Catherine Seifert | Source | Director at CFRA Research

If you look back on some of the comments that Buffett has made regarding gold or gold shares it certainly is an interesting selection and I think that also speaks to the changing of the guard at Berkshire. My sense is that this purchase is a hedge against some of the higher beta stocks that he has an even more significant position in, specifically Apple and then some of the bank stocks. If you look at his equity portfolio it's sort of a barbell between technology and financial shares and the Barrett purchase represents an interesting hedge, in my opinion