The legendary investor Warren Buffett is obviously someone worth keeping tabs on if you want to see one of the world's greatest investors at work. Although Buffett is well into his 90s, he has still been very much active over at his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) this year.
So what can we learn from Buffett's 2022 moves here on the ASX?
Well, let's check out how Buffett has been managing his cash over the year that (almost) was.
So according to a comprehensive analysis of Buffett's moves from our Fool colleagues over in the US, Buffett made several big moves in Berkshire's portfolio this year.
Image source: Motley Fool Editorial
Buffett's Berkshire bets big on oil
Amongst his bigger bets was a massive increase in Berkshire's exposure to oil. Berkshire already owned significant chunks of oil giants Chevron and Occidental Petroleum. But Buffett more than quadrupled Berkshire's stake in Chevron in 2022, growing the company into Berkshire's fourth-largest position. He also boosted Occidental's position significantly as well.
So Buffett clearly thinks the oil space is one well worth investing in for 2023 and beyond. This might not bode well for motorists in the new year.
Another sector Buffett has apparently been focusing on in 2022 is tech. Buffett has famously been slow on the uptake when it comes to tech shares. He barely owned any tech stocks until 2016. But that was when Berkshire started buying Apple.
A combination of aggressive buying and a ballooning Apple stock price has resulted in Apple now being the largest holding in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. And by a mile too.
Berkshire's tech portfolio is expanding
Buffett hasn't bought too much more of Apple in 2022. but he has been loading up on two other tech stocks: HP and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) HP is a dominant manufacturer of printers and PCs. he reportedly purchased a chunk of HP when it was sitting at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 6, so this looks like a classic value play.
His purchase of TSMC is more interesting. TSMC is by far the most dominant manufacturer of advanced semiconductor chips in the world, with more than half the world's market share. It's Buffett's first foray into the world of semiconductors, but one he has built out aggressively.
His purchase of more than US$4 billion worth of TSMC stock has made this company into Berkshire's tenth-largest position today.
So what can we ASX 200 investors learn from Buffett's 2022 moves?
Well, it's pretty obvious that Buffett is still betting big on oil and tech – specifically semiconductors. Unfortunately, the ASX doesn't have much in the way of semiconductor stocks. But there are plenty of oil and energy shares, including Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) to choose from.
