Want to know what the top money managers are betting on these days? Now you can, thanks to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) requirements that large holding companies and professional investors report periodically on their holdings. While a consensus pick, even from the best and brightest, doesn't guarantee market-beating success, it does come with some perks.
For one, the largest (and most successful) holding companies tend to invest for the long term, often realizing the potential in companies that others fail to see. A stock that has a high percentage of institutional ownership, for example, tends to reflect intense professional research.
While there's no foolproof method or formula to deciding who the best money managers are, votes in the form of investor dollars speak volumes. Below is a list of portfolios of some of the biggest holding companies in the industry, from their legendary investors that have become household names (hint: "Buffett") to some of the most famous mutual funds in the world. For the purposes of clarity, this list has only "long" investment strategies and avoids analysis of hedge fund holdings.
Key Takeaways
- Most of the holdings listed below are household names, from technology companies to banks and consumer products.
- No matter what holdings are in a specific money manager's portfolio from year to year, no single stock makes up more than 3% or 4% of these funds.
- To apply these investing principles to your own life, stick with a broad base of stocks, bonds, and diversified funds.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (Various)
Warren Buffett has been making money since before many of us were born. Even though he doesn't run a typical mutual fund, his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has billions of dollars invested in a portfolio of stocks. Those holdings of company shares represent one of the largest mutual funds in the world. With Buffett, investors know they get the added benefit of his knowledgeable, outright purchases of companies, his in-depth dialogues with investors, and the general peeks into his brain and investing process.
Berkshire Hathaway's Top 10 Holdings
- Apple Inc (AAPL)
- Bank of America Corp (BAC)
- American Express Co (AXP)
- Coca-Cola Co (KO)
- Chevron Corp (CVX)
- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY)
- Kraft Heinz Co (KHC)
- Moody’s Corporation (MCO)
- DaVita Inc (DVA)
- HP Inc (HPQ)
Scanning through this list, you can see that Buffett generally likes market leaders and investing across various industries, ranging from technology and finance to healthcare and consumer staples. These holdings provide a good backbone for any long-term portfolio, as Buffett's market-crushing performance suggests.
Bruce Berkowitz's Fairholme Fund (FAIRX)
As the lead manager of the Fairholme Fund and once-named domestic stock fund manager of the decade by Morningstar, Mr. Berkowitz considers himself a disciple of the Buffett style of investing, looking for deep values and wide margins of safety when picking securities.
Fairholme Fund's Top 10 Holdings
- The St. Joe Company (JOE)
- Enterprise Products Partners LP
- United States Treasury Bills 5.2643%
- United States Treasury Bills 5.24839%
- United States Treasury Bills 5.27694%
- Fidelity® Inv MM Fds Treasury I
- United States Treasury Bills 5.30058%
- Imperial Metals Corp (III)
- Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (FMCC)
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class (BRK.B)
Mr. Berkowitz is currently on the board of directors of the St. Joe Company, a real estate and land development company. He also has significant investments in commodity companies, U.S. government bonds, and banking and finance categories.
American Funds' The Growth Fund of America (AGTHX)
This giant is run by a team of seasoned managers and looks to provide consistent growth of capital by investing in American companies. Dividends and income are secondary concerns. Though they do play a role in the overall investment process, the focus is more on companies devoting their capital to grow revenues and earnings.
AGTHX targets traditional growth stocks as well as cyclical companies and undervalued ones with turnaround potential.
Growth Fund of America's Top 10 Holdings
- Microsoft Corp (MSFT)
- Meta Inc (META), formerly Facebook
- Alphabet Inc (GOOG)
- Amazon.com Inc (AMZN)
- Broadcom Inc (AVGO)
- UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH)
- Tesla Inc (TSLA)
- Eli Lilly and Co (LLY)
- Netflix Inc (NFLX)
- Mastercard Inc (MA)
This fund's search for long-term growth (in the large-cap category) has given it a big tech bias. The consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors are also well represented in the fund's portfolio.
Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX)
The Fidelity brand is one of the most recognizable in all of finance. Its Contrafund seeks to find companies that are "unloved" by mainstream investors or whose value has not been appropriately assessed by Wall Street. One of its main attractions is that it is managed by William Danoff, one of the world's most highly regarded fund managers.
Fidelity Contrafund's Top 10 Holdings
- Meta Inc (META)
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc A (BRK.A)
- Microsoft Corp (MSFT)
- Amazon.com Inc (AMZN)
- Apple Inc (AAPL)
- UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH)
- NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)
- Eli Lilly and Co (LLY)
- Alphabet Inc. Cl. A (GOOGL)
- Alphabet Inc. Cl. C (GOOG)
By now, you'll notice how Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway fund shows up on several lists. It seems that even experts at picking individual stocks aren't above investing in another individual's holding companies that they trust and respect. The Contrafund also leans heavily on big tech stocks, such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple.
Dodge & Cox Stock Fund (DODGX)
This perennial all-star fund has been around since 1965, steadily earning solid returns and gaining new assets. It primarily targets medium to large U.S. companies whose long-term prospects are being undervalued by the market, although it also invests in foreign-listed companies that do business in the U.S. The cap on overseas stocks is 20% of the portfolio.
The fund is known for its diversification and low portfolio turnover, with the management team sticking by its convictions.
Dodge & Cox Stock Fund Top 10 Holdings
- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY)
- Alphabet, Inc (GOOG)
- Wells Fargo & Co (WFC)
- Sanofi (SNY)
- Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW)
- The Cigna Group (CI)
- Fiserv Inc (FI)
- FedEx Corp (FDX)
- MetLife Inc (MET)
- Charter Communications Inc (CHTR)
With the exception of Alphabet, tech stocks are noticeably sparse in this holding company's list. In their hunt for value, the managers of Dodge & Cox focus on companies across various sectors, including energy, healthcare, and finance.
Common Traits & Threads
Barring the odd exception, no single stock makes up more than 3% or 4% of these funds. This principle is what diversification is all about, and you should be sure to follow it in your own investment life. No matter how great a company is, there are risks that could cause the stock to drop suddenly or take much longer to reach its potential.
You've also probably heard of most of the top holdings from these portfolios. It's even more proof that you don't have to invest in some strange entity you've never heard of to make money. Research and learn about the companies you love and the products and services you use in your everyday life. Chances are, if they are successful enough to be known, their financials will reflect it, too.
What Do Money Managers Do?
A money manager is a person or company responsible for investing the money of others. Investors give these managers their money and entrust them with the job of investing it as best as possible. Normally, the money manager will have a remit, such as investing in a certain type of company with a certain risk profile, though not always.
What Is Berkshire Hathaway’s Largest Holding?
Movements in the portfolio of Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway are reported every quarter to the Security and Exchange Commision via Form 13F. In Nov. 2023, the company reported that, as of Sept. 30, 2023, its largest holding was Apple by quite some margin. The tech giant represented just over 50% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
What Is the Most Successful Mutual Fund?
That depends on how you measure success. You could argue that success is measured in size. In terms of assets under management, the winner is Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares. Success in terms of performance can vary from year to year depending on which assets outperform. In 2023, bitcoin and tech stocks were notable outperformers.
The Bottom Line
Knowing the holdings of the world's largest holding companies can give investors ideas and help them build their own investment portfolios. Add your own experience and unique perspective, and you're well on your way to constructing a profitable portfolio that's fun to build and not a burden to maintain.
