Is the world's most famous and successful investor Mr Warren Buffett losing his touch? Analysts in the US who closely monitor his every move are questioning some recent transactions in the light of the weak performance of his Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle.
Mr Buffett, who advocates a "buy and hold" philosophy when it comes to shares, recently cashed a 5.3 per cent stake in California-based Bell Industries and joined other major stockholders in realising windfalls from the recent run-up of the company's shares.
Bell Industries shares zoomed as much as 80 per cent after it was disclosed last month in an SEC filing that billionaire Mr Buffett had paid roughly $2.5 million (€2.4 million) for 506,700 shares of the electronics manufacturer as of December 1st. Mr Buffett never revealed when he began snatching up Bell Industries shares. But despite the small size of the investment, Mr Buffett's purchase still surprised Wall Street observers because he has studiously avoided high-technology stocks.
The no-technology investment strategy has cost Berkshire Hathaway, whose Class A shares have lost 7 per cent in the past year, an uncommonly lacklustre result for the Omaha sage, and one that has pundits wondering whether legendary investor Buffett has lost a step.
