Aquamarine Capital’s Top 10 Stock Picks

Published July 12, 2021 at 3:12 pm EDT Updated September 7, 2026 at 1:29 pm EDT

In this article, we are going to discuss Aquamarine Capital’s top 10 stock picks.

Zurich-based investor, Guy Spier, emulates Warren Buffett‘s strategy on value investing and capital allocation, which helped him generate massive returns over the years. After attaining his MBA degree from Harvard Business School, Guy Spier worked as an investment banker in New York and a management consultant in Paris and London. Spier also studied at Oxford University where he got a first-class degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. Aside from his role as the managing partner and principal of the fund, Spier is also the author of the best-selling book entitled The Education of a Value Investor.

In 1997, inspired by Warren Buffett’s investment principles, and with capital support from his family and friends, Guy Spier founded Aquamarine Capital, which eventually expanded to accommodate third-party investors. With its primarily global, long-term, and value-focused investment philosophy, Aquamarine Capital achieved discretionary assets under management of nearly $273 million. Unsurprisingly, the fund’s largest holding is represented by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NASDAQ: BRK.B), in which it holds 140,600 shares worth $35.92 million. Aquamarine also owns 30 class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway.

Overall, Spier holds a relatively small 13F portfolio, which contained only 12 positions at the end of March. Most holdings are long-term positions that his fund has held for more than five years.

Aquamarine Capital is one of more than 850 hedge funds that Insider Monkey follows and whose 13F filings we analyze every quarter as part of our investment strategy. Our research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 2020. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.

With this context in mind, let’s now start reviewing Aquamarine Capital’s top 10 stock picks as disclosed by the fund in its latest 13F filing. Additionally, we’re going to take a look what is the overall sentiment towards these stocks among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey.

10. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $9.18 million
Number of Shares: 151,741
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96

Wells Fargo & Company has been a part of Aquamarine Capital’s 13F portfolio since the fourth quarter of 2014, having remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2021. As of the end of the first quarter, 96 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 887 funds held stakes in Wells Fargo & Company, compared to 99 funds in the fourth quarter. Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management is the biggest stakeholder in the company, with 43 million shares, worth $1.7 billion.

Wells Fargo & Company currently offers a dividend yield of 0.96% per share and its stock has surged by 48% since the beginning of the year.

Davis Global Fund, in its investor letter for the fourth quarter of 2020, mentioned Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). Here is what the fund said:

“Detractors to performance relative to the index include financial services holdings such as Wells Fargo. While banks, in general, have suffered due to the recession and experienced credit losses, Wells Fargo also suffered from operational missteps. It is our expectation, however, that our bank holdings, in general, will benefit from stronger economic growth as the pandemic recedes; and we believe Wells Fargo in particular, will, over time, lower their costs and successfully grow their businesses.”

9. Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $8.06 million
Number of shares: 27,000
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55

For the past five years Moody’s Corporation has been in Aquamarine Capital’s portfolio. At the end of March, there were 55 funds holding shares of the credit rating company, down by four over the quarter. One of the largest shareholders of Moody’s Corporation is none other than Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which owns 24.7 million shares worth $7.4 billion as of the end of March.

Guy Spier’s stock-picking skills paid big time as Moody’s Corporation. delivered a 28% return year-to-date, extending its 12-month gains to 31%.

8. Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $9.18 million
Number of shares: 500,000
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 10

The real estate investment trust (REIT) Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG) has been among Aquamarine Capital’s top 10 stock picks since 2016. The management firm held 500,000 shares of Seritage Growth Properties at the end of the first quarter of 2021.

With an $86.9 million stake containing 4.7 million shares, Mohnish Pabrai is one of the top shareholders of Seritage Growth Properties. Our database shows that 10 hedge funds held stakes in Seritage Growth Properties at the end of the first quarter, versus 14 funds in the fourth quarter 0f 2020.

7. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $11.57 million
Number of shares: 30
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111

Berkshire Hathaway;s class A stock ranks seventh in Aquamarine Capital’s top 10 stock picks. Guy Spier looks optimistic at Warren Buffett’s company as he holds an $11.6 million stake in BRK-A, which contains just 30 shares. With a 23% return year-to-date, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) is proving to be a great pick for Spier.

