It is a bit alarming to discover that Warren Buffett has been making the same trades as everyone else.
Mr Buffett built his reputation on the financial equivalent of running into burning buildings. One of the most well-worn items in his aphorism collection: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when they are fearful.”
But according to a regulatory filing last week, big trades by his investment company Berkshire Hathaway in the second quarter included selling off shares in JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs and buying into gold miner Barrick Gold. This looks a lot like being fearful when others are fearful. Banks have lost a third of their value since the pandemic first gripped markets in February. At the same time, the gold price is at an all-time high and Barrick is up almost 30 per cent.