuation. This involves the mathematics of bond investment and may be a little difficult for you to understand. Nevertheless, it is important that you get a general grasp of the principles. Let's assume for the moment a perfectly flat yield curve and a non-callable bond. Further assume present rates are 5% and that you buy two bonds, one due in two years and one due in twenty years. Now assume one year later that yields on new issues have gone to 3% and that you wish to sell your bonds. Forgetting about market spreads, commissions, etc. , you will receive $1,019.60 for the original two year $1,000 bond (now with one year to run) and $1,288.10 for the nineteen year bond (originally twenty years). At these prices, a purchaser will get exactly 3% on his money after amortizing the premium he has paid and cashing the stream of 5% coupons attached to each bond. It is a matter of indifference to him whether to buy your nineteen year 5% bond at $1,288.10 or a new 3% bond (which we have assumed is the rate current - one year later) at $1,000.00. On the other hand, let's assume rates went to 7%. Again we will ignore commissions, capital gains taxes on the discount, etc. Now the buyer will only pay $981.00 for the bond with one year remaining until maturity and $791.60 for the bond with nineteen years left. Since he can get 7% on new issues, he is only willing to buy your bond at a discount sufficient so that accrual of this discount will give him the same economic benefits from your 5% coupon that a 7% coupon at $1,000.00 would give him.

最后一个因素涉及您对报价波动的容忍度。这涉及到债券投资的数学，可能对您来说有点难懂。但您理解一般原则很重要。让我们暂时假设一条完全平坦的收益率曲线和一只不可赎回的债券。进一步假设当前利率为5%，您购买了两只债券，一只是两年后到期，一只是二十年后到期。现在假设一年后，新发行的债券收益率降至3%，而您想卖出您的债券。忽略市场价差、佣金等，您原先1000美元的两年期债券（现在还有一年到期）将得到1,019.60美元，而十九年期债券（原先二十年）将得到1,288.10美元。以这些价格，购买者在摊销了他支付的溢价并兑现附着在每只债券上的5%息票流之后，正好可以获得3%的收益。他是以1,288.10美元购买您的十九年期5%债券，还是以1,000美元购买新的3%债券（我们假设这是一年后的当前利率），对他来说没有差别。另一方面，假设利率升至7%，我们还是忽略佣金、折价带来的资本利得税等。现在，对于只剩一年到期的债券，买方只愿意支付981美元，而对于还剩十九年的债券，只愿意支付791.60美元。既然他能以新发行债券获得7%的收益，他只有在你债券的价格折价幅度能让他从你5%的息票中获得的累计经济收益与面值1,000美元的7%息票相同时，才愿意购买你的债券。

The principle is simple. The wider the swings in interest rates and the longer the bond, the more the value of a bond can go up or down on an interim basis before maturity. It should be pointed out in the first example where rates went to 3%, our long term bond would only have appreciated to about $1,070.00 if it had been callable in five years at par, although it would have gone down just as much if 7% rates had occurred. This just illustrates the inherent unfairness of call provisions.

原理很简单。利率波动幅度越大，债券期限越长，债券在到期前的期间内价值可以上升或下降的幅度就越大。应该指出，在利率降至3%的第一个例子中，如果该长期债券可在五年后按面值赎回，它只会升值到大约1,070美元，尽管如果利率升至7%，它也会下跌同样多。这恰好说明了赎回条款的内在不公平性。

For over two decades, interest rates on tax-free bonds have almost continuously gone higher and buyers of long term bonds have continuously suffered. This does not mean it is bad now to buy long term bonds - it simply means that the illustration in the above paragraph has worked in only one direction for a long period of time and people are much more conscious of the downside risks from higher rates than the upside potential from lower ones.

