- The huge ~$21B portfolio has just 14 positions.
- The largest stake, Berkshire Hathaway is at a whopping ~53% of the portfolio.
- This quarter saw a ~9% trimming in the Berkshire Hathaway stake.
Gates Foundation portfolio value remained almost steady at
~$21B this quarter. Over the years, the portfolio has become extremely
concentrated. In their first 13F filing in 2002, they had about 27 positions
and the total portfolio value was ~$1.8B. Currently, the portfolio is well over
ten times that while the number of positions has gone down to just 14.
To know more about Gates and the Foundation, check-out the
book Bill Gates: The Inspirational Life Story of Bill Gates;
Businessman, Inventor, and the World's Most Remarkable Philanthropist.
Below is a summary:
Below is a summary:
Berkshire Hathaway
(BRK.B): BRK.B is by far the largest stake at ~53% of the portfolio. The
original position is from Q3 2006 at a cost-basis in the mid-60s. The size of
the stake peaked at ~87M shares in Q4 2012 and the current position is at ~55M
shares. The stake has wavered. Q3 2017 saw a ~15% stake increase as the stock
traded between $169 and $184. The stock currently trades at ~$188. H1 2019 had
seen ~20% selling while the last two quarters saw a similar stake increase.
Waste Management
(WM): WM was a very small ~1.2M
share position during their first 13F filing in Q3 2002. The current position
is at ~18.6M shares (~10% of the portfolio). The bulk of the position is from
Q3 2009 when around 8M shares were purchased at a cost-basis in the high-20s.
2010 also saw a ~3M share increase in the mid-30s. Since then, the position has
been left untouched. The stock currently goes for ~$100.
Canadian National
Railway (CNI): CNI is the third-largest stake at ~8% of the portfolio.
Since 2008, the position has remained remarkably steady at ~17M shares. The
bulk of the stake was built during the period from 2006 to 2008 at a cost-basis
in the low-20s. CNI currently trades at ~$81.
The spreadsheet below shows Gates Foundation’s holdings as
of Q4 2019. 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.
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