Who Runs Berkshire's Investment Portfolio?

Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are the investment managers at Berkshire Hathaway, the company founded by billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Combs and Weschler are frequently cited as potential successors to Buffett as the chief investment officer of Berkshire. Combs and Weschler are known for their strong investment performance, with Combs having formed his own hedge fund, Castle Point Capital, and Weschler having managed the successful hedge fund Peninsula Capital Advisors. They are credited with introducing stocks such as Apple and Amazon into Berkshire's portfolio. Both men spend a significant amount of time reading and researching, with Combs stating that he reads for about 12 hours a day. They have the freedom to make their own investment decisions and have generated substantial returns for Berkshire Hathaway.

Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are investment managers at Berkshire Hathaway

Combs and Weschler were selected by Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, to take over the key investment operations of Berkshire. Both Combs and Weschler are understated, intelligent, and spend most of their days reading, much like Buffett and Munger. They have described themselves as voracious readers, consuming newspapers, trade publications, and company annual reports. Combs and Weschler have also been credited for introducing Apple and Amazon into Berkshire's portfolio.

Before joining Berkshire Hathaway, Combs worked as a financial analyst for the State of Florida Banking, Securities and Finance Division, a pricing analyst at Progressive Insurance, and an insurance analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. He then worked at Copper Arch Capital, a hedge fund run by Scott M. Sipprelle, before forming his own hedge fund, Castle Point Capital, in 2005.

Weschler, on the other hand, started as a junior financial analyst at WR Grace before helping to establish the private equity group Quad-C Management. He then launched his own hedge fund, Peninsula Capital Advisors, in 1999, which returned 1236% before it was closed in 2011. Weschler first came to Buffett's attention when he anonymously paid millions of dollars at charity auctions for lunch with Buffett in 2010 and 2011.

Combs and Weschler are expected to take over a $354 billion portfolio from Buffett, and while they have generated impressive returns, their performance has sometimes lagged behind the S&P 500 and Buffett's own returns. However, Buffett has praised them for their work, stating that they are "extraordinary managers" and that Berkshire is "enormously better off" because of them.

They are potential successors to Warren Buffett as Chief Investment Officer

Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are frequently cited as potential successors to Warren Buffett as Chief Investment Officers of Berkshire Hathaway. Combs and Weschler are investment managers at Berkshire Hathaway, with each managing $13 billion of the equity portfolio and $8 billion in pension funds. They have been described as "extraordinary managers" by Buffett, who has also said that they are sound and brilliant and that Berkshire is "enormously better off" because of them.

Combs and Weschler were selected by Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger as the closest they could find to clones in terms of investing prowess. Both men are understated, super-smart, and spend most of their days reading, much like Buffett and Munger. Combs and Weschler have also been credited for introducing Apple and Amazon into Berkshire's portfolio.

Combs and Weschler have a similar investing ethos to Buffett, looking for good businesses with strong management teams that are trading at attractive prices. They have described themselves as voracious readers, with Weschler saying he reads "weird stuff" like trade publications *Furniture Today* and *Uranium Weekly* to gain an edge. Combs has said he gets into the office at 7 or 8 am and spends 12 hours a day reading, with only a few phone calls throughout the week.

While Combs and Weschler have at times outperformed Buffett and the S&P 500, their portfolios have more often lagged behind in recent years. However, they still have the freedom to operate independently of Buffett, who has said that they don't have to check with him before buying or selling anything.

As Berkshire Hathaway navigates a future without Munger, who passed away in November 2023, and with Buffett being 93 years old, the company will rely on Combs and Weschler to take on more responsibility and continue the legacy of one of the greatest investors of all time.

They were hired to replace Buffett as he acknowledged his own mortality

Todd Combs and Ted Weschler were hired to eventually replace Warren Buffett as he acknowledged his own mortality. In 2010, Buffett tapped Combs to replace him as the chief investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway. Likewise, Weschler was offered a job at Berkshire Hathaway after he won a charity auction to have lunch with Buffett by bidding $2,626,311 in 2010 and upping his bid to $2,626,411 the following year.

Combs and Weschler are frequently cited as potential successors of Warren Buffett as the chief investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway. They are both decades younger than Buffett, which means they will be able to continue their work for many years if they are successful.

Buffett has acknowledged that he will not be around forever and that others will be running his company. He has not named a successor as of yet, but he has chosen Combs and Weschler to begin taking over the key investment operations of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, wanted to find people who were as close to clones of themselves as possible in terms of investing prowess. Combs and Weschler are understated, super-smart, and spend most of their days reading, much like Buffett and Munger.

Buffett has described the hiring of Combs and Weschler as "one of the best decisions" he has ever made, calling them sound and brilliant. He has also said that Berkshire Hathaway is "enormously better off" because of the two.

Combs and Weschler have been credited for introducing Apple and Amazon to Berkshire's portfolio

Todd Combs and Ted Weschler have been credited for introducing Apple and Amazon to Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Combs and Weschler are investment managers at Berkshire Hathaway, a company run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

Combs and Weschler were both former hedge fund managers before joining Berkshire Hathaway. Combs came to the company in 2010, while Weschler joined two years later in 2012. They manage about $13 billion each and are frequently cited as potential future Chief Investment Officers of Berkshire.

In 2016, one of them made an investment in Apple, marking Berkshire Hathaway's first foray into a Silicon Valley tech stock. This investment has been credited as one of Berkshire's greatest stock trades of the past decade. The company has spent about $40 billion buying Apple shares, which were worth roughly $175 billion at the end of 2023—more than a fifth of Berkshire's total valuation.

While it is not clear whether it was Combs or Weschler who initiated the investment in Apple, it is known that they have both been instrumental in introducing Amazon to Berkshire's portfolio. In 2017, the pair were involved in the Berkshire-Amazon-J.P. Morgan venture, which aimed to reduce healthcare costs for their employees and explore ways to cut healthcare costs in the United States.

In addition to Apple and Amazon, Combs and Weschler have also made significant investments in other companies, such as Mastercard, Visa, and healthcare company DaVita. These investments have helped the pair beat the S&P 500 in 2012 and 2013. However, in recent years, their portfolios have more often lagged behind the index.

They are both decades younger than Buffett and could be in their roles for many years

Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are both decades younger than Warren Buffett and, as a result, could be in their roles at Berkshire Hathaway for many years to come.

Combs was born in 1971 and Weschler in 1962, making them 48 and 61 years old, respectively, in 2024. In contrast, Buffett is 93.

Combs and Weschler have been described as Buffett's deputies and are expected to take over the management of Berkshire's huge equity portfolio when the legendary investor eventually steps down. They have been credited with introducing stocks such as Apple, Amazon, Mastercard, and Visa into Berkshire's portfolio.

In 2017, Buffett said that the pair would be "helping the next CEO in a very, very, very big way. Not only in terms of handling marketable securities, but just in evaluating acquisition. They understand businesses."

Buffett has also praised their characters, saying: "They're chosen for both ability and character... I wanted somebody who was gonna be there for keeps."

Both Combs and Weschler have impressive backgrounds in finance and investing. Combs has a degree in finance and multinational business operations, as well as experience as a financial analyst and insurance analyst. He also founded his own hedge fund, Castle Point Capital, in 2005. Weschler has a degree in economics with concentrations in finance and accounting and previously worked at W. R. Grace and Company, an American chemical conglomerate, and founded his own successful hedge fund, Peninsula Capital Advisors, in 1999.

With their impressive backgrounds, investment prowess, and decades-long age difference with Buffett, Combs and Weschler could be managing Berkshire's investment portfolio for a long time to come.

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