Little-Known Hedge Fund Manager Joins Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway

(September 12, 2011) — Ted Weschler, a little-known hedge fund manager who paid $5.2 million to win two charity auctions to have dinner with Warren Buffett, now has a job with the investment guru.  

Weschler, 50, the managing partner of Virginia-based Peninsula Capital Advisors, is set to join Todd Combs — another recent Buffett hire — at Berkshire Hathaway, helping to manage the $66 billion investment fund.

“After Mr Buffett no longer serves as CEO, Todd and Ted – possibly aided by one additional manager – will have responsibility for the entire equity and debt portfolio of Berkshire, subject to overall direction by the then-CEO and board of directors,” Berkshire said in a statement. “With Todd and Ted on board, Berkshire is well-positioned for successor investment management at the time Mr Buffett is no longer CEO,” it added. 

“These two investment managers will each have responsibility for a segment of Berkshire’s present equity holdings. Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s Chairman, will continue, however, to manage most of the funds until his retirement,” the statement continued.

In 2010, Weschler paid $2.6 million for an opportunity to dine with Buffett. This year, he paid another $2.6 million to secure a second dinner. The money raised from the auction went to Glide, a San Francisco homeless charity.

In October 2010, Buffett hired Combs, who was then a small hedge fund manager, to oversee a portion of Berkshire’s roughly $53 billion equity portfolio. “For three years Charlie Munger and I have been looking for someone of Todd’s caliber to handle a significant portion of Berkshire’s investment portfolio. We are delighted that Todd will be joining us,” Buffett commented in a statement at the time. With the issuance of Berkshire’s announcement, Combs issued a letter to the limited partners of Castle Point Capital announcing his decision to join Berkshire.

At the time, Buffett’s hiring of the relatively unknown hedge fund manager was unexpected — during the previous months, as speculation swirled as to who would assume the top job as the next chief investment officer of Berkshire, Combs did not appear as a likely candidate.

To read an aiCIO Magazine article about Todd Combs’ position at Berkshire Hathaway, click here.