skanjete Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 Does anyone has a clear view on the portfolio's of respectively Todd Combs & Ted Wechsler. I tried to put something together and came to the following : Todd : - DirecTV - Chicago Bridge & Iron - National Oilwell Varco - Verisign - Precision Castparts - Suncor - Wabco? - Visa - Deere - Mastercard - Verisk Ted Wechsler : - DaVita - DirecTV - GM - LMCA - Viacom - Liberty Global? - Liberty Starz - Media General & Lee enterprises : has something to do with the acquisition of the 60+ local newspapers? Then there are 3 holdings in the Berkshire portfolio that date back historically, but where there have been additional investments. But in view of the size of the additional investments, I'm not sure if they are Buffett's decisions : - US Bancorp - Bank of New York - USG corp Does anyone has a view on this?
gfp Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 Verisk is a legacy holding that BRK received before they were hired. Looks like you have it mostly right. I would add PSX as a company that BRK got through the COP spin but then one of the junior managers added to (and now will be swapped for the chemical business in a nice tax efficient swap) USG was Buffett
skanjete Posted February 19, 2014 Author Posted February 19, 2014 Thank you for your response. I thought they bought Verisk in Q2 2011, after Todd was hired, but before Ted. PSX was indeed acquired as a spin off from COP. USG was Buffett, but in Q4 2013, about $250m extra was invested, not really a Buffett kind of investment. The same goes for USBancorp and Bank of New York.
jay21 Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 Thank you for your response. I thought they bought Verisk in Q2 2011, after Todd was hired, but before Ted. PSX was indeed acquired as a spin off from COP. USG was Buffett, but in Q4 2013, about $250m extra was invested, not really a Buffett kind of investment. The same goes for USBancorp and Bank of New York. Pretty sure the extra USG was from a Buffett bond being converted. Also, I believe Ted was the primary force behind their Rescap activities, which kinda flew under the radar: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-25/berkshire-said-to-win-rescap-loan-auction-with-1-5-billion-bid.html
skanjete Posted February 19, 2014 Author Posted February 19, 2014 That explains the USG position then, which confused me somewhat. Thank you.
UK Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 PSX was indeed acquired as a spin off from COP. If I recall correctly, at the time of spin off BRK held about 29 M shares of COP, so only about 14,5 M were acquired this way, the rest, or about 12.6 were bought additionally, probably by Todd and then it could be one of his largest position.
gfp Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 Verisk was owned by insurance companies before it became a public company. Berkshire's shares 'showed-up' in filings when VRSK started to trade publicly. BRK didn't sell shares in the IPO like the other owners. I believe they've sold some VRSK since, but I don't follow it closely. The extra PSX was indeed a very large position for the junior managers. Thank you for your response. I thought they bought Verisk in Q2 2011, after Todd was hired, but before Ted. PSX was indeed acquired as a spin off from COP. USG was Buffett, but in Q4 2013, about $250m extra was invested, not really a Buffett kind of investment. The same goes for USBancorp and Bank of New York.
skanjete Posted February 20, 2014 Author Posted February 20, 2014 Thank you all for the help. Does anyone has an idea what to think about the investments in USB and BK?
skanjete Posted February 20, 2014 Author Posted February 20, 2014 I'm not sure about Viacom. They started buying it in Q1 of 2012, just like GM, and that's about when Ted started. That's no argument of course, but I seem to remember that Mohnisch Pabrai mentioned it once in one of his speeches. However, I can't find it back, so I don't know for sure. The extra 18m shares in USB is interesting. I noticed Lou Simpson also bought quite some shares in the latest quartes.
learner Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 Skanjete- Mohnish mentioned that GM and perhaps Viacom were part of Ted's portfolio in the Columbia presentation.
skanjete Posted February 21, 2014 Author Posted February 21, 2014 Thank you Learner, I'll have a look again at that presentation.