二十多年来，免税债券的利率几乎不断走高，长期债券的购买者持续遭受损失。这并不意味着现在购买长期债券不好——它仅仅意味着上面段落中的举例在很长一段时间里只有一个方向起作用，人们更意识到利率上升带来的下行风险，而非利率下降带来的上行潜力。

If it is a 50-50 chance as to the future general level of interest rates and the yield curve is substantially positive, then the odds are better in buying long term non-callable bonds than shorter term ones. This reflects my current conclusion and, therefore, I intend to buy bonds within the ten to twenty-five year range. If you have any preferences within that range, we will try to select bonds reflecting such preferences, but if you are interested in shorter term bonds, we will not be able to help you as we are not searching out bonds in this area.

如果未来一般利率水平的涨跌概率各为50%，且收益率曲线处于高正向状态，那么买入长期不可赎回债券的胜算要优于短期债券。这反映了我当前的结论，因此我打算购买十年到二十五年期限范围内的债券。如果在此范围内您有任何偏好，我们将设法选择符合这些偏好的债券；但如果您对短期债券感兴趣，我们将无法提供帮助，因为我们并没有在寻找这个领域的债券。

Before you decide to buy a twenty year bond, go back and read the paragraph showing how prices change based upon changes in interest rates. Of course, if you hold the bond straight through, you are going to get the contracted rate of interest, but if you sell earlier, you are going to be subject to the mathematical forces described in that paragraph, for better or for worse. Bond prices also change because of changes in quality over the years but, in the tax-free area, this has tended to be - and probably will continue to be - a relatively minor factor compared to the impact of changes in the general structure of interest rates.

在您决定购买二十年期债券之前，请回头读一下显示债券价格如何随利率变动而变化的段落。当然，如果您一直持有债券到期，您将获得合同约定的利率，但如果您提前出售，您将受到该段落中所描述的数学力量的影响，可能有利也可能不利。债券价格也会因多年来质量的变化而改变，但在免税领域，与一般利率结构变化的影响相比，这一直是，并且可能将继续是，一个相对次要的因素。

Discount Versus Full Coupon Bonds

折扣债券与全额息票债券

You will have noticed in the above discussion that if you now wanted to buy a 7% return on a nineteen year bond, you had a choice between buying a new nineteen year bond with a 7% coupon rate or buying a bond with a 5% coupon at $791.60, which would pay you $1,000.00 in nineteen years. Either purchase would have yielded exactly 7% compounded semi-annually to you. Mathematically, they are the same. In the case of tax-free bonds the equation is complicated, however, by the fact that the $70.00 coupon is entirely tax-free to you, whereas the bond purchased at a discount gives you tax-free income of $50.00 per year but a capital gain at the end of the nineteenth year of $208.40. Under the present tax law, you would owe anything from a nominal tax, if the gain from realization of the discount was your only taxable income in the nineteenth year, up to a tax of over $70.00 if it came on top of very large amounts of capital gain at that time (the new tax law provides for capital gain rates of 35%, and even slightly higher on an indirect basis in 1972 and thereafter for those realizing very large gains.) In addition to this, you might have some state taxes to pay on the capital gain.

您在上述讨论中会注意到，如果您现在想在一只十九年期债券上获得7%的回报，您有两种选择：要么购买新的十九年期、票面利率7%的债券，要么以791.60美元购买一只票面利率5%的债券，该债券在十九年后支付给您1,000美元。这两种购买方式都会为您带来正好7%的半年复利收益率。从数学上讲，它们是一样的。然而，对于免税债券，情况变得复杂，因为70美元的息票对您来说完全免税，而折价购买的债券每年支付50美元的免税收入，但在第十九年末产生208.40美元的资本利得。根据现行税法，如果从折价变现中获得的收益是您第十九年里唯一的应税收入，您可能只需缴纳名义上的税；而如果这笔收益叠加在数额非常大的资本利得上，您可能面临高达70美元以上的税（新税法规定资本利得税率为35%，而对于那些实现非常大额利得的人，1972年及以后在间接基础上税率甚至略高）。除此之外，您可能还需就资本利得缴纳一些州税。

Obviously, under these circumstances you are not going to pay the $791.60 for the 5% coupon and feel you are equally as well off as with the 7% coupon at $1,000.00. Neither is anyone else. Therefore, identical quality securities with identical maturities sell at considerably higher gross yields when they have low coupons and are priced at discounts than if they bear current high coupons.

