“ I'd see it as a more aggressive than defensive posture.
A spider fixing up and extending the web, ready for new prey...figuring something tasty is likely to come along soon enough.

Not just a philosophical difference. I don't think Berkshire's management is the sort to act on a hunch about turbulence coming any more than they're the types to try to predict the stock market. They're just reacting to different prices (high) and opportunity sets (low), with no more expectation of the future beyond "prices fluctuate" and a rule of thumb that there's a good opportunity from time to time for those who are prepared.”

Sure, though…
In recent history they did not pounce when things were looking bad.
I bought Berkshire at book value. Berkshire didn’t.
We all want “things are looking up” and “not expensive”.
Something about “cheery consensus” comes to mind.
And deploying $150-$200bn in a sensible way? Dang! Is it even possible?

We had a nice run up. Might be time to cash in a few more.