Warren Buffett wrote to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in 2014 that most investors shouldn’t try to pick individual stocks to buy because they couldn’t “predict their future earnings power.” Instead, he recommended that the typical investor buy a “low-cost S&P 500 index fund.”
Berkshire’s portfolio included two low-cost S&P 500 index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for several years: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY -0.42%) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO -0.42%). But the conglomerate doesn’t own the ETFs anymore. Buffett exited Berkshire’s positions in both S&P 500 funds in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why did Buffett sell investments he’s recommended millions of others buy? He hasn’t explained the decision publicly, but several possible reasons exist.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Unlikely reasons
Let’s start with possible reasons behind Buffett’s…
