Warren Buffett's 10 biggest holdings
GEICO
GEICO, Buffett writes, is "the insurer on which I cut my teeth 62 years ago." Berkshire's insurance operations delivered a $1.6 billion underwriting gain, the tenth consecutive year of profitable underwriting. In addition, Buffett writes that the insurance companies gave Berkshire "$73 billion of free money to invest" last year.
Note: GEICO, which Berkshire obtained control of in 1995, has grown its share of the personal-auto market to 9.7% from 2.5% in that time. However, the company suffered its largest single loss in history, a result of Hurricane Sandy, which cost the insurer three times what it lost after Hurricane Katrina. Still, Buffett notes that GEICO had a "meaningful increase" in the renewal rate for existing policyholders and in the percentage of rate quotations that resulted in sales.
Source: Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder letter
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