Greg Abel ended Berkshire Hathaway's 14-quarter streak last quarter by buying more stocks for the marketable equity portfolio than he sold. Warren Buffett had previously trimmed large positions, leaving Abel with a record $369 billion in cash. The article attributes the difficulty in finding opportunities to valuations: large-cap stocks trade at a premium of 10% to 19% to their historical levels, and value stocks are the most overvalued relative to their historic range. In contrast, small- and mid-cap value stocks trade below historical valuations, a segment that large institutions often overlook while individual investors can invest more freely. The article mentions two value ETFs, AVUV and DFAT, which both add profitability screens to avoid value traps.
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