Berkshire Hathaway class B at PPFCF (historic)

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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. class B shares have appeared periodically in the foreign-equity sleeve of the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (PPFCF) over the scheme’s history. Unlike the four continuously held technology anchors, Alphabet at PPFCF, Microsoft at PPFCF, Amazon at PPFCF and Meta Platforms at PPFCF, Berkshire has been a periodic rather than continuous holding. The position has appeared and disappeared from various factsheets depending on valuation, currency considerations and the relative attractiveness of other foreign opportunities.

The relationship between PPFAS Mutual Fund and Berkshire Hathaway is, however, far deeper than the factsheet weight suggests. Parag Parikh, the founder of Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Limited, modelled his investing philosophy heavily on Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. His 2009 book “Value Investing and Behavioral Finance: Insights into Indian Stock Market Realities” drew explicitly on the Berkshire intellectual tradition. The firm’s annual unitholders’ meet format is the closest Indian analogue to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting in Omaha. Parikh died on 3 May 2015 in a road accident in Omaha, Nebraska while returning from attending the Berkshire AGM with Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar and his wife Geeta Parikh.

For these reasons Berkshire Hathaway class B occupies a unique symbolic position in PPFCF’s history, even when its factsheet weight has been modest or absent. The press has frequently called PPFAS “India’s Berkshire Hathaway” (Mint, in particular), which reflects the philosophical lineage rather than business comparability.

This article documents Berkshire’s role in PPFCF: the company background, the original investment thesis under PPFAS value investing doctrine, the historic position pattern, the philosophical alignment, and the contemporary positioning of the holding through the May 2026 factsheet.

Company background

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a Delaware-incorporated diversified holding company. Originally a New England textile mill, it was transformed by Warren Buffett from his initial purchases in 1962 into a multi-industry conglomerate. Buffett took managerial control in 1965 and over six decades built it into one of the world’s largest holding companies by market capitalisation.

The company operates through a decentralised structure comprising wholly owned subsidiaries (insurance: GEICO, General Re, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance; railroad: BNSF; energy: Berkshire Hathaway Energy; manufacturing, service and retail businesses including See’s Candies, Dairy Queen, Duracell, Precision Castparts, Lubrizol and many others) and a substantial common-stock investment portfolio (including significant holdings in Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, Chevron and others).

Berkshire has two share classes. Class A (ticker BRK.A) trades on the New York Stock Exchange at prices that for decades have been the highest of any listed share. Class B shares (ticker BRK.B), created in 1996 and split 50:1 in January 2010, trade at approximately one one-thousand-five-hundredth of the Class A price and are designed for retail accessibility. PPFCF’s historic holding has been in BRK.B.

Warren Buffett has been Chairman and chief executive officer for six decades. Charlie Munger served as Vice Chairman from 1978 until his death on 28 November 2023. Greg Abel was identified by Buffett as the eventual successor for the chief executive role. The official Berkshire Hathaway website is berkshirehathaway.com and the annual shareholder letter remains one of the most widely read documents in the finance industry.

For Indian retail investors, direct ownership of Berkshire stock requires foreign portfolio investor intermediation or Liberalised Remittance Scheme outbound remittance under FEMA rules. PPFCF delivers indirect exposure through a domestic SEBI Mutual Funds Regulations 1996 scheme.

Investment thesis at PPFCF

The Berkshire thesis at PPFCF rested on several pillars consistent with the PPFAS investment philosophy.

First, diversified financial and industrial exposure. Berkshire combines property and casualty insurance float, regulated railroad and energy assets, branded consumer businesses and a marketable-securities portfolio. The mix offers a kind of one-decision diversification that aligns with the PPFAS focused portfolio discipline.

Second, capital allocation as an end in itself. Warren Buffett’s track record of compounding intrinsic value per share at a long-run average above the S&P 500 was the most direct demonstration of capital-allocation craft. For a fund team trained in PPFAS value investing, Berkshire is the canonical case study.

Third, valuation discipline. Berkshire has historically traded at modest premium-to-book multiples, often in the 1.3x to 1.6x range. The company’s share-repurchase programme is conducted only when Buffett judges the stock to be trading below intrinsic value, providing an unusual market signal. PPFCF added the position when valuations were attractive within the PPFAS margin of safety framework.

Fourth, currency and structural diversification. Berkshire provided US-dollar revenue and asset exposure to PPFCF in a manner distinct from technology-only foreign positions. This diversification within the international sleeve was deliberate.

Fifth, symbolic alignment. The holding reinforced PPFAS’s philosophical lineage in unit-holder communications, investor education and the annual unitholders’ meet. Parag Parikh’s frequent referencing of Buffett and Munger in his books and public talks meant Berkshire was perhaps the most ideologically aligned foreign position imaginable.

