Berkshire Hathaway lags as cash pile continues to grow

Warren Buffett's firm has $128bn of cash

David Brenchley
clock • 2 min read

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway suffered its worst performance in a decade relative to the wider US stockmarket as its ever-growing pile of cash continues to drag.

Both Berkshire's voting 'A' shares and non-voting 'B' shares returned just shy of 11% for investors, well short of the S&P 500 index's 31.5%, according to Morningstar data. This is the worst relative performance since 2015, when Berkshire lost more than 12% compared to the S&P's 1.4% gain. In 2018, the firm acheived a 3% gain, well ahead of the S&P's 4.4% loss. The Omaha-based conglomerate currently has a record $128bn on its balance sheet, having refrained from making a large acquisition since buying Precision Castparts for $32bn in 2015. In his letter to investors at the start of...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Equities

Equity funds gather highest inflows in three years as investor confidence returns

Equity funds gather highest inflows in three years as investor confidence returns

Calastone Fund Flows index

clock 07 February 2024 • 3 min read
iM Global Partner launches global equity fund

iM Global Partner launches global equity fund

With Richard Bernstein Advisors

clock 01 February 2024 • 1 min read
Partner Insight: Aegon Asset Management 2024 Equities Outlook

Partner Insight: Aegon Asset Management 2024 Equities Outlook

There have been two standout themes in global equities in 2023: the outperformance of US mega-cap tech stocks and the Japanese stock market. Will these trends continue in 2024?

Philip Haworth, Head of Equities
clock 22 January 2024 • 5 min read
Trustpilot