Billionaire investors always make headlines when they make meaningful moves buying or selling stocks. One of the most popular investors follow is Warren Buffett. The Berkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) chairman has been wildly successful with his investment philosophy.
For years Berkshire made it very easy for investors to see its top investment holdings. Berkshire puts out an annual shareholder letter and, in addition to updating investors on the companies it controls, it also routinely lists about 15 of the companies' top investment holdings as of the end of the year.
For the 2023 edition, Buffett didn't include that top list of companies. Perhaps that was partly due to utilizing the first full page for a tribute to his late partner, Charlie Munger.
But investors should also know there's a more complete, and more timely, way to track the Berkshire portfolio.
What Warren Buffett buys and sells
Every big institutional investor is required to file a Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each quarterly period. And while that form doesn't explicitly show what has been bought and sold, a quick comparison of the most current holdings with the previous quarterly filing can fill investors in on what's changed.
Berkshire's most recent filing shows that its largest holdings by dollar value include Apple, American Express, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and Chevron. More recently, Berkshire has also built up a large position in oil driller Occidental Petroleum.
Those investments have paid off handsomely for Berkshire and its shareholders. Though investors should also recognize that it's not all thanks to Buffett. Munger, of course, played a huge role in the investing strategy for years. But Buffett also relies on investment managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
Regardless of who is making the decision on each investment, retail investors should feel good about knowing that they can at least see how Berkshire's positions change -- or don't change -- each and every quarterly period.
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American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Howard Smith has positions in Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, and Chevron. The Motley Fool recommends Occidental Petroleum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
