https://old.reddit.com/r/brkb/
For example, in 2020 and early 2021 Berkshire paid $59 for Verizon, buying $9 billion worth (a huge Buffett/Weschler telecom investment). Verizon now trades at about $54, so this community is buying.
Berkshire's investments are based on a deep understanding of the business and are intended to produce good long-term results. Factors like economic moat, trends in consumption, conservative valuation, etc.
For example, Berkshire purchased Apple (AAPL) between 2016 and 2018, at an average price of $35 per share (P/E ratio of 12 or 13), and it was years before that paid off. The Redditors buy during those years, before the payoff.
Apple: buying began in 2016.
The 5 major Japanese trading houses (the sogo sosha -- Itochu, etc.): buying began in early 2019.
Verizon: buying began in late 2020.
They all trade at or near Berkshire's price, if not far below, and you get one new idea every few years.
There are other new purchases (Chevron, Kroger, AbbVie, Aon, RH, etc.), but these are small, lower-confidence positions that are often sold as soon as the price rises far enough. Probably Weschler and Combs, not Buffett.
Berkshire spent $25 billion in 2020 (all of its operating earnings) on buybacks at an average price of $205 per BRK.B share. That buying continued at almost the same pace in 2021 and the average price paid is $220 per BRK.B share.
We can't buy at that buyback price today, but many of us would gladly pay, say, $250 per share for BRK.B.
But, yes Shameless Cloning Can Lead to Financial Success :)
I actually wrote about it here: https://playingfordoubles.substack.com/p/shameless-cloning-c...
I literally had one line where I made a joking comment and then applauded their ability to clone and adapt.
you may assuming cloning is a bad thing.