What Vanguard fund tracks Berkshire Hathaway?
There are only two ETFs in Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK. A) (NYSE: BRK.B) portfolio: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Both are index ETFs that track the S&P 500.
The BRK Class B Stock Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term growth of capital by investing almost exclusively in Berkshire Hathaway Class B stock.
Most of Warren Buffett's portfolio through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway is comprised of individual stocks. He does own two ETFs, though, both of which are S&P 500 ETFs: the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO 0.10%) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY 0.09%). An S&P 500 ETF tracks the S&P 500 index itself.
Graham Holdings “amounts to a small-scale version of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, with a large group of unrelated businesses and a strong balance sheet,” according to Barron's.
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO.
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY.
| File Date | Source | Investor |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-28 | NP | TEBRX - The Teberg Fund |
| 2023-11-28 | NP | VIVAX - Vanguard Value Index Fund Investor Shares |
| 2023-11-28 | NP | VLACX - Vanguard Large-Cap Index Fund Investor Shares |
| 2023-11-28 | NP | VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares |
Vanguard Growth & Income Fund (VGIAX)
VGIAX's one-two punch of investment goals helped it beat the overall stock market in 2022 and 2023. Over the past 10 years, this fund's average annual return is about even with the S&P 500. Likewise, its trailing 12-month dividend yield approaches the broad market's.
- Open a brokerage account.
- Fund your account.
- Open the order page.
- Fill in the order page, including selecting the right ticker (BRK. B for Berkshire Hathaway), the number of shares you want to purchase, and whether it's a market or limit order.
- Submit the purchase order.
Investment Banking
With a similar business model, Jefferies is often called the Baby Berkshire. While its stock is much lower-priced and it has nowhere near the holdings that Berkshire Hathaway possesses, Jefferies is successful at acquiring promising assets at less than fair value, and building their long-term growth.
“In most fields, plagiarism will get you in trouble. In the field of investments, it can make you rich. You don't have to have an original thought to succeed in investments. Following the moves of Warren Buffett and his lieutenants at Berkshire Hathaway is a sound investment strategy,” Johnson said.
What is the alternative to Berkshire Hathaway?
Berkshire Hathaway competitors include BlackRock, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Allstate, Allegheny Technologies and The Carlyle Group. Berkshire Hathaway ranks 1st in Customer Net Promoter Score on Comparably vs its competitors.
Class A shares will typically grant more voting rights than other classes. This difference is often only pertinent for shareholders who take an active role in the company. Nevertheless, because of the voting rights, A-shares are often more valuable than B shares.
Buffett's favorite ETF
portfolio: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Both are index ETFs that track the S&P 500.
| Stock | Shares owned | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola (KO) | 400,000,000 | $22.4 billion |
| Chevron (CVX) | 110,248,289 | $18.6 billion |
| Occidental Petroleum (OXY) | 224,129,192 | $14.5 billion |
| Kraft Heinz (KHC) | 325,634,818 | $11.0 billion |
| Symbol | Name | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|
| IYW | iShares U.S. Technology ETF | 24.09% |
| XSD | SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF | 23.47% |
| NAIL | Direxion Daily Homebuilders & Supplies Bull 3X Shares | 23.01% |
| FTEC | Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF | 22.77% |
The top shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway class B shares are Warren E. Buffett, Ronald L. Olson, Meryl B. Witmer, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc.
Top Berkshire Stock Holdings
In Q4 of 2023, Buffett's Berkshire held steady on one of its two largest stock holdings: Bank of America (BAC). Apple stock is the No. 1 holding in Berkshire's Dow stocks-heavy portfolio by market value.
Berkshire Hathaway is a large cap holding company that owns dozens of businesses, cash and equity investments. Reminder: it's not a mutual fund or an ETF fund. It's a corporation with Warren Buffett as Chairman and CEO.
- Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX) ...
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) ...
- Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBTLX) ...
- Vanguard Balanced Index Fund (VBIAX) ...
- Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VIGAX)
- 24.76% IMS Capital Value Fund IMSCX.
- 23.64% Quantified Pattern Recognition Fund QSPMX.
- 20.51% YCG Enhanced Fund YCGEX.
- 19.62% Clipper Fund CFIMX.
- 18.92% Selected American Shares Fund SLASX.
Who is Vanguard's biggest competitor?
Fidelity and Vanguard are two of the largest investment companies in the world. Fidelity boasts over 43 million individual investors and $1 1.5 trillion in assets under administration (AUA). 1 Meanwhile, Vanguard has more than 30 million investors and $8.5 trillion in assets under management.
It's all about the stock
It's already been noted, but Berkshire Hathaway doesn't pay a dividend. It has a huge cash pile, so it could pay a dividend if it wanted to. However, Buffett doesn't like to pay dividends (even though he does like to collect them).
Berkshire Hathaway hasn't delivered market-crushing returns in recent decades. However, the company continues to perform in line with the S&P 500 index and is still beating the index over longer time frames.
Berkshire Hathaway is a testament to owning great businesses for the long term. Investors would do well to value its stock based on book value rather than earnings. The shares aren't a bargain, but Berkshire's higher returns on equity are encouraging.
Warren Buffet's 2013 letter explains the 90/10 rule—put 90% of assets in S&P 500 index funds and the other 10% in short-term government bonds.
