The numbers speak for themselves: Keeping an eye on the holdings of Warren Buffett is a good idea.

Although the name Berkshire Hathaway is not synonymous with its chairman and CEO, Warren E. Buffett--the greatest investor of all time--it definitely should be. Despite Berkshire’s origins in the textile industry it was not until 1964, when Buffett stepped into the driver’s seat of this holding company, that Berkshire really started to post astonishing gains year in and year out.

Buffett’s investing ideals are by no means original. He is the prodigy student of Ben Graham, the father of value investing, but Buffett's educational influences did not stop there. He combined what Graham taught with the investment principles of Philip Fisher. Fisher focused on what a company did and how it made money, stressing the qualitative fundamental characteristics of companies. By combining the teachings of both Graham and Fisher, Buffett, through his Berkshire investing vehicle, has been able to post unfathomable annual returns.

In adhering to the principles of value investing, Buffett is the personification of patience and discipline, two characteristics often in short supply in money managers. His buy-and-hold strategy had proven extremely profitable over the last 40 years. Berkshire’s so-called “bread and butter” is the insurance business, and amongst other insurance companies, Berkshire wholly owns the GEICO Corporation. The reveune from this stream of business was over $1.5 billion in 2004. But do not let this mislead you; Buffet shows little hesitation to invest in other sectors of the economy, as long as he feels he is getting a good deal. View Buffett's holdings now - click here.

Some of the most important factors value investors analyze are such things as ROE, debt-to-equity and price-to-book ratios, all in an effort to determine a company’s intrinsic value. If Buffett deems a company’s intrinsic value to be higher than its current price, and its management and business operations to be sustainable, he will almost certainly invest. However, based on his staple of only about 30 stocks, it is fairly apparent that very few companies pass the Warren E. Buffett invest-ability test.

Although we can talk all about Buffett’s accolades over the past 40 years, the numbers speak for themselves. Suffice to say that keeping an eye on the holdings of Warren Buffett is a good idea. If you are not watching the best investor in the world, who are you watching?

Berkshire Hathaway	Average Annual Return	3-Year	5-Year
Common Stock (BRK.a/b)	21.9%	8.48%	9.48%
S&P 500(Benchmark)	10.4%	17.17%	0.64%

Company Name:	Berkshire Hathaway
Portfolio Manager:	Warren Buffett
Focus:	Value
Updates:	Shares Held, Change in Shares, and Position Change as of 9/30/08 - all other information 15 minutes delayed

Ticker	Company	Share Value x1000	Change in Value x1000	Current Value x1000	Shares Held	Change in Shares	% of Portfolio	Position Change
COP	ConocoPhillips	$5,710,262	$5,710,262	$4,438,024	77,955,800	77,955,800	8.17%	Increase
PG	Procter & Gamble Co.	$5,592,762	($843,794)	$4,816,725	80,252,000	(25,595,000)	8.00%	Decrease
KFT	Kraft Foods Inc.	$3,930,416	($3,436)	$3,643,586	120,012,700	(18,259,800)	5.62%	Decrease
WFC	Wells Fargo & Co. Del	$2,481,957	($4,421,097)	$1,835,180	66,132,620	(224,522,248)	3.55%	Decrease
WSC	Wesco Finl Corp.	$2,036,002	($145,429)	$1,919,089	5,703,087	0	2.91%	No Change
USB	US Bancorp	$1,781,615	($132,505)	$1,148,504	49,461,826	(19,169,200)	2.55%	Decrease
JNJ	Johnson & Johnson	$1,703,512	($2,269,769)	$1,474,345	24,588,800	(37,165,648)	2.44%	Decrease
MCO	Moody's	$1,632,000	($21,120)	$1,129,440	48,000,000	0	2.34%	No Change
WMT	Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.	$1,194,464	$73,595	$1,032,915	19,944,300	0	1.71%	No Change
BUD	Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc.	$898,264	$38,213	$727,693	13,845,000	0	1.29%	No Change
AXP	American Express Co.	$893,546	($4,817,626)	$1,097,072	25,220,034	(126,390,666)	1.28%	Decrease
UNP	Union Pacific Corp.	$633,751	($38,652)	$686,118	8,906,000	0	0.91%	No Change
MTB	M & T Bank Corporation	$584,530	$110,850	$569,008	6,549,360	(165,700)	0.84%	Decrease
WPO	Washington Post Co.	$580,487	($433,538)	$393,650	1,042,615	(685,150)	0.83%	Decrease
NKE	Nike Inc.	$511,183	$55,703	$565,128	7,641,000	0	0.73%	No Change
USG	USG Corporation	$437,048	($67,777)	$205,037	17,072,192	0	0.63%	No Change
COST	Costco Wholesale Corp.	$341,142	($27,374)	$297,061	5,254,000	0	0.49%	No Change
KMX	Carmax Inc.	$258,217	($44,030)	$383,637	18,444,100	(2,855,900)	0.37%	Decrease
CMCSK	Comcast Corp	$236,640	$11,520	$210,720	12,000,000	0	0.34%	No Change
GE	General Electric Co.	$198,336	($9,256)	$127,947	7,777,900	0	0.28%	No Change
IR	Ingersoll-Rd Company LTD.	$175,674	($35,281)	$211,880	5,636,600	0	0.25%	No Change
BAC	Bank of America Corp.	$175,000	($42,217)	$69,800	5,000,000	(4,100,000)	0.25%	Decrease
ETN	Eaton Corporation	$163,411	$0	$230,224	2,908,700	0	0.23%	No Change
UNH	United Health Group Inc.	$161,986	($6,014)	$213,408	6,379,900	(20,100)	0.23%	Decrease
LOW	Lowes Companies Inc.	$153,985	$8,735	$131,820	6,500,000	(500,000)	0.22%	Decrease
STI	Sun Trusts Banks Inc.	$144,175	$28,105	$82,839	3,204,600	0	0.21%	No Change
NSC	Norfolk Southern Corp.	$127,984	$6,843	$110,297	1,933,000	0	0.18%	No Change
NRG	NRG Energy, Inc.	$123,750	$0	$114,950	5,000,000	0	0.18%	No Change
KO	Coca Cola	$115,067	($10,280,933)	$123,488	2,176,000	(197,824,000)	0.16%	Decrease
SNY	Sanofi Aventis	$111,253	($18,474)	$102,791	3,384,633	(519,300)	0.16%	Decrease
WBC	Wabco Holdings Inc.	$95,958	$0	$104,868	2,700,000	0	0.14%	No Change
HD	Home Depot Inc.	$95,793	($2,126)	$106,116	3,700,000	(481,000)	0.14%	Decrease
UPS	United Parcel Service Inc.	$89,882	$2,029	$95,328	1,429,200	0	0.13%	No Change
IRM	Iron Mountain Inc.	$82,315	($7,217)	$78,336	3,372,200	0	0.12%	No Change
GSK	GlaxoSmithKline	$65,646	($1,148)	$55,163	1,510,500	0	0.09%	No Change
GCI	Gannett Inc.	$58,299	($16,410)	$45,336	3,447,600	0	0.08%	No Change
TMK	Torchmark Corp.	$31,532	($134,088)	$28,083	527,279	(2,296,600)	0.05%	Decrease
CDCO	Comdisco Holding Co.	$14,466	($220)	$13,082	1,521,162	(16,704)	0.02%	Decrease

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