Position history

Berkshire Hathaway class B entered the foreign sleeve of PPLTVF during the years following the May 2013 scheme launch and appeared periodically in factsheets. The position has not been continuous in the manner of Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta but has come in and out depending on valuation and relative opportunity.

The May 2015 Omaha accident, in which Parag Parikh died returning from his first attendance at the Berkshire AGM, was a pivotal moment in PPFAS history. The car was driven by Rajeev Thakkar; other passengers were Raunak Onkar and Parikh’s wife Geeta Parikh. A pickup truck struck the vehicle near a signal en route to Eppley Airfield around 6:45 am. Parikh, then 60, died at Nebraska Medical Center. Geeta Parikh survived with head and chest injuries; Thakkar and Onkar were treated for minor injuries and released. Neil Parag Parikh succeeded as Chairman and CEO of PPFAS AMC shortly afterwards.

The Berkshire holding remained in the fund through several factsheet cycles after Parikh’s passing. Through the 2018 SEBI scheme rationalisation (renaming PPLTVF as Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund on 16 February 2018) and the January 2021 transition to the flexi-cap mutual fund in India category, Berkshire appeared in older factsheets but ceased to be among the largest foreign positions.

The February 2022 SEBI MF overseas investment cap freeze affected the foreign sleeve as a whole. PPFAS, with approximately Rs 5,588 crore in foreign securities (around 28 per cent of AUM), suspended lump-sum and fresh SIP/STP registrations in PPFCF from 2 February 2022. SEBI permitted partial resumption from 17 June 2022 up to headroom available as on 1 February 2022.

The contemporary factsheets show Berkshire as a historic rather than continuously material position, though references to Buffett and Munger remain pervasive in PPFAS communications, including the monthly factsheet letter from the CIO.

Recent positioning

The April 2026 PPFCF factsheet, when AUM reached Rs 1,40,949 crore, showed HDFC Bank at PPFCF at 7.94 per cent, Power Grid Corporation at PPFCF at 6.99 per cent and Coal India at PPFCF at 5.95 per cent as the top three. The international sleeve in the 11 to 16 per cent zone was anchored by Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta; Berkshire featured as a smaller or periodic position.

The May 2026 commentary from Rajeev Thakkar on the fund’s 18 to 22 per cent PPFAS cash holdings position emphasised valuation caution across both Indian and foreign markets. Foreign positions were broadly retained.

The 12th annual unitholders’ meet on 22 November 2025 at Birla Matushree Sabhaghar, Mumbai, in keeping with the Berkshire AGM tradition, included extensive discussion of the founders’ philosophy and the lessons of the Buffett-Munger lineage. Charlie Munger’s death on 28 November 2023 and the eventual leadership transition at Berkshire have been referenced in PPFAS commentary as inflection points in the broader value-investing world.

Comparison with peer holdings

Within PPFCF’s international sleeve, Berkshire Hathaway has historically been the only non-technology foreign holding of size. The four technology anchors (Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta) provided exposure to digital advertising, enterprise software, cloud computing, e-commerce and social networks. Berkshire provided exposure to insurance, railroads, energy, consumer brands and a marketable-securities portfolio. The complementarity was meaningful.

Compared with domestic positions in HDFC Bank at PPFCF, ICICI Bank at PPFCF, ITC at PPFCF, Bajaj Holdings at PPFCF, Power Grid Corporation at PPFCF and Coal India at PPFCF, Berkshire offers a global diversified-holding-company analogue. Bajaj Holdings at PPFCF is the closest Indian equivalent: a holding company with diversified financial-sector exposure that trades at a conglomerate discount.

Context within PPFCF

PPFCF was launched on 24 May 2013 as PPLTVF, renamed Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund on 16 February 2018 and renamed Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund on 13 January 2021. The scheme is benchmarked against the Nifty 500 TRI and has delivered CAGR since inception of approximately 19.06 per cent against a category average of 15.22 per cent and the Nifty 500 TRI at 12.4 per cent. AUM crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in May 2025 and reached Rs 1,60,952 crore by 15 May 2026.

The fund is managed by Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar, Raj Mehta, Rukun Tarachandani and other team members. The mutual fund was set up with SEBI on 10 October 2012 under registration ID MF/069/12/01.

See also

External references

References

  1. American Bazaar, “Prominent Mumbai investor Parag Parikh killed in car crash in Nebraska,” americanbazaaronline.com.
  2. Business Standard, “Dalal Street veteran Parag Parikh dies in Omaha,” business-standard.com.
  3. Mint, “How an obscure PPFAS morphed into India’s Berkshire Hathaway,” magzter.com.
  4. PPFAS Mutual Fund, October 2025 factsheet, amc.ppfas.com.
  5. PrimeInvestor, “An update on Parag Parikh Flexi Cap,” primeinvestor.in.
  6. Berkshire Hathaway, 2024 Annual Report, berkshirehathaway.com.

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