A millennial asked Warren Buffett what value his firm adds ' here's what he said

When retired journalist Carol Loomis stepped to the microphone at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, she posed a question from the younger generation.The apparent "millennial" (Loomis' word) wanted to know what value Berkshire offers the companies in which it invests. Apple gives the world iPhones, while3G Capital improves operations, he argued, but what does Berkshire do'The investment conglomerate adds value through relief, responded Buffett, who noted that Berkshire does a lot of the dirty work forits portfolio companies. What it doesn't do is meddle, he said."We certainly don't add to value by calling them up and saying we developed a better system," said Buffett. "We might very well free up about 20% of the time of a CEO just in terms of meeting with analysts, the calls and meeting with banks. Essentially, we relieve them so they can spend their time figuring out how to run their business."Buffett defended Berkshire'srelatively hands-off approach, while noting that the firm often serves as a protective shield from the public market while offering ample capital to the companies under its umbrella."Our abdication actually has some very positive value on the companies," he said.Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger will continue answeringshareholder questions throughout the day. Follow Business Insider's coverage of the event here.SEE ALSO:'WE BLEW IT': Charlie Munger says it was a mistake for Berkshire Hathaway to not invest in Google and WalmartJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: The Marine Corps is testing a machine gun-wielding robot controlled with just a tablet and a joystick
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