This year has not been favorable for many major companies, yet Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is performing well. The shares of Berkshire have risen by 17% this year, contrasting with the S&P 500 index, which has declined by 6%.
This impressive performance ranks Berkshire within the top 10% of large-cap U.S. stocks, garnering more interest for Buffett as the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting approaches in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s an opportune moment for the newly introduced VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF (OMAH), which invests in the 20 most significant stocks within Berkshire Hathaway, along with shares of the company itself.
Berkshire accounts for the largest portion of the ETF at 10.6%. Other significant investments in the fund include Apple, American Express, Kroger, VeriSign, Bank of America, Citigroup, Visa, and, of course, Coca-Cola, a long-standing favorite of the Oracle of Omaha.
Adam Patti, CEO of VistaShares, commented, “This is a very well-balanced portfolio selected by one of the world’s most successful investors,” during a recent visit on CNBC’s “ETF Edge.”
Berkshire’s outperformance of the S&P 500 spans beyond this year; stocks under Buffett have outperformed the market threefold over the past year, with a remarkable 185% return in the last five years, surpassing the S&P 500’s performance by more than double.
Berkshire Hathaway is among the best stocks to watch in 2025.
Alongside its established history of success, Berkshire Hathaway is currently receiving much attention due to the significant amount of cash that Buffett is holding after reducing his investments in major companies like Apple, which has turned out to be a smart move. The S&P 500 has gone through severe short-term fluctuations since Donald Trump took office on January 20. Even after a recent bounce back, the S&P remains down by 8% since Trump’s second term began.
“For many years, the market has been driven by momentum; now we’re focusing on quality, and Berkshire Hathaway has excelled this year, significantly outperforming the S&P 500,” Patti noted.
Berkshire Hathaway is well-known for not distributing dividends, as Buffett has maintained his philosophy for decades that reinvesting cash creates more value for shareholders. In his letter to shareholders in February, Buffett assured that Berkshire shareholders “can trust that we will continue to invest the vast majority of their capital in equities—primarily American equities.”
The absence of dividend payments has, over the years, been a concern for some Berkshire shareholders looking for market income, according to Patti, who mentioned that his firm researched investor sentiment while designing the ETF. “Who wouldn’t want to invest like Buffett while also earning income?” he remarked.
Therefore, besides being connected to Berkshire’s performance and Buffett’s investment choices, the VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF aims to generate an annual income of 15% by implementing a strategy of selling call options and providing monthly payments of 1.25% to its shareholders. This income-focused strategy is gaining traction in the ETF market, with more asset managers launching similar funds to seize income opportunities, especially during periods of market volatility.
