by StyleRaptor
Berkshire breaks out cash holdings in its quarterly reports. The balance sheet on page 2 of the latest SEC Form 10-Qshows $71 billion in cash and equivalents and $53.4 billion in US T-bills. An additional $3.7 billion in cash equivalents appears under the railroad operations broken out near the bottom of the page. Cash and equivalents includes a large proportion (above 80% in 2018 Form 10-K) of government securities maturing in the very short term (less than 3 months). The same 2018 report states, “Cash equivalents consist of demand deposit and money market accounts and investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased. Short-term investments in U.S. Treasury Bills with remaining maturities exceeding three months at the time of purchase are stated at amortized cost, which approximates fair value” on page K-69. Interest rates on the portfolio will approximate the short end of the treasury curve (~1.55%).
Berkshire’s $19 billion bond portfolio (considered separate from the aforementioned securities) is broken out in further detail on page 10:
| US Treasury/Agencies: | $3.8 billion |
|---|---|
| Municipal: | $0.2 billion |
| Foreign Governments: | $8.2 billion |
| Corporates: | $6.2 billion |
| Mortgages: | $0.4 billion |