How to Track Aging Buffett’s High-Profile Investment Disciples (BRK.A, BYDDF, KO, WFC, AXP, JNJ, FISV, POT, BHP, CRESY, ZINC, BRK.B)

At 80 years young, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett is the most closely watched money manager on the planet, and he’s got no intention of calling it quits anytime soon. “I plan to work past 100 but to do so I may have to learn to think out side the box,” Buffett quipped to The Wall Street Journal. In recent years, the Oracle of Omaha has made some newsworthy buys, picking up a 10% stake in Chinese electric car and battery company BYD Co (BYDDF) in 2008, and acquiring railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26 billion last fall.

Upon announcing the Burlington buy, Buffett called it an “all-in” wager on the U.S. economy, and with lingering unemployment, a stalling housing recovery, and looming uncertainty among investors, Berkshire’s picks will be in focus moving forward. A look at Buffett’s top U.S.-listed equity bets heading into the second half shows that iconic American brands Coca-Cola (KO), Wells Fargo (WFC), and American Express (AXP) all remained near the top of the portfolio, and the firm was hiking its bet on Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and adding a new position in Fiserv (FISV) during Q2.

While Buffett has shown few signs of slowing down, it’s unrealistic to expect another 20 years of stock picks from the world’s most famous investor, but given his legion of followers — many of which have ascended to the upper echelon of the asset management world — a new generation of value-seeking Buffett disciples are posting some big numbers. Among them is Mohnish Pabrai, who returned 150% in the year ended March 31, and 40% in the year ended June 30.

At the end of the second quarter, Pabrai Funds’ top-15 U.S.-listed equity positions included B-shares of Berkshire Hathaway, as well as Buffett bank Wells Fargo, but was otherwise dissimilar to the Berkshire portfolio. Recent winners from Pabrai’s top end-of-Q2 picks include Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (POT), which soared following a spurned buyout bid from BHP Billiton (BHP), Cresud SA (CRESY), which has benefitted from the July and August agricultural rebound, and zinc and nickel products producer Horsehead Holding (ZINC).

For more on Buffett’s stock picks, and his high-profile emulators like Pabrai, Wallace Weitz, Leucadia National, and Markel Corp, visit tickerspy.com.

Pro portfolio performance is based on institutions’ top-15 holdings as disclosed in quarter-end filings with the SEC. Pro performance does not take into account additional holdings beyond the top 15 nor does it include positions that are not required to be disclosed by the SEC. As such, Pro portfolio performance should be considered an approximation and not a precise record of how an institution has performed over time.

Tags: AXP, BHP, BRK-A, BRK-B, BYDDF, CRESY, FISV, JNJ, KO, POT, WFC, ZINC