Black Bear Value Partners, in its first-quarter investor letter, mentioned Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A):

“Below is an updated snapshot of our “Berkshire on a Napkin” valuation. This is by no means perfect but provides a very rough idea of how things look at a 10,000-foot view.

While Berkshire’s operating businesses saw their profits decline by ~10% in 2020, their long-term positioning at the cross-section of American business remains intact if not stronger.

Berkshire bought back $9B of stock in the 4th quarter and $25BB during 2020 shrinking the share count and increasing our ownership by 5%.

Cash of ~$104,000 per class A Share

o Down/Base/Up marks cash at book value to a 10% premium

Investments of based on December prices ~$194,000 per class A share

o Presume a range of stock prices that result in:

 Down = $116,000 per class A share (-40%)

 Base = $165,000 per class A share (-15% – assumes portfolio is overpriced)

 Up = $223,000 per class A share (+15%)

Operating businesses that should generate ~$15,000 of pre-tax income per Class A share per year

 Down = 9x = $135,000 per share – equates to ~8% FCF yield

 Base = 12x = $180,000 – equates to ~6% FCF yield

 Up = 12x = $180,000 – equates to ~6% FCF yield

Overall

o Down = $355,000

o Base = $454,000

o Up = $465,000

Berkshire is very cheap for owning such high-quality businesses and will continue to grind higher and compound value for us.”

6. Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $16.74 million
Number of shares: 80,000
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26

Aquamarine Capital acquired shares of Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE) in the first quarter of 2016 and currently owns 80,000 shares of the company, amounting to $16.7 million. A total of 26 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Ferrari N.V. at the end of the first quarter, down from 29 funds a quarter earlier. Additionally, the total value of these funds holdings declined to $1.26 billion from $1.53 billion during the January-March period.

One of the funds that is betting on Ferrari N.V. is Ensemble Capital. In its most recent investor letter the fund mentioned Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE), saying that the impact of COVID on production is behind and the company will manage to achieve its targets for 2022.

“Notable detractors to the Fund’s returns this quarter (included) Ferrari. Ferrari (4.8% weight in the Fund) continues to look for a CEO to replace Louis Camilleri who resigned in December after suffering from COVID. The incoming CEO would be Ferrari’s third in recent years, following the untimely death of Sergio Marchionne in 2018. Nevertheless, Ferrari is in good hands with Chairman John Elkann, whose family are major investors in Ferrari and are well acquainted with the brand. Full-year results were impacted by the 7-week COVID-related production suspension, which resulted in deliveries being down 10% compared with the prior year. Investors were concerned about 2021 guidance given continued worries about COVID impacts in the US and Europe and whether Ferrari will be able to hit its stated 2022 targets. But Ferrari did an amazing job maintaining production in the midst of a pandemic and we remain confident in Ferrari’s potential well beyond 2022.”

5. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value’s Stake Value: $17.64 million
Number of shares: 200,000
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 100

Computer memory and computer data storage producer Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) ranks fifth among Aquamarine Capital’s 13F holdings. The fund added the stock to its portfolio during the third quarter of 2019. Micron Technology, Inc. is one of the few tech stocks that Guy Spier is bullish on, the other two being Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Twitter Inc (NASDAQ:TWTR), which rank on the last two spots in Aquamarine’s last 13F filing.

Micron Technology, Inc.’s shares have surged by more than 60% in the past 12 months. Our analysis shows that Micron Technology ranks 19th in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Aside from Aquamarine, Arrowstreet Capital is another one of the 98 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey with stakes in Micron Technology, Inc. as of the end of the first quarter.

In its investor letter for the first quarter of 2021, Bonsai Partners highlighted a few stocks, including Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) is one of them:

“With the semiconductor cycle in full swing, sentiment continued to improve for major DRAM and NAND suppliers. Spot pricing for DRAM continues its upward march due to supply shocks across the industry and sustained demand levels that continue to outstrip supply.

As a result, Micron showed improving results for the fiscal first quarter, raised guidance intra-quarter for the fiscal second quarter, and offered strong guidance for the fiscal third quarter in both growth and margins.

