2018: Will Berkshire disclose Ted Weschler's and Todd Combs' returns?
BECKY QUICK: This question comes from David Rolfe, who is with Wedgewood Partners, and has been — the company — has been shareholders in Berkshire since 1989. The stock is currently the largest holding in their stocks — 18 stocks.
He asks this question: “Over the past two years, you have listed the individual fund-of-funds performance from Protégé Partners. When will you start showing the annual performance on 25 billion that Ted [Weschler] and Todd [Combs] manage? Can you state if either Ted or Todd has beaten the S&P 500 index over the last five years?
WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah. Both — A, we’ll probably never report their individual performance.
But you can be sure that I have an enormous interest in — as does Charlie — in how much we think they contribute to Berkshire. And they have — they’ve been terrific. They’ve — they not only have the intellect, and the record, but they are exceptional human beings. And they —
Todd has done a tremendous amount of work, for example, on the medical project.
And — Ted is — I’ve given him several things, and he’s done them better than I could do them.
So the record, since inception — and I’m measuring it — Ted came later than Todd, a year or so later — but the record, since inception, is almost identical — both for the two managers — from their different inception and matching the S&P.
And they’ve received some incentive compensation, which they only get if they beat the S&P. And as I say, they’re just slightly ahead. That really hasn’t —
It’s been better than I’ve done, so naturally, I can’t criticize it. (Laughs)
They — they were the — they were two very, very, very good choices.
Charlie?
CHARLIE MUNGER: You did report it in a previous year. You just didn’t do it this year. And — but now you have your report. (Laughter)
WARREN BUFFETT: I would — the problem that all of us has is size. It’s actually — it’s harder to run even 12 or $13 billion, frankly, than it is to run a billion. And if you’re running a million dollars or something of the sort, it’s a whole different game. You’d agree with that, wouldn’t you, Charlie?
CHARLIE MUNGER: Of course.
WARREN BUFFETT: Yeah, OK. (Laughter)
Just like any good lawyer, you never ask him a question unless you think you know the answer they’re going to give. (Laughter)