Warren Buffett speaks onstage
Warren Buffett speaks onstage during Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on October 13, 2015 in Washington, DC.
  • Warren Buffett owns an under-the-radar stock portfolio worth more than $5 billion through Berkshire Hathaway.
  • New England Asset Management portfolio is a subsidiary of General Re, which Berkshire bought for $22 billion in 1998.
  • NEAM made strikingly similar trades to Buffett in the fourth quarter. These are its top 10 holdings.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett owns an under-the-radar stock portfolio that made trades that were strikingly similar to the trades of Berkshire Hathaway last quarter.

Through Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett and his lieutenants manage a portfolio of stocks worth nearly $300 billion as of December 31.

And through General Re, which is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett owns a $5.4 billion stock portfolio that's managed by New England Asset Management, a firm that provides investment management services tailored to insurance companies.

New England Asset Management was acquired by General Re in 1995. In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired General Re for $22 billion, making New England Asset Management a wholly owned subsidiary of Buffett's conglomerate.

While Buffett appears to have no influence over how the portfolio is managed by New England Asset Management, the portfolio does own similar stocks and made some trades that almost mirrored Berkshire Hathaway, according to 13F filings made with the SEC. 

New England Asset Management sold 90% of its US Bancorp position and 100% of its Bank of New York Mellon holding last quarter, while Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in US Bancorp by 91% and sold 59% of its stake in Bank of New York Mellon.

Other similarities between the two portfolios is that they're both extremely concentrated, with New England Asset Management's top 10 positions making up 91% of its portfolio. The top 10 holdings of Berkshire Hathaway's main stock portfolio make up 89% of its assets.

Additionally, New England Asset Management takes a long-term approach similar to Buffett and has a knack for owning some of its stocks for decades, like Chevron, Cisco, and JPMorgan, among others.

But there were some divergences between New England Asset Management and Berkshire Hathaway last quarter. For example, New England Asset Management's trimmed some of its stake in Apple, while Berkshire Hathaway bought more shares in the iPhone maker. 

These are the top 10 holdings of New England Asset Management. This list is as of December 31 and excludes ETF holdings and instead focuses on individual stocks. 

10. Cisco Systems

Cisco logo on a sign

Ticker: CSCO
Market Value: $10.2 million
Percent of Portfolio: 0.19%
Change in Shares: -3,560 (-1%)

9. Lockheed Martin

lockheed martin

Ticker: LMT
Market Value: $12.3 million
Percent of Portfolio: 0.23%
Change in Shares: +4,193 (+19%)

8. Microsoft

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.

Ticker: MSFT
Market Value: $13.3 million
Percent of Portfolio: 0.24%
Change in Shares: -422 (0%)

7. JPMorgan

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is holding a microphone and giving a speech with the word JPMorgan behind him

Ticker: JPM
Market Value: $14.1 million
Percent of Portfolio: 0.26%
Change in Shares: -1,649 (-1%)

6. Diageo

A man walks past barrels outside the Diageo Shieldhall facility near Glasgow, Scotland August 26, 2010.    REUTERS/David Moir
A man walks past barrels outside the Diageo Shieldhall facility near Glasgow, Scotland

Ticker: DEO
Market Value: $40.6 million
Percent of Portfolio: 0.75%
Change in Shares: No change

5. US Bancorp

Facade of US Bank.

Ticker: USB
Market Value: $70.8 million
Percent of Portfolio: 1.30%
Change in Shares: -14,955,400 (-90%)

4. HP

The Hewlett Packard (HP) logo is displayed in front of the office complex on October 04, 2019 in Palo Alto, California.
The Hewlett Packard (HP) logo is displayed in front of the office complex on October 04, 2019 in Palo Alto, California.

Ticker: HPQ
Market Value: $442.7 million
Percent of Portfolio: 8.15%
Change in Shares: No change

3. Bank of America

A Bank of America storefront.
A Bank of America storefront.

Ticker: BAC
Market Value: $753.5 million
Percent of Portfolio: 13.88%
Change in Shares: No change

2. Chevron

Chevron gas station
A U.S. postal worker puts his seatbelt on after filing up his vehicle at a gas station in Garden Grove, California, U.S., March 29, 2022.

Ticker: CVX
Market Value: $795.0 million
Percent of Portfolio: 14.64%
Change in Shares: -10,700 (0%)

1. Apple

Hand gestures to display of new iPod Touch colors at Apple event in 2012
The iPod Touch is displayed during an Apple event in 2012.

Ticker: AAPL
Market Value: $2.66 billion
Percent of Portfolio: 48.92%
Change in Shares: -19,638 (0%)

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