“Plus we really have no insight on how T&T are doing.”

Well, FT has just “reconstructed the company’s US stock portfolio starting in 2010, just before Combs and Weschler joined Berkshire, based on quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The FT then used Buffett’s comments in dozens of interviews, speeches at annual meetings and media reports to determine which trades were his and which belonged to one of his deputies.”

“Overall, according to the analysis, the pair have generated an average total annual return of about 7.8 per cent over the past decade. That falls short of the 12 per cent return of the S&P 500 and Buffett’s own 10.2 per cent gain. They have trailed the index in seven out of 10 years.

Their portfolios, worth about $27bn out of a total $354bn, excluding billions of dollars of pension investments for Berkshire’s employees, are up about 113 per cent over the past 10 years.

That trails a 165 per cent gain by Buffett over the same period and a 211 per cent total return by the S&P.”

Financial Times: Content Fd3b3324 d775 4e09 a916 76f2f3ac675b