Tracking Thomas Gayner's Markel Portfolio - Q1 2017 Update

• Gayner’s portfolio increased ~7% from $4.15B to $4.44B during the quarter.
• Markel substantially increased Alphabet and Amazon while dropping Oracle and reducing Exxon.
• Berkshire Hathaway at ~12% of the portfolio is by far the largest position.

Thomas Gayner’s Markel Investment Portfolio increased 6.99% from $4.15B to $4.44B during the quarter. The portfolio continues to have around 100 different positions although only around 50 are significantly large (more than 0.5% of the portfolio each). The top-five stakes are Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B), CarMax Corporation (KMX), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), Walt Disney (DIS) and Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA).

Markel Corporation (MKL) is currently trading at around 1.6-times Book Value (BV) at $970 per share - BV is around $620.

Below is a summary:

1. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): The 1.62% stake saw a ~18% increase this quarter at prices between $770 and $852. Last year had seen a ~160% stake increase at prices between $665 and $800. Gayner is actively building this stake. For investors attempting to follow Gayner, GOOG is a good option to consider for further research. The stock is currently at $906.

2. Amazon.com (AMZN) and Analog Devices (ADI): These two stakes saw ~28% stake increases this quarter. The AMZN increase was at prices between $750 and $887 and the stock is now at $925. The ADI increase happened at prices between $71 and $84 and the stock currently trades at $76.19. The activity indicates a bullish bias toward these businesses.

A number of other positions also saw minor increases during the quarter. Below is a spreadsheet that highlights the changes to the portfolio as of Q1 2017. Please check out our previous update to have an idea on how the portfolio is progressing:

To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of cloning hedge fund picks, check out our book Profiting from Hedge Funds: Winning Strategies for the Little Guy.  

Tracking Charlie Munger's Daily Journal Portfolio - Q1 2017 Update

• Charlie Munger’s Daily Journal Portfolio continues to have just four positions.
• The portfolio has been largely untouched since their first 13F filing for Q4 2013.
• The overall portfolio value increased ~3% in the quarter.

Charlie Munger’s Daily Journal portfolio value increased ~3% this quarter from $146M to $151M. Since their first 13F filing in Q4 2013, there has only been one change to the holdings: POSCO was reduced significantly in Q4 2014. After accounting for this sale, the portfolio value has remained remarkably steady over the last three years. To know more about Charlie Munger, check out the book Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger.

Below is a look at the holdings:

Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC stake forms ~60% of the entire portfolio. The stock was at $45.40 EOY 2013 during their first 13F filing and is now at $54.54. For investors attempting to follow Munger, WFC is a good option to consider for further research.

Bank of America (BAC): BAC is another large stake at just over one-third of the portfolio. The stock was at $15.57 during their first 13F filing for EOY 2013 and is now at $23.89.

US Bancorp (USB): USB is a 4.92% of the portfolio position. The stock is at ~$52.12, around 30% higher compared to the EOY 2013 pricing of ~$40

POSCO (PKX): The minutely small 0.35% portfolio stake was sold down by ~85% in Q4 2014 at prices between $64 and $73. The stock is now at $59.88.

The spreadsheet below show Charlie Munger's Daily Journal US stock holdings as of Q1 2017. Please visit our previous updates to get an idea on how the portfolio has progressed:

To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of cloning hedge fund picks, check out our book Profiting from Hedge Funds: Winning Strategies for the Little Guy .