One of the famous pieces of investment advice is “be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.” It's fitting this advice comes from the world's most famous investor, Warren Buffett, who first set out a version of it in a 1968 letter to shareholders. His words are more timely than ever as the stock market reaches new heights and as everyone appears to be getting in on the action—except Buffett himself. Has the Oracle of Omaha grown fearful?
Even as corporate valuations soar, Buffett has never sat on more dollar bills. His conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, currently holds $325 billion in cash and equivalents, according to the firm’s quarterly financial statements. Over $288 billion of that pile is in U.S. Treasury Bills, the textbook example of investing at the so-called “risk-free” rate.
At the same time, the Oracle has been active in the market—in the form of a selling spree. During each of the last eight quarters, CNN reports that Berkshire has offloaded more stock than it’s bought, most notably selling off two of its top-three largest holdings— Apple and Bank of America.
