Berkshire Class A shares gained 0.5 percent to $152,650 at 9:35 a.m. in New York. The company has rallied 29 percent in the last 12 months, fueled by gains at operating units, a stock buyback and an investment in Bank of America Corp. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 10 percent in the period.
One deterrent to paying a dividend now is that Buffett, as Berkshire’s largest shareholder, would have to do something with the payments, Russo said. While the billionaire has pledged almost all his wealth to charity, he still oversees Berkshire stock worth more than $50 billion.
“Warren doesn’t want the cash,” said Russo. “He doesn’t need it. He doesn’t want the burden of investing it.”
A dividend may make sense once Buffett’s no longer leading the firm and more of his shares pass to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his children’s philanthropies, said Russo. Those organizations have an obligation to spend money that a dividend could generate, he said.
Cook, the mutual-fund manager, said he’d prefer that Berkshire forgo a dividend and keep the cash for now.
“You’ve got a 50-year track record of being the best capital allocator in the world,” he said of Buffett. “As long as he’s alive, we think we’re generally better off with him” overseeing the money.