Yours Truly Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 Skanjete- Mohnish mentioned that GM and perhaps Viacom were part of Ted's portfolio in the Columbia presentation. Could be true as Ted's quite fond of the media industry it seems... OR maybe he's just fond with John Malone's companies
elltel Posted April 9, 2014 Posted April 9, 2014 Does anyone know anything about PCP? Precision Castparts Corp.
Liberty Posted April 9, 2014 Posted April 9, 2014 Does anyone know anything about PCP? Precision Castparts Corp. I've looked at it briefly and it was interesting. Seemed like a solid conglomerate with good capital allocation operating in decent niches, but I haven't yet dug deep enough to really have a solid opinion.
gjangal Posted April 9, 2014 Posted April 9, 2014 Does anyone know anything about PCP? Precision Castparts Corp. Read this 10-K a while ago, Basically they have very sticky relationships with GE, Roll Royce, Boeing and the likes for jet engine components and other parts, also turbines for generating electricity. Basically it boils down to complex manufacturing processes, customer relationship and consistent deliveries over a long period of time. It's hard to replace them as they are integrated with the design and manufacturing processes at these companies, they also can pass on some costs to the customers. Consistently high ROE/ROA. The flip side is they have few large customers
learner Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Based on 1Q '14 13f filing, is it fair to assume that LBTYK and VZ are both Ted's picks?
PatientCheetah Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 I wonder who made the VZ investment. The logic for VZ should be the same as the one for DVA. Everyone is focused on the impending price war. VZ has the best brand/largest scale. Therefore, it has the best chance to endure and prosper after a price war.
Kiltacular Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 I wonder who made the VZ investment. The logic for VZ should be the same as the one for DVA. Everyone is focused on the impending price war. VZ has the best brand/largest scale. Therefore, it has the best chance to endure and prosper after a price war. Though I agree with your logic, my guess is this on is Todd. They each manage about $7 billion. Todd owns more positions from what I've seen. Here are my guesses for each. Ted: DTV, DVA, GM, LMCA (and all related), and PSX (well, part of it...Berkshire rec'd some PSX when it was spun from Buffett's COP holding, then, Ted added a ton to it, then, Berkshire traded most of it back to PSX for the chemical company slotted into Lubrizol -- I think that happened already). Todd: Also DTV, (maybe) Bank NY, CBI, NOV, VRSN, VZ, SU, WBC, DE, V, MA, and UPS (maybe...not much left in any case). kilt
ukvalueinvestment Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Deere - I've always thought this a good candidate for a much bigger holding, or even outright ownership at current prices. Ticks a lot of Buffett boxes including short term possible headwinds. Anyone got a view on this?
TeddyLampert Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Anyone know what an investment thesis for LBTYK might be? I've noticed it in the portfolio of a lot of other superinvestors made as of Q1. If it's just a dividend, would there still be a reason to own LBTYK as a new position?
thefatbaboon Posted May 20, 2014 Posted May 20, 2014 Deere - I've always thought this a good candidate for a much bigger holding, or even outright ownership at current prices. Ticks a lot of Buffett boxes including short term possible headwinds. Anyone got a view on this? I agree. Doesn't Gates' man Larsen have a big position there? Nearly 10% if memory serves.
ItsAValueTrap Posted May 21, 2014 Posted May 21, 2014 Anyone know what an investment thesis for LBTYK might be? I've noticed it in the portfolio of a lot of other superinvestors made as of Q1. If it's just a dividend, would there still be a reason to own LBTYK as a new position? I've written about Malone's cable strategy here: http://wp.me/p1mOGr-MF The general idea is to operate the assets well and to turnaround other poorly managed cable companies. Malone sold a few LBTY_ shares while LMCA has been buying Charter shares.
Guest longinvestor Posted August 21, 2014 Posted August 21, 2014 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-21/berkshire-defies-short-seller-by-adding-to-chicago-bridge-stake.html?cmpid=yhoo Shorting a stock held by Berkshire is perhaps a risky business. Good for TnT, they must be hoping for other similar one-time investment opportunities. 1 foot hurdles welcome always.
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