The financial world is bracing for the end of an epoch. Warren Buffett’s formal retirement as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, NYSE: BRK.B) is just days away, yet the blueprint for his successor, Greg Abel, was actually drafted over a year ago. While the market spent much of 2025 obsessed with Berkshire’s massive liquidations of its top holdings, a much quieter, "overlooked" trade from late 2024 has suddenly returned to the spotlight, revealing the defensive architecture of the post-Buffett era.

The trade in question—the total liquidation of Berkshire’s positions in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY)—was initially dismissed as a minor bookkeeping adjustment. However, on this Christmas Day of 2025, with Berkshire sitting on a record-breaking $381.7 billion cash pile, that move is now viewed as the "canary in the coal mine." It signaled a fundamental shift away from broad market participation and toward a "fortress" strategy that favors specific, mission-critical industrials and insurance giants over the high-flying indices that dominated the last decade.

The Silent Exit: Decoding the 2024 Strategy

In the final months of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway quietly exited its positions in the two largest S&P 500 exchange-traded funds. At the time, the move was overshadowed by the "mystery stock" saga involving Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB), which Berkshire had been accumulating under SEC-granted confidentiality. While retail investors were focused on the drama of the secret insurance stake, the exit from VOO and SPY was a profound statement of "no confidence" in the broader market's valuation. This timeline of events shows a deliberate de-risking process that accelerated throughout 2025, leading to the massive trimming of core positions in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

The key players in this transition have been Greg Abel, the incoming CEO, and investment lieutenants Ted Weschler and Todd Combs. However, the strategy took a surprising turn on December 8, 2025, when Todd Combs announced his departure to join JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). This leaves Weschler as the primary architect of the equity portfolio under Abel’s operational leadership. The 2024 ETF exit is now recognized as the first major move where Weschler and Abel’s influence superseded Buffett’s traditional "buy and hold" index philosophy, marking the beginning of a more tactical, cash-heavy approach.

Winners and Losers in the New Berkshire Portfolio

The primary winner in this strategic pivot has been Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB). Far from being a temporary trade, Berkshire increased its stake in the insurer by nearly 16% in the third quarter of 2025. Chubb has effectively replaced the "index" as Berkshire's core exposure to the global economy, serving as a high-margin, specialty insurance engine that complements GEICO. Another significant winner is Heico (NYSE: HEI), the aerospace parts manufacturer. First purchased in mid-2024, Heico represents the "Abel Model": a decentralized, niche monopoly with mission-critical products. Its stock has outperformed the broader industrials sector as Berkshire continued to build its position throughout 2025.

Conversely, the "losers" of this shift are the former darlings of the Buffett era. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), once the "fourth crown jewel" of Berkshire, saw its position slashed by more than 50% over the last 18 months. Similarly, the aggressive exit from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) signals a cooling toward the traditional banking sector in favor of more specialized financial services. Perhaps the most surprising "new" winner is Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL). In a sharp departure from Buffett’s historical tech-aversion, Berkshire initiated a multi-billion dollar position in the Google parent company in late 2025, suggesting that Abel and Weschler are more comfortable with "Quality Tech" than their predecessor.

Broader Significance: The Rise of the Industrial Fortress

The shift at Berkshire Hathaway reflects a wider trend in the 2025 market: the transition from "passive indexing" to "active fortress building." As the S&P 500 faced valuation headwinds throughout the year, Berkshire’s decision to abandon the ETFs in 2024 looks prophetic. The company is no longer acting as a proxy for the American economy; instead, it is positioning itself as a provider of essential infrastructure, energy, and risk mitigation. This strategy aligns with Greg Abel’s background in energy and utilities, focusing on businesses that generate massive free cash flow regardless of market volatility.

This evolution has significant regulatory and policy implications. With nearly $400 billion in cash, Berkshire is now a "lender of last resort" that rivals the size of some national central banks. The historical precedent for this was the 2008 financial crisis, but the 2025 version of Berkshire is even more liquid and less reliant on the performance of the general market. The recent move into Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI), where Berkshire now owns over 35%, further illustrates a preference for "publicly traded LBOs"—companies with predictable, subscription-based cash flows that can be harvested to fund Abel’s ambitious renewable energy projects.

What Comes Next: The $380 Billion Question

The immediate future for Berkshire Hathaway will be defined by how Greg Abel chooses to deploy the company’s staggering cash reserves. On January 1, 2026, the "post-Buffett" era officially begins, and the market is anticipating a major acquisition. Analysts suggest that the "overlooked" trades of 2024—the move into Heico and the exit from the S&P 500—point toward a large-scale industrial or infrastructure purchase, possibly in the green energy or domestic manufacturing sectors.

In the short term, the departure of Todd Combs creates a period of adjustment for the investment team. Ted Weschler’s increased responsibility may lead to a further consolidation of the portfolio, moving away from Buffett’s "hundred-stock" legacy toward a more concentrated list of 20 to 30 high-conviction names. The strategic pivot required will be balancing the traditional insurance "float" with the new reality of higher-for-longer interest rates, which makes Berkshire’s cash pile a high-yielding asset in its own right.

Closing the Chapter on an Era

The "overlooked" ETF trade of 2024 was the first sentence in the final chapter of Warren Buffett’s career. It signaled that the era of riding the broad market's coattails was over, replaced by a disciplined, defensive, and highly selective strategy. As Greg Abel takes the helm, he inherits a company that is less a "stock portfolio" and more a "sovereign wealth fund" for the American industrial heartland.

For investors, the key takeaway is that the "new" Berkshire is not looking for the next Apple; it is looking for the next Chubb or Heico—businesses with deep moats and essential services. As we move into 2026, the market will be watching to see if Abel uses his massive war chest to stabilize a volatile economy or to aggressively expand Berkshire’s footprint in the tech and energy sectors. One thing is certain: the "Oracle" may be retiring, but the fortress he built has never been more formidable.

This content is intended for informational purposes only and is not financial advice