Buffet’s equity holdings down to 5-year low
10 Aug 2009
Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway sold more common stock than it bought this year after it made a "major mistake'', which according to Buffet was the purchase of oil-producer ConocoPhillips' shares at near-peak prices, the writedown on which contributed to a first-quarter loss.
It was Berkshire's first unprofitable quarter since 2001.
The firm owned about $11.1 billion in foreign government bonds in its insurance units at the end of June which was up from $9.6 billion three months earlier according to the firm's regulatory filing.
According to a Bloomberg report, in the second quarter Buffet spent $2.6 billion on bonds as against $350 million on shares. The billionaire investor, whose views on financial markets are widely followed is said to have benefited with the equity markets rally in the equity markets over the last three months.
According to analysts Buffet's investment's in debt instruments have yielded the same level of returns, in some cases, in the downturn as normal investment in the stock market.
Buffett booked a $4.1 billion paper profit on the $5 billion he invested in Goldman Sachs when the financial crisis was at its worst.