Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway fund managers and insurers have certainly been active. The fund managers and Buffet have spent billions in buying new shares since the November 8 election of Donald Trump.
And last week Buffett and Berkshire revealed its largest ever reinsurance deal, striking a $US10 billion arrangement with AIG to buy what’s called long tail claims, including asbestos related risks.
That $US10 billion will be received in the June half year, but Buffett has already spent it all and a bit more, according to an interview in the US on Friday night that no one picked up until Reuters did overnight.
Buffett revealed to US journalist, Charlie Rose on PBS TV, that he has bought $US12 billion of stock for his company Berkshire Hathaway since the November 8 election.
In fact Buffett suggested that Berkshire’s post-election stock purchases overall were even higher, reflecting stocks that his deputies Todd Combs and Ted Weschler bought.
“We’ve, net, bought $12 billion of common stocks since the election," Buffett said. “The guys that work with me, the two fellows, they probably bought a little bit or sold a little bit too.”
Reuters pointed out that the speed with which Berkshire is buying stocks is unusual. "It has spent in fewer than three months roughly half what it spent on equities in the three years ending Sept. 30, 2016.”
Buffett declined to confirm whether Berkshire added to its stakes in the four largest US airlines: American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and United Continental.
Berkshire revealed those stakes in mid-November, (surprising many given Buffett’s long aversion to the sector) in its third quarter portfolio update. The 4th quarter and 2016 update is due February 14.
Asked why Berkshire moved into these stocks (which he had avoided for years), Buffett said: “It was in large part my decision.”
Berkshire owned $US102.5 billion of equities as of September 30, excluding its stake in Kraft Heinz Co. It also had a ‘float’ or free cash of $US91 billion at the same date.
The interview didn’t discuss whether any more money was invested in Apple (which reported this morning). Berkshire revealed a surprise $US1 billion investment in the iPhone company in mid 2016.