显然，在这种情况下，您不会以791.60美元的价格购买5%息票的债券，并觉得您和持有1,000美元7%息票债券的人处境一样。其他任何人也不会这样认为。因此，具有相同质量和相同期限的证券，当其为低息票并按折价定价时，其总收益率远高于那些生有当前高息票的债券。

Interestingly enough, for most taxpayers, such higher gross yields over-compensate for the probable tax to be paid. This is due to several factors. First, no one knows what the tax law will be when the bonds mature and it is both natural and probably correct to assume the tax rate will be stiffer at that time than now. Second, even though a 5% coupon on a $1,000.00 bond purchased at $791.60 due in nineteen years is the equivalent of a 7% coupon on a $1,000.00 bond purchased at par with the same maturity, people prefer to get the higher current return in their pocket. The owner of the 5% coupon bond is only getting around 6.3% current yield on his $791.60 with the balance necessary to get him up to 7% coming from the extra $208.40 he picks up at the end. Finally, the most important factor affecting prices currently on discount bonds (and which will keep affecting them) is that banks have been taken out of the market as buyers of discount tax-free bonds by changes brought about in bank tax treatment through the 1969 Tax Reform Act. Banks have historically been the largest purchasers and owners of tax-free bonds and anything that precludes them from one segment of the market has dramatic effects on the supply-demand situation in that segment. This may tend to give some edge to individuals in the discount tax-free market, particularly those who are not likely to be in a high tax bracket when the bonds mature or are sold.

有趣的是，对于大多数纳税人而言，这样更高的总收益率过度补偿了可能需要缴纳的税款。这归因于几个因素。首先，没人知道债券到期时税法会怎样，假设届时税率会比现在更高，这既合理也可能正确。其次，尽管到期日为十九年、购买价为791.60美元、票面为1,000美元的5%息票债券，与同样期限、平价购买、票面1,000美元的7%息票债券等价，但人们更倾向于实打实地获得更高的当期收益。5%息票债券的持有者从791.60美元投入中只能获得大约6.3%的当期收益，达到7%所需的剩余部分来自最终额外获得的208.40美元。最后，当前乃至持续影响折价债券价格的最重要因素是，1969年税制改革改变了银行税收的处理方式，导致银行被排挤出折价免税债券的买方市场。银行历史上是免税债券的最大购买者和持有者，任何将银行排除在市场一个细分领域之外的因素，都会对该领域的供需状况产生巨大影响。这可能使个人在折价免税债券市场获得一些优势，尤其是那些在债券到期或出售时不太可能处于较高税级的个人。

If I can get a significantly higher effective after-tax yield (allowing for sensible estimates of your particular future tax rate possibilities), I intend to purchase discount bonds for you. I know some partners prefer full coupon bonds, even though their effective yield is less, since they prefer to maximize the current cash yield and if they will so advise me, we will stick to full coupon issues (or very close thereto) in their cases.

如果我能为您获得明显更高的有效税后收益率（在对您特定未来税率可能性做出合理估计的情况下），我打算为您购买折价债券。我知道有些合伙人偏好全额息票债券，即使有效收益率较低，因为他们希望最大化当期现金收益。如果你们告知我这一偏好，对于这类情况，我们会坚持购买全额息票债券（或非常接近的品种）。

Procedure

操作流程

I intend to be in the office solidly through March (including every Saturday except March 7th) and will be glad to see any partner or talk with him by phone. To aid in scheduling, please make an appointment with Gladys (or me). The only request I make is that you absorb as much as possible of this letter before we talk. As you can see, it would be an enormous problem if I had to explain each item to all of you.

