Buffett fails to beat S&P 500 for third straight year

Investors in Warren Buffett's firm Berkshire Hathaway may have been left disappointed with returns over the past three years as the company has underperformed the S&P 500 by more than 25%.

Berkshire has only produced a 32% return in the past three years, compared to the index's gain of around 60%, according to Bloomberg. Buffett's takeovers in industries such as machine equipment, power production and railroads are likely to be weighing on the stock as is further clarity about his successor. The 81-year-old investor is set to reassure investors at a shareholder meeting taking place on Friday. Berkshire has fallen 2.4% from last year's meeting compared to a 2.8% climb in the wider index. Berkshire, a $200bn company, last outperformed the S&P 500 in between the 2008 an...