Warren Buffett's actions may have contradicted his words on personal trading, finds ProPublica report
Warren Buffett did not respond to ProPublica's queries, the report added. Buffett, who has consistently emphasized avoiding personal trades aligned with Berkshire's moves, has a track record that tells a different story, the report states. It adds that leaked IRS data covering two decades, exposes at least three instances where Buffett traded stocks in his personal account just before or during the same quarter as Berkshire's transactions, potentially violating the company's ethics policies, authored by Buffett himself.
Also Read: Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Q3 net loss widens to $12.77 billion, operating profit up 41% YoY The policy requires all Berkshire's securities transactions to be publically disclosed before employees can personally trade the stock. In 2011, a rare scandal involving David Sokol, then heir apparent to Buffett, who resigned over personal stock trades, did not damage Buffett's reputation. Among Buffett's moves tracked by the publication include his enthusiastic endorsement of Wells Fargo in an interview with Fortune magazine back on April 20, 2009.
He had then lauded it for its "superior business model" compared to other major banks. Buffett, who is looked up to by many investors as a model thus significantly influenced market dynamics, causing a substantial +20 percent surge in Wells Fargo shares, the report said. Also Read: 8 money lessons to learn from Warren Buffett’s letters to shareholders By April 24, Wells Fargo had jumped 13 percent.
Read more on livemint.com