我将在整个三月份都待在办公室（包括每个周六，但3月7日除外），并且很高兴见到任何合伙人或通过电话交谈。为了便于安排时间，请与格拉迪斯（或我）预约。我唯一的请求是，在我们交谈之前，请尽可能多地消化这封信的内容。正如您所见，如果我不得不向你们每一个人解释每一个要点，那将是一个巨大的难题。

If you decide you want us to help you in buying bonds, you should let us know:

如果您决定要让我们协助您购买债券，您应该告知我们：

(1) Whether you want to restrict purchases to your home state for local tax reasons;

(1) 是否出于地方税的考虑将购买限制在本州范围内；

(2) Whether you want to restrict us to full coupon issues or let us use our judgment as to where you get the
best value;

(2) 是否希望我们仅限于购买全额息票债券，还是让我们自行判断您能获得最佳价值之处；

(3) Your preference as to maturity in the ten to twenty-five year range or if you prefer to let us use our
judgment in that area;

(3) 您对十年至二十五年期限范围内的偏好，或者是否希望我们在此领域自行判断；

(4) How much you want to invest - we may end up several per cent short of the figure you name, but we
will never go over;

(4) 您想投资的金额——我们最终的购买额可能比您指定的数字低几个百分点，但绝不会超出；

(5) On what bank the bonds should be drafted.

(5) 应从哪家银行的账户中扣款购买债券。

We will advise you by phone or letter as we buy bonds. Bill and John will be doing much of the mechanical work. Needless to say, none of us will have any financial interest in any transaction. Should you have any questions regarding the mechanics, please direct them to John or Bill as I will probably be swamped and they will be more familiar with specific transactions. After March 31st, I don't expect to be around the office for several months. Therefore, if you want to talk things over, come in by then. The completion of all purchases may go into April, but Bill will be taking care of this and the mechanics will all be set up.

在我们买入债券时，我们会通过电话或信函通知您。比尔和约翰将负责大部分事务性工作。不用说，我们中没有人会在任何交易中有任何财务利益。如果您对操作流程有任何疑问，请向约翰或比尔提出，因为我可能会应接不暇，而他们更熟悉具体交易。3月31日之后，我预计有几个月不会待在办公室。因此，如果您想商谈，请在之前过来。所有购买完成可能会持续到四月，但比尔将负责处理此事，所有流程都会设定好。

You should realize that because of the enormous diversity of issues mentioned earlier, it is impossible to say just what will be bought. Sometimes the tax-free bond market has more similarities to real estate than to stocks. There are hundreds of thousands of items of varying comparability, some with no sellers, some with reluctant sellers and some with eager sellers. Which may be the best buy depends on the quality of what is being offered, how well it fits your needs and the eagerness of the seller. The standard of comparison is always new issues where an average of several hundred million dollars worth have to be sold each week - however, specific secondary market opportunities (issues already outstanding) may be more attractive than new issues and we can only find out how attractive they are when we are ready to make bids.

您应该意识到，由于之前提到的品种极其繁多，无法确切地说会买什么。有时，免税债券市场与房地产的相似性多于与股票的相似性。有成千上万的可比程度各异的项目，有些没有卖家，有些卖家不情不愿，有些卖家热情十足。什么最值得买取决于所提供债券的质量、其符合您需求的程度以及卖方的急切程度。比较的标准始终是新发行债券，每周平均有价值数亿美元的新券必须售出——然而，特定的二级市场机会（已发行的品种）可能比新发行更具吸引力，而我们只有在准备好出价时才能知道它们有多大吸引力。

Although markets can change, it looks as if we will have no difficulty in getting in the area of 6-1/2% after tax (except from Housing Authority issues) on bonds in the twenty-year maturity range.

尽管市场可能发生变化，但看起来我们不难在二十年期债券上获得6.5%左右的税后收益率（住房管理局债券除外）。

Cordially,

谨上，

Warren E. Buffett

沃伦·E·巴菲特

WEBI glk

WEBI glk