Berkshire replaces Apple as top stock in Tiger 21 survey
23 Oct 2013
Warren Buffett's firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc has gained over Apple Inc as it took the top spot as preferred stock among millionaires in the US and Canada.
According to a Bloomberg report, Berkshire had replaced Apple as the top stock pick among millionaires in the US and Canada in a Tiger 21 survey.
Tiger 21, a group of wealthy investors based in New York, chose Berkshire Hathaway Inc as their favorite stock in their annual survey. Apple Inc which held the position for the last two years, had slipped to second place.
Shares of Apple fell over 25 per cent after hitting a high in September 2012. The iPhone maker had been fighting companies offering products at lower prices and also had been fending off investor fears that it could no longer innovate without Steve Jobs.
The fact that millionaires picked Berkshire Hathaway over Apple showed that investors continued to approve Buffet's investing strategies even though the 83-year-old had not named his successor at the firm.
This year had marked a series of declines for Apple Inc as compared to Berkshire. July saw Berkshire replace Apple as CNBC's most-looked up stock for a time and at the same time Apple ceded the title of most respected company in the world to Berkshire Hathaway.
Apple Inc had lost over a fourth of its value from its September 2012 record high as the Cupertino, California-based company battled lower-cost rivals and sought to prove it could continue to innovate after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011.
According to Michael Sonnenfeldt, founder and chairman of Tiger 21, "the bloom was off Apple".
He said in an interview that for people who held Berkshire Hathaway it had held its appeal, but for Apple, a lot of people felt that perhaps its best days were behind it.
Qualcomm Inc, the biggest maker of chips was among the other individual stocks among that figured amongst members' top five, with the San Diego-based company surging to No 4 from No 20 last year.
Berkshire had seen a 31-per cent rise this year, as against a 22 per cent gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The stock was down to No 3 in last year's survey after being No 2 in 2011 and No 1 in 2010.
Tiger 21, is a network of 220 entrepreneurs, investors and executives who each had at least $10 million in investable assets each and over $20 billion between them.
The average age of members is 55. They pay annual membership fees of $30,000 and meet monthly in seven cities in the US and four in Canada to share ideas.
