Berkshire Hire May Be Buffett Successor

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A little known hedge fund manager has been hired by Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.A), fueling speculation that investment guru Warren Buffett is now grooming his successor.

Shortly after the closing bell, Berkshire issued a press release announcing the hiring of Todd Combs, the 39-year-old manager of Castle Point Capital, an equity investment hedge fund based in Greenwich, Conn. And it looks like Combs' responsibilities will be sizable right off the bat.

"For three years Charlie Munger and I have been looking for someone of Todd's caliber to handle a significant portion of Berkshire's investment portfolio," Buffett in Berkshire's statement. "We are delighted that Todd will be joining us."

The value of Berkshire's stock portfolio stood at $46.4 billion as of June 30, according to recent SEC filings. Holdings include Fiserv(FISV), Johnson & Johnson(JNJ), Moody's(MCO), Wal-Mart(WMT) and Wells Fargo(WFC).

>>View Castle Point's Portfolio

According to the Associated Press. Combs was managing a U.S. stock portfolio at Castle Point worth around $280 million at the end of June. A report from MarketWatch said Castle Point would be winding down with Combs' departure. He has managed the fund for about five years, media reports said.

--Written by Michael Baron in New York.

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