Buffett’s Berkshire
At the same time, Danoff has stuck with Berkshire Hathaway Inc., even though its returns have lagged behind the S&P 500 over the past decade.
“The more I’ve spent time with Warren Buffett and, you know, attending annual meetings in Omaha, the more I like it,” he said. “With all my tech holdings, this is a very good counterbalance and some ballast for the big fund.”
Size is something Danoff has to wrestle with, especially in the $139 billion Contrafund. As a manager who focuses on earnings growth, he built some of his top holdings in Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. -- companies so powerful they’ve become targets for antitrust regulators.
“I do worry about that,” he said.
For now, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a boon to Danoff’s portfolio, validating his long-term bets on software, social media, cloud computing and digital payments. The times also forced him to reckon with the role corporate America -- and the investors who back it -- plays in issues such as climate change, economic inequality and systemic racism.
“Speaking up for civil rights or equal rights attracts a better-caliber employee,” Danoff said. “The great companies that I’m invested in care deeply about our country. They care deeply about the environment and they realize making all stakeholders happy is good for business and good for the shareholders.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.