Fortune: Buffett's longest bet looking better

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Apr 27, 2010
Unaudited results are in for the second year of "Buffett's Big Bet" -- Warren Buffett's 2008 wager against Protégé Partners that a low-fee index fund will outperform certain funds of hedge funds -- and the famous investor has gained some ground on his challenger. In the 2009 segment of the 10-year bet, an S&P 500 index fund -- that's Buffett's pick -- outdid the average performance of the five funds of funds that New York-based money management firm Protégé backs, 26.2% to 15.9%.

But Buffett's spurt was not enough to undo the lead that Protégé's funds had racked up in the turbulent year of 2008. True, the standings for the two years combined show both contenders having lost money. But Protégé's picks are down 11.8%, less than the S & P's minus 20.2%.

Both sides are measured net of all fees, costs, and expenses. By the terms of the bet, Protégé has never publicly disclosed the names of the five funds it picked. One of them is assumed to be the fund of funds that Protégé itself runs.

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