Sequoia Dials Down Its Concentration

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Sequoia SEQUX is selling Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A, but that's not the only news here.

The fund's most recent semiannual report shows that, as of June 30, 2010, Berkshire Hathaway accounts for 12.4% of assets. That still makes it the concentrated fund's top holding by more than 5 percentage points, but it's a far cry from the 35% position it once held.

The reduction has been gradual, taking place over the course of roughly the past five years. Sequoia is among the most deliberate and methodical funds out there when it makes changes to its portfolio. It's never in a hurry, as attested by its consistently low turnover, which is regularly below 15% a year.

Berkshire Plays a Lesser Role
Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's investment company, has been linked to Sequoia for 30 years. There's a personal attachment: When Buffett first closed down his own investment partnership in the late 1960s, he recommended investors seek out fellow Benjamin Graham-style investor and friend Bill Ruane, who launched Sequoia in 1970 with his partner, Richard Cunniff.

That said, it's not as if Sequoia has always made as big a commitment to Berkshire as it has in the past 15 years. The fund didn't own the shares until 1990, and at first it made up a smaller piece of the portfolio. And it wasn't until the third quarter of 1992 that it took up more than 15% of assets.

Today, managers Bob Goldfarb and David Poppe still like Berkshire. Many of the attributes they seek in a long-term investment, such as a rock-solid balance sheet and an ability to compound capital, remain intact, and they said in their 2009 annual report that they expect double-digit annual earnings growth in 2010 and 2011. But there are several reasons for trimming the stock. Goldfarb says he can find cheaper stocks. In addition, it's unlikely Buffett's successor will be as good as he is. Finally, Goldfarb says they want a flatter, more diversified portfolio.PAGEBREAK

The Portfolio Spreads Out
Goldfarb and Poppe have further diversified the fund by increasing the number of stocks in the portfolio. As of the end of June 2010, Sequoia owned 36 stocks. That's double what the fund held 10 years ago. Further, whereas more than 80% of assets were parked in the fund's top 10 stocks early in the 2000s, roughly half the fund's assets rest in its 10 largest holdings today.