David Driscoll Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (B) BRK.B-N HOLD May 14, 2025

Best capital allocator in the world, and probably the best investor of all time. Sitting on a record pile of cash. Be cautious, as it's exposed to the equity markets. Built to withstand the storm. Long term, takes advantage of unique opportunities in the market. Well positioned to outperform the broader market over an extended period of time. High faith in succession plans.

He added to it yesterday, based on how it was acting. Support ~$500. Chart has beat the S&P in all timeframes. Massive cash hoard. In markets like these, why not get some help from people who have a great legacy track record? Even once Warren's gone, the successors will follow his guiding principles. No dividend.

FFH is in his Canadian dividend strategy. BRK.B is in his global strategy.

Both are insurance-driven companies that are partly holding companies. Diversified businesses. Breakup NAV (not that they'd ever be broken up) is significantly higher than current share price. And that makes both of these a buy. Both are in the lower-risk category of companies.

The end of Buffett's reign as CEO has been an overhang for many years, but it hasn't mattered because shares have performed so well. This is as good of a transition plan and exit that he has ever seen anywhere, at any company. Buffett painstakingly worked on this transition for years. Shares remain at record highs. He remains a forever shareholder. Buffett is the GOAT and belongs on Mount Rushmore alone. There's nobody like him.

"Expensive" in terms of price per share is actually becoming less relevant because you can now buy fractional shares through some of the discount brokerage platforms. He doesn't own, but would be comfortable doing so. Today's as good a day as any to buy.

Good investment? Yes. Buffet is retiring and will be missed. Many people have learned a lot of valuable and timeless investing lessons from him. Berkshire has done a great job of planning succession and governance well, so the successor will have a good start. If Greg Abel has the endorsement of Buffett, that's good enough for his firm.

Portfolio of robust and resilient businesses with wide, competitive moats, and demonstrated history of generating free cashflow and paying dividends. Don't read too much into the cash hoard. It likes to be cash rich and patient, so it can write the big cheques when opportunities come along when there's blood in the streets.

Sitting on $300B or so of cash. Some of that will have to be used to buy back his shares when Warren does depart. Such a huge conglomerate, that they have to make bigger and bigger acquisitions to move the needle on earnings. And they're not finding those right now.

Over time, you'll probably get a 10% compound annual return. Doesn't own it because unsure what will happen once Warren really leaves or dies.

More or less fair value on valuation. Ran up with market volatility, as it's always a safe haven. Buffett's retiring, end of an era. Greg Abel has the chops, an excellent operator. Excited to see how he'll use the cash balance and improve operations. Insurance stocks have pulled back, making this an attractive entry. 

Great proxy for growth of the US economy. Will really benefit from trends of AI and electricity demand. No dividend.

Considered a growth company. Great job growing FCF per share over the last 50 years. Exceptionally well run. Buffett may be stepping back, but culture he's instilled for capital allocation and ethics will transfer to the next generation of leadership with Greg Abel.

Only concern is valuation, bit rich. Becomes increasingly difficult for large companies to allocate capital at high rates of return. Forward rate of return is probably high single-digit or low double. An 8-10% rate of return is strong in his view. High-quality and predictable business. Many have done poorly betting against it.