Once the shock at Warren Buffett’s exit settled, one question about inheritance became the elephant in the room. The legendary 94-year-old investor has resigned as CEO at the end of 2025 after an epic 60 years of running, but will remain as chairman of the board. Greg Abel, 62, is poised to take over the reins and have the final words of Berkshire’s vast operations and conglomerates deploying a cash arsenal. It is unclear whether Berkshire’s equity portfolio will be fully or partially managed by Abel, currently the vice-chairman of the non-insurance business. This question was left with many at a Berkshire weekend shareholder meeting. The Canadian executive known for his trading and operational abilities is unsettling as he has not proven to be a very strong stock picker. “As CEO, Greg’s main role is to allocate capital. He decides to acquire the entire company, but I don’t think he’ll pick stocks.” During the two investments, Weschler and Combs Buffett, Li, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler have independently managed around $15 billion for Berkshire over the past decade. Buffett has not revealed his performance in recent years, but part of the compensation is tied to performance based on 10% of the excess returns on the S&P 500 and part of the compensation over three years. I speculate that, perhaps with the help of others, two former hedge fund managers will play a major role in managing Berkshire’s stock portfolio. The pair also supports Berkshire’s close deal. Combs is also CEO of Geico, the crown jewel of Berkshire insurance business. “We believe Ted and Todd will take more responsibility, and Greg may also hire one or more additional portfolio managers,” Kass said. Catherine Seyfert, an analyst at CFRA for Berkshire, believes Berkshire can establish the role of Chief Investment Officer to oversee investments. Weschler joined Berkshire in 2012 and ran part of its portfolio after winning the top bid for Buffett’s Charity Ranch for the second year in a row. Wharton Business School graduates founded Peninsula Capital Advisor, a hedge fund, in 1999. The fund returned a total of 1,236% before it closed in 2011. “I think the lack of clarity on this issue could put a strain on stocks.” Weschler famously produced the astronomical returns of his personal retirement account, increasing from $70,000 to more than $260 million in under 30 years. Still, Berkshire’s performances have been unclear in recent years, with Financial Times analysis showing Buffett and the US stock market lagging behind them. Big Shoes to fill Abel took over Buffett’s patient value investment style over the weekend, saying they are ready to roll out Berkshire’s vast $347 billion in cash whenever a good opportunity appears in itself. Buffett first hinted at Abel’s increased liability at the 2024 Annual Meeting, saying that he would leave his capital allocation entirely at Abel in an arena full of shareholders. “He understands the company very well,” Buffett said. “If you understand business, you understand common stock.”
