The 33 stocks in the Buffett Portfolio

[Sniper]

Morningstar Article (http://news.morningstar.com/doc/article/0,,144207,00.html)

Coca-Cola KO: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
American Express AXP: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Procter & Gamble PG: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Wells Fargo WFC: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
Moody's MCO: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Wesco Financial WSC: Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
Washington Post WPO: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
M&T Bank MTB: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
Shaw Communications SJR: Not Rated
American Standard ASD: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
First Data FDC: Wide Moat, 4 Stars
Gap GPS: Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
Comcast CMCSA: Wide Moat, 4 Stars
USG Corporation USG: Not Rated
Gannett GCI: Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
Costco COST: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
SunTrust Bank STI: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
Nike NKE: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
Iron Mountain IRM: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Tyco International TYC: Narrow Moat, 4 Stars
Pier 1 Imports PIR: No Moat, 5 Stars
Outback Steakhouse OSI: No Moat, 5 Stars
ServiceMaster SVM: Narrow Moat, 2 Stars
Lexmark International LXK: Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
Sealed Air SEE: Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
PetroChina PTR: Narrow Moat, 1 Star
Home Depot HD: Wide Moat, 4 Stars
Mueller Industries MLI: Not Rated
Comdisco Holding CDCO: Not Rated
Lowe's Companies LOW: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Dean Foods DF: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
Anheuser-Busch BUD: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
Kingfisher KGFHY: Not Rated

[DesertCat]

Most of these aren't Buffett's stocks. Most of these stocks are in GEICO's portfolio, which a smaller one run by Lou Simpson. As a subsidary, Lou's holdings are reported along side Warren's on SEC reports, and reporters aren't astute enough to separate them out.

The big holdings are reported in the annual report by Buffett himself. I haven't read a report in a while but the one's I'm pretty sure about are.

Coca-Cola KO: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
American Express AXP: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Procter & Gamble PG: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Wells Fargo WFC: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
Moody's MCO: Wide Moat, 3 Stars
Wesco Financial WSC: Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
Washington Post WPO: Wide Moat, 5 Stars
USG Corporation USG: Not Rated
Costco COST: Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
PetroChina PTR: Narrow Moat, 1 Star
Home Depot HD: Wide Moat, 4 Stars
Anheuser-Busch BUD: Wide Moat, 5 Stars

[Sniper]

Cat, I figured you would at least take the time to read the article before dissing them /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[DesertCat]

[ QUOTE ]
Cat, I figured you would at least take the time to read the article before dissing them /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey I read 40 quarterly reports yesterday, I only have so much time:) But I was pretty accurate for not reading the article, wasn't I? My problem with these "Buffett owns" articles is many times it's Lou Simpson (which Morningstar pointed out in paragraph 7 after touting these as "buffett's Portfolio").

Now I agree with Morningstar, Lou's a hell of an investor too. But it's a bit of false advertising for their article, isn't it?

The real problem is that even though Buffett owns a position, say KO, would he buy it at today's prices? Probably not. Would Buffett buy any of these positions if his portfolio was only $10M in size? Probably not.

Almost every investor has a much wider universe to select from than Buffett or Simpson do. The idea of trying to produce good returns by buying their old ideas at higher prices than they paid strikes me as not very fruitful. If you want to do that, the best option really is to do a good job of estimating Berkshire Hathaway's intrinsic value, and buy it when it's cheap. Then you get Lou and Warren working for you for free:)

If you really want to understand what Buffett is buying and why, check out his annual reports on BerkshireHathaway.com. They are very readable, and he does break out his largest positions in the portfolio. Reading his opinions directly is much better than having some analyst trying to figure them out from afar.

[buffett]

[ QUOTE ]
Would Buffett buy any of these positions if his portfolio was only $10M in size? Almost definitely not.


[/ QUOTE ]
Enhanced your post, based on the following two quotes:

"If I was running $1 million today, or $10 million for that matter, I'd be fully invested. Anyone who says that size does not hurt investment performance is selling. The highest rates of return I've ever achieved were in the 1950s. I killed the Dow. You ought to see the numbers. But I was investing peanuts then. It's a huge structural advantage not to have a lot of money. I think I could make you 50% a year on $1 million. No, I know I could. I guarantee that."

"The universe I can't play in [i.e., small companies] has become more attractive than the universe I can play in [that of large companies]. I have to look for elephants. It may be that the elephants are not as attractive as the mosquitoes. But that is the universe I must live in."
--Warren Buffett in June 25, 1999 (Business Week)

-web

[LearnedfromTV]

[ QUOTE ]


"The universe I can't play in [i.e., small companies] has become more attractive than the universe I can play in [that of large companies]. I have to look for elephants. It may be that the elephants are not as attractive as the mosquitoes. But that is the universe I must live in."
--Warren Buffett in June 25, 1999 (Business Week)

-web

[/ QUOTE ]

Worth noting that this part is not as true as it was in 1999. The overall thought, however, clearly holds.

[imported_bingobazza]

did I read somewhere recently that he's just bought 125m ounces of silver.....thats the most interesting one IMO.

[DesertCat]

[ QUOTE ]
did I read somewhere recently that he's just bought 125m ounces of silver.....thats the most interesting one IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

He bought silver in the late 90's, I haven't heard of him selling any or buying more since. At the time he explained that it (since he's criticized the idea of buying gold) was not an inflation or commodities bet. Since silver was in use as an industrial metal, he felt that supply and demand were out of whack.

Where did you read that he's bought more?