Berkshire Hathaway Names Abel And Jain As Vice Chairmen As Buffett Succession Plans Sharpen
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett's  plans to eventually pass the reins of Berkshire Hathaway to a successor took has taken a major new step. On Tuesday   Buffett  laid out why Greg Abel  CEO of Berkshire Hathaway  and Ajit Jain  head of its insurance operations  will join Charlie Munger as vice chairman of the $500 billion conglomerate.
Jain  by contrast  oversees Berkshire's gigantic insurance outfit  where he's shown deft underwriting skill and the discipline to trim exposures to overly competitive markets like catastrophic insurance and reinsurance when pricing is unfavorable. A native of India  Jain came to the U.S. to get an MBA at Harvard and then cut his teeth at consultancy McKinsey. In 1985  he was hired by  Buffett  to work in Berkshire's insurance operations. Said  Buffett  in a 2009 shareholder letter  "I immediately knew we had found a superstar." A decade later  the division was bolstered by  Buffett 's acquisition of the Geico shares Berkshire didn't already own. From an insurance float of $3.6 billion in 1995  Berkshire's float now stands at about $100 billion annually.
In addition to Abel and Jain  Berkshire's investing business also has two rising figures.  Buffett  is increasing  his  allocations of Berkshire funds to lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler  who each manage over $10 billion  and have led the conglomerate to positions ranging from Apple to Charter Communications.
As succession plans harden   Buffett  and Munger will continue in their existing positions. That means they will continue to be overseeing major capital allocation decisions and investment activities  for instance any major deals. In addition to making headlines for Berkshire's succession plans   Buffett  also made headlines for  his  views on the wider investing landscape.
Most notably   Buffett  said tax reform will have a big impact on Berkshire's owners  telling CNBC's Quick that shareholders effectively have seen their ownership of  the company 's profits rise by over 20% as corporate rates have fallen from 35% to 21%.
About crypto currencies   Buffett  said today's euphoria inevitably will lead to heart break. "If I could buy a five year put on any of the crypto currencies I would do it "  Buffett  said  admitting  he  would never short the speculative asset because it's not something  he  knows well.  He  dished out the following common sense  "why in the world should I take a short position in something I don't know anything about."
But  his  views are crystal clear. "I think what's going on definitely will come to a bad ending "  Buffett  said.
Warren Buffett: My Greatest Investing Advice And The Investments Everyone Should Make
[TGT] plans to eventually pass the reins of Berkshire Hathaway to a successor took has taken a major new step. On Tuesday    [TGT] laid out why Greg Abel  CEO of Berkshire Hathaway  and Ajit Jain  head of its insurance operations  will join Charlie Munger as vice chairman of the $500 billion conglomerate.
Jain  by contrast  oversees Berkshire's gigantic insurance outfit  where he's shown deft underwriting skill and the discipline to trim exposures to overly competitive markets like catastrophic insurance and reinsurance when pricing is unfavorable. A native of India  Jain came to the U.S. to get an MBA at Harvard and then cut his teeth at consultancy McKinsey. In 1985  he was hired by   [TGT] to work in Berkshire's insurance operations. Said  Buffett  in a 2009 shareholder letter  "I immediately knew we had found a superstar." A decade later  the division was bolstered by  Buffett 's acquisition of the Geico shares Berkshire didn't already own. From an insurance float of $3.6 billion in 1995  Berkshire's float now stands at about $100 billion annually.
In addition to Abel and Jain  Berkshire's investing business also has two rising figures.   [TGT] is increasing   [TGT]   allocations of Berkshire funds to lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler  who each manage over $10 billion  and have led the conglomerate to positions ranging from Apple to Charter Communications.
As succession plans harden    [TGT] and Munger will continue in their existing positions. That means they will continue to be overseeing major capital allocation decisions and investment activities  for instance any major deals. In addition to making headlines for Berkshire's succession plans    [TGT] also made headlines for   [TGT]   views on the wider investing landscape.
Most notably    [TGT] said tax reform will have a big impact on Berkshire's owners  telling CNBC's Quick that shareholders effectively have seen their ownership of  the company 's profits rise by over 20% as corporate rates have fallen from 35% to 21%.
About crypto currencies    [TGT] said today's euphoria inevitably will lead to heart break. "If I could buy a five year put on any of the crypto currencies I would do it "   [TGT] said  admitting  he  would never short the speculative asset because it's not something  he  knows well.  He  dished out the following common sense  "why in the world should I take a short position in something I don't know anything about."
But  his  views are crystal clear. "I think what's going on definitely will come to a bad ending "  Buffett  said.
Warren Buffett: My Greatest Investing Advice And The Investments Everyone Should Make