Buffett Deputies Leaving Billionaire in the Dust Get Funds

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) is again giving stock pickers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler more money to invest after they beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and left Warren Buffett “in the dust,” the billionaire chairman said.

The deputies, who made profitable bets on Visa Inc. (V) and DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., each oversee almost $5 billion, Buffett, 82, wrote in an annual letter to investors March 1. That’s up from the $4 billion he outlined in July and reflects his confidence that Berkshire found managers capable of running more than $80 billion of stocks once he and Vice Chairman Charles Munger, 89, are no longer leading the company.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett is preparing Berkshire for new leadership after building the Omaha, Nebraska-based firm over more than four decades. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., talks about JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s $4.4 billion trading loss at its chief investment office and the U.S. banking industry. Buffett also discusses his investment strategy and holdings, the U.S. economy and housing market, and the outlook for the euro. He speaks with Betty Liu at the the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)

“We hit the jackpot with these two,” wrote Buffett, who is also chief executive officer. “Todd and Ted are young and will be around to manage Berkshire’s massive portfolio long after Charlie and I have left the scene.”

Buffett is preparing Berkshire for new leadership after building the Omaha, Nebraska-based company over more than four decades. Stock picks and takeovers transformed the company from a failing textile maker into a $250 billion firm with more than 80 operating units and the largest equity stakes in companies including International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC)

 

Continuing that track record will fall to Weschler, 51, and Combs, 42, who were hired in the past three years to help pick stocks. Buffett has said he still oversees the largest investments in Berkshire’s portfolio, while his deputies will make bets from “a couple hundred million” dollars to $1 billion. The company doesn’t break out each person’s portfolio in its filings.