u/vcolovic

... as usual

I bought Berkshire in December for around $500, mainly as a protective measure. The whole point was to reduce stress, yet I've experienced more stress over the last two months from holding this than I have with the rest of my portfolio.

At this point, I just hope it rises enough for me to sell immediately.

I understand the value-investing philosophy in theory, but who cares about that when the opportunity cost is so high? It's one thing to miss out when FOMO is at 10 or 20 per cent. It's a completely different matter when the market is booming and Berkshire is lagging by 60% or more.

I also don’t understand Greg Abel’s silence and passivity here. If he doesn’t act soon, this stock could continue to decline and may not easily regain its former value - EVER. Berkshire’s reputation was built on investor trust in Warren and Charlie’s judgement. However, Warren and Charlie are no longer around, and Abel lacks that special 'pizzazz'.

And when Buffett dies, the stock could easily take an additional 8–10% hit. Maybe more. This risk is real and probably not some distant event anymore.

In my opinion, Abel must do one of two things immediately, or both:

• Start an aggressive share buyback NOW, before it’s too late.
• Make a major acquisition that will excite the market, also before it’s too late

In the past, their acquisitions made sense because they were backed by the credibility of two legendary capital allocators. However, without this credibility, the market may no longer give Berkshire the benefit of the doubt.

In my view, Abel is jeopardising the most important asset that Berkshire has, and that is investor trust in the company's management. I think even long-term shareholders are starting to question this now.

The stock has performed poorly in up markets, down markets and flat markets. At some point, this stops looking like patience and starts looking like dead money.

I just needed to relieve some of the stress that BRK had caused me.