#BTC #ZECUSDT Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on $397 billion in cash.
And while the world waits for him to call the top, the S&P 500 just keeps climbing.
Since the October 2022 low, the S&P 500 is up over 100%. Berkshire Hathaway? Up 74.75%. Solid by any normal measure, but Berkshire has underperformed the S&P by roughly 40% since its 2025 Annual Meeting.
Since April 2025 - the S&P 500 is up 43%, whilst Berkshire is down 12% - a 55% gap in performance.
That gap is the cost of caution.
Being early is just another word for being wrong
The macro bears have been calling a top for years. Overvalued. Unsustainable. Too far, too fast. And every year, the market finds a way to prove them wrong for a little longer.
This is the thing people forget about defensive positioning. It feels responsible right up until you watch the market add another 20% without you.
$397 billion in cash sounds impressive. But cash sitting in T-bills while equities compound is not a neutral position. It is an active decision to miss out. And missing out has a real cost.
The market doesn't wait for permission
Bull markets climb a wall of worry. That's not a cliche, it's a pattern that has repeated itself across decades. There is always a reason to stay on the sidelines. Debt levels. Geopolitics. Valuations. The reasons are never in short supply.
But the investors who waited for perfect conditions before putting money to work largely missed the best years of compounding this market has ever produced.
What this actually means for you
Berkshire's cash pile tells you what Buffett is prepared for. It doesn't tell you what's coming next.
Markets can stay irrational longer than any of us can stay patient. And patience on the sidelines, while seemingly safe, carries its own risk that rarely gets talked about honestly.
Missing the 10 best days in the market in any given decade can cut your long term returns in half. The cost of being out is just quieter than the cost of being in at the wrong time.
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