Key Points
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Greg Abel may have taken over as CEO, but he’s not the only one making key investment decisions at Berkshire Hathaway.
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Berkshire’s positions in DaVita and SiriusXM, reportedly selected by Ted Weschler, who manages a portion of the portfolio, have outperformed so far in 2026.
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While Abel may hold the most sway and have his own approach, Weschler’s continued presence suggests Berkshire is far from fully abandoning Buffett’s investing philosophy.
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As he retired as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB), Warren Buffett appointed Greg Abel his successor. Yet while Abel may be captain of the ship, don’t assume that makes him the sole allocator for Berkshire’s stock portfolio.
As you may recall, up until late 2025, the same time Buffett retired, Berkshire had two investment managers overseeing portions of the portfolio: Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Combs has since left for a role at JPMorgan, but Weschler has remained in his position. Moreover, two stocks selected by Weschler personally for the Berkshire portfolio have performed extremely well over the past year: DaVita (NYSE: DVA) and Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI).
With this, Weschler’s recent success and continued presence could clue us in on Berkshire’s long-term prospects during the post-Buffett era.
Analyzing Weschler’s winners
Admittedly, Berkshire Hathaway provides zero details on investment ideas from Buffett, Abel, Weschler, or Combs. However, Berkshire’s exit from certain positions in the first quarter suggests that those stocks, including Mastercard, UnitedHealth Group, and Visa, were from the Combs-managed portion of the portfolio.
As for Weschler, who built a strong track record on his own as a hedge fund manager prior to joining Berkshire Hathaway in 2012? As company filings indicate that he personally owns shares of both DaVita and Sirius XM, it’s highly likely that Weschler selected these for the Berkshire portfolio.
So far in 2026, both of these Buffett investments have performed extremely well. DaVita shares are up by over 102% year to date. Both Berkshire and Weschler have long held shares in the kidney dialysis center operator, but the stock hasn’t really taken off until recently. Thanks to strong results, plus greater appreciation among investors for the company’s aggressive share repurchase efforts, a bullish wave has sent the stock to multi-year highs.
SiriusXM is up over 50% year to date. Like DaVita, SiriusXM is another name that has started to surge after a period of underperformance. But this year, thanks to factors such as better-than-expected results and bullish guidance updates, shares rebounded. Still one of the value stocks, with a valuation of less than 10 times forward earnings, SiriusXM could have more room to run from here.
The reassuring takeaway for long-term investors
Buffett is longer running Berkshire Hathaway’s day-to-day operations, but it’s not as if the post-Buffett era marks a dramatic change in investing approach and philosophy. Make no mistake: Abel now holds the most sway over investing decisions.
Since taking over, he’s even made a sharper pivot toward technology stocks, as seen in Berkshire’s participation in a $10 billion private placement of Alphabet shares. However, with Weschler still managing a portion of the portfolio, Berkshire Hathaway is not abandoning traditional value investing entirely. Berkshire’s positions in DaVita, SiriusXM, and perhaps some of Berkshire’s smaller equity positions are a testament to this.
While Abel’s approach may differ slightly from Buffett’s, he’s not necessarily throwing away what has historically worked for the company: long-term positions in reasonably priced stocks with strong economic moats. Artificial intelligence mania notwithstanding, Alphabet fits within this mold to some degree. An exit by Weschler, or a further pivot toward tech by Abel, could be cause for concern. For now, though, Berkshire Hathaway stock appears well-positioned to stay a long-term compounder in the post-Buffett era.
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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Thomas Niel has positions in UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
