The $275 billion question: Who handles Berkshire's stock portfolio after Warren Buffett
It's unclear if Berkshire's equity portfolio will be managed entirely or partially by Greg Abel, currently the vice chairman of non-insurance operations
As the shock of Warren Buffett's exit settles in, one question about the succession has become the elephant in the room — Who will handle Berkshire Hathaway's $275 billion portfolio of stocks? The legendary, 94-year-old investor is stepping down as chief executive officer at the end of 2025 after an epic 60-year run, but will stay on as chairman of the board. Greg Abel, 62, is poised to take over the reins and have the final word on Berkshire's sprawling operations and where the conglomerate will deploy its arsenal of cash. It's unclear if Berkshire's equity portfolio will be managed entirely or partly by Abel, currently the vice chairman of non-insurance operations. The question left many at Berkshire's weekend shareholder meeting feeling anxious as the Canadian executive, known for his deal-making and operational capabilities, hasn't proven to be an exceptionally strong stock picker. "As CEO, Greg's primary role will be to allocate capital. He will be deciding on the acquisition of entire companies, but I do not believe he will be picking stocks," said David Kass, a Berkshire shareholder and a finance professor at the University of Maryland, who once held private lunches for his students with Buffett. Weschler and Combs Buffett's two investment lieutenants, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, have independently managed about $15 billion each for Berkshire over the past decade. Buffett hasn't disclosed their track record in recent years, but part of their compensation has been tied to performance, based on 10% of the excess return over the S & P 500 on a rolling three-year basis. Some are speculating that the two former hedge fund managers would have a bigger role in managing Berkshire's stock portfolio, perhaps with the help of others. The pair have also been helping Berkshire close deals. Combs is also the CEO of Geico, the crown jewel of Berkshire's insurance business. "I believe Ted and Todd will have more responsibility and Greg may hire one or more additional portfolio managers as well," Kass said. Chief investment officer Catherine Seifert, an analyst at CFRA who covers Berkshire, thinks that Berkshire could establish a role of chief investment officer to oversee its investments, with Weschler potentially filling the position. Weschler joined Berkshire in 2012 to run a portion of its portfolio after winning the top bid for Buffett's charity lunch two years in a row. The Wharton business school grad founded hedge fund Peninsula Capital Advisors in 1999. The fund returned a total of 1236% before it closed in 2011. "Our view of Abel is of someone with a solid operational background, but not the investment experience or expertise to replace a renowned investor like Warren Buffett," Seifert said. "We think a lack of clarity on this issue could weigh on the shares." Weschler famously generated astronomical returns for his personal retirement account, growing it from $70,000 to more than $260 million in less than 30 years. Still, Combs and Weschler's track record at Berkshire has been opaque in recent years, with a Financial Times analysis showing them lagging Buffett, as well as the broader U.S. stock market. Big shoes to fill Abel said over the weekend that he will carry on Buffett's patient value investing style and stands ready to deploy Berkshire's enormous $347 billion in cash whenever a good opportunity presents itself. Buffett first hinted at Abel's increased responsibility at 2024's annual meeting, where he told an arena full of shareholders that he would leave capital allocation entirely to Abel. "He understands businesses extremely well," Buffett said. "If you understand businesses, you'll understand common stocks."This story originally appeared on: CNBC - Author:Yun Li
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