The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, Nov. 12, edition that Brookfield Asset Management is selling off assets and paying down bank lines after an eight-year bull run in stocks and bonds near highs, joining investors such as Warren Buffett and Canada's Prem Watsa in accumulating cash. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that Brookfield chief executive officer Bruce Flatt said in a note to shareholders: "Cash becomes extremely valuable in one circumstance in particular: when financial accidents happen. It certainly feels like we are closer to the place where cash will be more valuable than we have been for eight years. Because of all this, we have continued to liquefy our balance sheets." Brookfield's cash and cash equivalents have increased almost 58 per cent this year to $4.37-billion (U.S.) at the end of September, the company said. As a result, Brookfield, which has about $250-billion (U.S.) under management, might experience some lower growth in its operating results in the short-term than if it were putting cash to work, he said. Over the longer term, the advantage of having liquid assets when the market turns will outweigh any short-term drag, he said.