Gates hasn’t been active in a day-to-day role since 2008.
The meeting in Omaha, Neb., usually draws thousands.
“I don’t think it should affect what you do in stocks," he said of the virus epidemic.
The push for yield sometimes persuades executives to make risky changes, he said.
Berkshire Hathaway has started investing in S&P 500 Index ETFs.
Berkshire Hathaway will sell BH Media unit and 30 newspapers to Lee Enterprises, which owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
New York Life Insurance agreed to buy a Cigna Corp. business that sells life and disability insurance for $6.3 billion.
The probes are related to financial planning services and the sale and distribution of related products, AIG said.
Part of that underperformance stems from disappointment that Berkshire’s mountain of cash sits idle, one analyst said.
The SEC is reportedly inquiring about incentives at an AIG unit rewarding salespeople for pitching higher-cost products.