Warren Buffett Nearing Retirement, Liquidates Bank Stocks And Accumulates Cash

Warren Buffett, concentrating on investments in alcoholic beverage and oil companies ahead of retirement (Source: FT)

Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway who declared retirement at the end of this year, has been revealed to have sold a large amount of bank stocks and increased cash reserves. According to the first-quarter stock holding disclosure (13F) submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 15th (local time), Berkshire Hathaway sold 48.66 million shares of Bank of America (BoA), reducing its portfolio share to 10.1%. Additionally, it fully disposed of shares of Citigroup and Brazilian fintech company Nubank Holdings, and also sold 300,000 shares of Capital One.

Starting from last year, Berkshire Hathaway has consistently reduced its share in bank stocks due to concerns of economic slowdown and potential interest rate cuts, continuing the same strategy this first quarter.

The stock that Berkshire Hathaway acquired the most during the first quarter was Constellation Brands, which owns Corona beer. Additionally, it made further purchases of shares in oil company Occidental and internet domain registration service provider VeriSign. It is also reported that they requested confidentiality from the SEC to keep the status of certain stocks private.

Berkshire's largest holding remains Apple (25.7%), followed by American Express (15.7%) and Coca-Cola (11%). There were no changes in the proportion of the top holdings.

Continuing the consecutive net selling streak for 10 quarters, this first quarter also saw more sales ($4.7 billion) than purchases ($3.2 billion). Consequently, cash and cash equivalents recorded an all-time high of $347.7 billion (approximately 483 trillion won).

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that "It remains to be seen when and how Buffett will utilize this cash." This suggests that amidst the global economic slowdown and financial market instability, Buffett is cautiously preparing for his next investment.