I've decided to stick with Berkshire Hathaway in February's 5 for 5 because no matter what way I work the valuation I believe the shares are inherently worth ~$3950/pop with many years of continued growth. I expect this one to be repeated many times over...

If you're new to investing you could be forgiven for having never heard of Berkshire Hathaway. The Hathaway Manufacturing Company was founded in 1888 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and merged with Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, another textile company, in the 1950's. It was about 10 years after that event that a young investor called Warren Buffett started buying up shares in the company as he believed it was undervalued. Once he had accumulated enough shares he changed the management team and with that came the birth of a holding company that has been the vehicle for Buffett's investment genius for over 40 years.

Today Berkshire Hathaway has stake-holdings in companies raging from the Acme Brick Company (no kidding on the name) to Dairy Queen ice-cream to FlightSafety (Flight simulators and pilot training) and in many other companies in diverse fields. That said, any true description of their core business lies squarely in insurance. BH has a number of insurance companies under its umbrella, including the ubiquitous GEICO which they own outright.

So, to get back to the point, the reason I believe that BRK-a and BRK-b should lie at the foundation of every investor's portfolio is quite simply because you are buying a stake in a company that is led by a man who was born to appropriate capital in the most efficient manner possible. Warren Buffett has compounded nearly 30% annual returns over 4 decades, which in turn has made him the second richest man in the world. His absolute raw genius goes so far beyond a few words that I urge you to get a copy of "Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist" by Roger Lowenstein. Within you'll read the story of a man who recently pledged tens of billions of dollars to The Bill and Melina Gates Foundation. Before the final chapters you will be assured many times over of Warren Buffett's abilities as a money making genius, as a world class succession manager, and a man who's company you'll have to own a stake in.

Emmet owns shares in Berkshire Hathaway.