Berkshire Hathaway lags as cash pile continues to grow

Warren Buffett's firm has $128bn of cash

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway suffered its worst performance in a decade relative to the wider US stockmarket as its ever-growing pile of cash continues to drag.

Both Berkshire's voting 'A' shares and non-voting 'B' shares returned just shy of 11% for investors, well short of the S&P 500 index's 31.5%, according to Morningstar data. This is the worst relative performance since 2015, when Berkshire lost more than 12% compared to the S&P's 1.4% gain. In 2018, the firm acheived a 3% gain, well ahead of the S&P's 4.4% loss. The Omaha-based conglomerate currently has a record $128bn on its balance sheet, having refrained from making a large acquisition since buying Precision Castparts for $32bn in 2015. In his letter to investors at the start of...