Berkshire Hathaway: Don't Worry Critics, Greg Abel Has The Right Kind Of Investment Experience

2026-05-06 09:00:00 ET

A number of recent articles have questioned the skills of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) CEO Greg Abel as an investor, most notably the recent Barron's article by Andrew Bary with the title "Berkshire's New CEO Has No Investment Experience. He's Running The $300 Billion Stock Portfolio Anyway." That title is what I call really laying it out. And if you lay things out in that manner, it's a good idea to think the argument through a couple more times. The title is questionable, while the full article is somewhat more measured, though not measured enough for me. I have myself written in the past that no one is likely to equal Buffett's long-term success as an investor, but I must add immediately that the reasons are somewhat different than those laid down in the Barron's article. The reality is that Buffett himself has said as much, basically arguing that he would find it virtually impossible to equal his long-term performance, adding that in his prime he would do well to equal the S&P 500 or beat it by a point or two because Berkshire Hathaway is now so large that it takes an enormous purchase to move the needle. Nevertheless, critics persist in the view that Abel lacks investment experience. In a generally favorable article by Morningstar dated May 1 and entitled "Berkshire Hathaway Enters New Era with Greg Abel at the Helm," Morningstar had the following to say:

• We believe Abel will be held to a vastly different standard than Buffett ever was—primarily because he will be serving as both an operator (something Buffett was never really all that interested in) and an investor (something Abel has had little experience with) in his new role."

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