Kass: Warren Buffett Has Lost His Groove

In essence, Buffett has sold himself as a savior, or investor of last (or often first!) resort. As such, he has positioned himself to prosper in the form of getting beneficial terms in acquisitions (the most recent examples being Goldman Sachs and General Electric), a positive but still a shrewd "marketing" technique.

Perhaps Warren Buffett, not Sam Zell, is the real gravedancer!

I have concluded that The Oracle of Omaha has morphed into the Mozart of Marketing and has veered off his investment path in a style drift into derivatives (selling puts on the S&P 500). More importantly, his investment strategy, which served him so well over the years, has begun to noticeably sour and might not be suited for the future.

"What we have created is, to some extent, a cult."

-- Charlie Munger

Similar to Warren Buffett, I too have a reverence for logic. And perhaps Charlie Munger is right (though in a different context) in the quote above. Berkshire Hathaway might now be more of a cult than a superior investment vehicle.

Warren Buffett has lost his groove. The question is whether he will get it back any time soon.

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Doug Kass writes daily for RealMoney Silver, a premium bundle service from TheStreet.com. For a free trial to RealMoney Silver and exclusive access to Mr. Kass' daily trading diary, please click here.