Lou Simpson’s Biggest Holding is Berkshire Hathaway

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Louis Simpson worked picking stocks at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.A) before opening his own fund, SQ Advisors, in January of 2011.

Lou Simpson's Biggest Holding is Berkshire Hathaway

Louis Simpson was once seen by Warren Buffett as the future leader of Berkshire Hathaway before leaving the company to start his own. The following is a report of his holdings as of the end of 2012.

Of the manager’s portfolio, 10.53 percent, is held in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.A) shares, the biggest single holding in SQ Advisors. The firm added 0.12 percent to its position during the last three months of 2012. The total amount of Berkshire in the SQ Advisors holdings is 1,413,980.

The second biggest single equity position held by the fund is in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL). The firm holds 9.76 percent of its portfolio in the company, a total of 3,167,501 shares. In the last three months of 2012, SQ Advisors added 0.09 percent to its holding in the company.

The largest divestment the firm made during the fourth quarter was a 56.4 percent reduction in its position in Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL). The firm now holds 2,604,689 shares in the company as it heads toward an acquisition close, probably later on in 2013. SQ Advisors now holds 2.19% of its portfolio as of the close of last year.

The firm only bought one new stock in the last three months of 2012. That was Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO). The firm added a 1,162,592 share position in the bond ratings company in the period. The new buy now makes up 4.86 percent of the company’s portfolio. The firm didn’t sell out of positions in any stock during the period.

The biggest addition the firm made to its holdings in the fourth quarter of 2012 was into Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL). SQ Advisors increased its stake in the stock by 44.58 percent, bringing its total holding of the company to 3,066,630 shares. Oracle Corproation is now the firm’s third biggest holding at 8.48 percent of its total portfolio.

SQ Advisors also added to its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), bringing its total holding to 2,787,92 shares, an increase of 0.20 percent during the period. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) now makes up 7.91 percent of the firm’s entire portfolio.

The fund also added to its positions in Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) (TSE:VRX), Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) and DirectTv Group Inc. The firm shed 33.48 percent of its position in Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) and 29.93 percent in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW).

The entire portfolio of SQ Advisors is made up of 16 stocks, and those positions are valued at $1,204,277,000.

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