While the cyclical nature of DRAM hasn’t changed, the cycles themselves continue to become more benign, leading to long-term economic improvement across these businesses. Micron is now continuously profitable, with industry players in a dramatically stronger position than even just five years ago.

The biggest negative surprise in the quarter came from Micron’s exit from its 3D XPoint hybrid memory business. The company also announced its decision to sell its accompanying Utah fab. Fortunately, this development does not alter the investment thesis much since 3D XPoint was an option ticket for future growth. While it’s unfortunate this product didn’t pan out, now is an excellent time to sell a fab, so perhaps it is a blessing in disguise?”

4. Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $23.41 million
Number of shares: 65,750
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 151

New York-based Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) has been part of Aquamarine’s stock holdings since 2014. The bet has paid off significantly, as the stock is up by more than 300% over the last five years alone. Overall, hedge funds are bullish on Mastercard Inc, the stock ranking seventh in the list of Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of 2021, there were 151 funds holding $17.08 billion worth of Mastercard Inc shares, compared to 154 funds and $17.98 billion a quarter earlier.

Akre Capital Management is another fund with a stake in Mastercard Inc. It currently owns 5.9 million shares worth $2.09 billion.

3. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $29.70 million
Number of shares: 210,000
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53

Guy Spier’s hedge fund first disclosed a position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in 2014, seeing his investment nearly triple over the last five years. Aside from Aquamarine, 52 other hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in American Express Company at the end of March, down by eight funds over the quarter.

American Express Company was mentioned in the fourth-quarter 2020 investor letter of Bretton Fund:

“American Express has elements of both a bank (it extends credit card loans) and a payments processor (most of its revenue is fees from cardholders and merchants) and was hit pretty hard by Covid-19, though we expect most of the impact will be transitory. It has a relatively diversified customer base overall, but a meaningful portion of its card activity is from business travel, which…there wasn’t a lot of last year. Similar to the banks, American Express recognized loan losses in anticipation of large defaults, though it’s not clear all of that will come to pass. Its stock returned -1.1%, while earnings per share were down 53%.”

2. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $29.71 million
Number of shares: 767,845
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97

The latest returns of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) are supported by stronger-than-expected financial results, the bank reporting first quarter EPS of $0.86 and revenue of $22.82 billion, beating the consensus estimates by $0.21 and $960 million, respectively.

As of the end of the first quarter, there are 97 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey that hold a position in BAC compared to 99 funds three months earlier. The biggest stakeholder of the company is Berkshire Hathaway, with 1.01 billion shares worth $39.08 billion as of the end of March.

Another investor bullish on Bank of America Corporation is ClearBridge Investments. In its first-quarter investor letter, the fund mentioned Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC):

“Higher long-term interest rates supported financials such as Bank of America, which has shown both defensive and offensive characteristics in the past year. We believe it continues to be the least risky large bank from a credit standpoint, with conservative underwriting and controlled risk-taking, a leading consumer deposit franchise, scale, and technology. It is also a leader in its commitments to sustainability, or as it terms it, responsible growth. Disclosure and reporting at all levels form a large part of this commitment, including gender diversity and equality, environmental commitments, and support of communities in which it operates. In the first quarter, Bank of America announced it is setting a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its supply chain and operations, and notably also in its financing activities, before 2050.”

1. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)

Aquamarine’s Stake Value: $35.92 million
Number of Shares: 140,600
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. tops the list of Aquamarine Capital’s top 10 stock picks. The multinational conglomerate holding company continues gaining Guy Spier’s conviction as the holds 140,600 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. valued at $35.92 million. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s stock delivered a 52.48% return in the past 12-months.

With a $1.2 billion stake in , Eagle Capital Management owns 4.7 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. worth $1.2 billion as of the end of the first quarter. Our database shows that 111 hedge funds are bullish on Berkshire Hathaway Inc. based on the first-quarter round of 13F filings, down by one over the quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ranks 13th in our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds.

You can also take a peek at 12 Best Cryptocurrency Stocks to Invest in 2021 and 10 Best Undervalued Stocks to Buy Now.

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