Investment Trends

Legendary investor Warren Buffet made big waves with Canadian and energy sector investments over the past few years. However, financial reporting from his flagship firm Berkshire Hathaway shows the ‘Sage of Omaha’ dumped its entire Exxon Mobil investing (around $3.7 billion) in the beginning of 2015.

According to coverage by The Globe and Mail, this was Buffett’s single biggest bet since IBM five years ago. This dramatic portfolio shift is probably in part due to crumbling oil prices, but also potentially a side effect of his frustration over the Keystone XL pipeline which he said was a “good idea”.

How to Invest Like Warren

Everyone wants to know how to invest like Warren Buffett. Most do it too late. So while the news is fresh, how can more Canadian investors emulate Buffett’s latest bold investment moves and enjoy more Warren style rewards?

The big question is where the legend is investing now.

According to financial filings by Berkshire Hathaway, some of the most notable moves and holdings over the last year have been in services that support retailers like Wal-Mart – which we know has become a major player in Canada. Retail property investments are definitely complimented by current trends picked up by the Toronto Star in February 2015.

A declining Canadian dollar, new stores with better deals and the prioritization of experience and saving hassle has kept more Canadian consumers shopping at home. That bodes extremely well for retail real estate investors and the performance boost applies equally to smaller local plazas as major outlets.

However, more than anything else Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway’s real estate investments continue to stand out as the ones to watch. Buffett continues to be bullish on real estate which he still names as his best investments. His forays into this arena are widely diversified from personal residences to farms to commercial retail property and mortgage debt, as well as real estate sales.