Thaindian News

October 26, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Berkshire Hathaway known as BRK.A in short was rife with the rumors of Warren Buffett grooming his successor. The rumors started circulating after a hedge fund manager was recruited by the organization.

Berkshire had announced the recruitment of the 39 year old Todd Combs by way of a press release. Combs had been the manager of Greenwich, Conn based Castle Point Capital which dealt with equity investment hedge funds. His current responsibilities are believed to be substantial.

Buffett disclosed that both he and Charles Munger had been on a look out for a person of Todd’s caliber who could handle a sizable portion of Berkshire’s investment portfolio. He added that they were delighted that Todd would be joining them.

The current holdings of Berkshire include Johnson & Johnson(JNJ), Moody’s(MCO), Wells Fargo(WFC), Fiserv(FISV) and Wal-Mart(WMT). $46.4 billion was the value of Berkshire’s stock portfolio on 30th June according to the latest SEC filings.

Associated Press reports that Combs had been managing a U.S. stock portfolio worth $280 million at Castle Point by June end. He had managed the funds at Castle Point Capital for a period of five years. Castle Point is expected to wind down after Combs leaves reports MarketWatch.

Although the news about the new successor has not been confirmed as yet, plans seem to be in tune with the outlines formulated by the 80 year old Warren Buffett. The search for Buffett’s successor has gone on for three years now captivating the financial world. Buffett also enjoys a huge fan following, most of whom travel to Omaha, Nebraska in order to attend the Woodstock of Capitalism, the annual meeting of Berkshire.