Warren Buffett Watch
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Adds GM to Holdings
- Lunch With Warren Buffett: $2 Million-Plus?
- Warren Buffett: Lady Di Called Bill Clinton 'Sexiest Man Alive'
- CNBC Transcript: Warren Buffett on Squawk Box
- Warren Buffett: We're Buying Two US Stocks
- Warren Buffett to CNBC: Mark Zuckerberg Right to Keep Tight Control Over Facebook
- Warren Buffett: Apple and Google Too Risky For Me
- Warren Buffett Reassures Shareholders on Cancer and Succession
- Warren Buffett Recently Considered $22 Billion Acquisition
- Warren Buffett 'Very Comfortable' With Berkshire Stock Buybacks
RSS FEED
MOST SHARED
- Ackman: JCPenney Sales Have Hit 'Bottom'
- Home Prices Hit Lows, But 'We See Signs of Hope'
- Social Responsibility Builds Long-Term Success: Opinion
- Don't Buy Hon Hai Shares on Apple TV Rumors: Analyst
- Facebook Stock Falls Below $29 for First Time
- The Mass Migration of the Super-Rich
- Should Facebook Buy RIM?
- Advanced Manufacturing Could Spark Next Industrial Revolution
- PB&J, Mac & Cheese Step Out From Kids-Fare Shadow
- Greece to Leave Euro Zone on June 18: Wealth Manager
- PB&J, Mac & Cheese Step Out From Kids-Fare Shadow
- Ackman: JCPenney Sales Have Hit 'Bottom'
- Goldman Investment Shines Light on Solar Power
- Facebook Options Soar on First Day
- Home Prices Hit Lows, But 'We See Signs of Hope'
- Auto Sales to Really Take Off This Summer?
- JPMorgan Debacle Points to Regulatory Incompetence, Corruption
- Are You Ready for Facebook Options?
- Option Bulls Dig Into Ivanhoe Near Lows
- Spain to Go to Market to Fund Banks, Regions
- Home Prices Hit Fresh Lows, But 'We See Signs of Hope'
- High-Tech Worker Shortage: Has Anything Changed?
- Why June Could Be a Turning Point for Markets
- Cramer's Top Dividend Plays
- Facebook Stock Falls Below $29 for First Time
- How Valuable Are Facebook's 900 Million Users?
- JPMorgan Sells Good Assets to Offset 'London Whale'
- Citigroup on Hiring Spree for Wealth-Management Unit
Buffett Says Don't Draw Conclusions From Sales: "I Never Inherit My Investment Decision"
Text Size 
Executive Producer
 |
CNBC/Dave Grogan Warren Buffett and Becky Quick check their notes during a Squawk Box commercial break |
Last month, Berkshire's portfolio filing with the SEC showed that eight positions were liquidated in last year's fourth quarter, including Bank of America [BAC
Loading...
()
] and Nike [NKE
Loading...
()
].
At the time, we guessed that Berkshire was cleaning out the positions that had been created by Lou Simpson, who retired at the end of 2010.
On today's live Squawk Box appearance, Buffett confirmed that he and Simpson had jointly decided to liquidate the GEICO stockpicker's portfolio.
"I never inherit my investment decision from somebody else. If Charlie Munger made me a gift of 100 shares of some stock, I would sell it then — and then —I would then decide whether I wanted to buy it again myself. But I do not believe in default-type decisions on investments. So When Lou left, his portfolio left. When a new man comes in, his portfolio comes in."
That new man is Todd Combs. Buffett says Combs "is going to be responsible for his decisions — just as Lou was when he was (at Berkshire subsidiary GEICO.) And I want it to be Todd's portfolio."
Later, he was asked specifically about the Bank of America sale:
JOE KERNEN: Berkshire was in Bank of America, and it wasn't a good experience, and you're out now. I think you lost two-thirds or something. But, I mean, obviously the financial crisis hit. But that--that's making some--you're voting with your feet there, I think, what, on management, on the prospects for B of A? I mean, you like Well--you're staying in another bank, why would you get out with a loss instead of the...
BUFFETT: Yeah.
JOE: Go ahead.
BUFFETT: I never--Joe, I never bought a share of Bank of America. That was one of the 15 or so positions of Lou Simpson. So he did not make a decision to sell Bank of America in the second half of last year.
JOE: OK.
BUFFETT: He just--he was liquidating his entire portfolio. He sold a--he sold Nike. He hated to sell Nike. He loved Nike. But he was cleaning out his portfolio, and Todd's bringing in a new one. But I...
JOE: OK.
BUFFETT: Bank of America was never part of a portfolio I managed.
JOE: OK. So when you see Berkshire liquidates its entire stake in Bank of America, you can't say, oh my God, they don't like the prospects--or Warren doesn't like the prospects for Merrill Lynch...
BUFFETT: No.
JOE: ...or (CEO Brian) Moynihan...
BUFFETT: No.
JOE: ...or you can't draw any conclusions from that.
BUFFETT: No.
JOE: OK.
BUFFETT: Zero, zero. I never bought a share and I never sold a share personally.
KERNEN: All right. OK.
Current Berkshire stock prices:
Class B: [BRK.B
Loading...
()
]
Class A: [BRK.A
Loading...
()
]
For more Buffett Watch updates follow alexcrippen on Twitter.
Email comments to
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
