The amount of data that investors have to keep track of on Wall Street can be borderline overwhelming at times. Between earnings season -- the six-week period each quarter where a majority of Wall Street's most-influential businesses report their operating results -- and daily economic data releases, it's easy for something important to fall through the cracks.
For example, May 15 was one of the most important days of the second quarter for investors, but it could have easily been overshadowed by earnings reports and economic data releases. This date marked the deadline for institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management (AUM) to file Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool.
Quarterly filed 13Fs allow investors to track which stocks Wall Street's brightest money managers have been buying and selling. While there are quite a few billionaire fund managers that are closely tracked by investors, none garners more interest than Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A +0.16%)(BRK.B +0.18%) CEO Warren Buffett.
Since taking the reins 60 years ago, the aptly named Oracle of Omaha has delivered a nearly 20% annualized rate of return for his company's Class A shares (BRK.A). Riding Buffett's coattails has been a tried-and-true wealth-building strategy for decades.
But what you might not realize is that Berkshire's 13F doesn't tell the complete story of what's under the proverbial hood.
Warren Buffett has a $616 million "secret" portfolio packed with more than 120 holdings
In 1998, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced a $22 billion all-stock deal to acquire General Re. While the purpose of this buyout was for Berkshire to get its hands on General Re's prized reinsurance operations, the latter also owned a specialty investment firm known as New England Asset Management (NEAM). When the deal closed in December 1998, Berkshire Hathaway became NEAM's new parent.
NYSE: BRK.B
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New England Asset Management closed out March 2025 with approximately $616 million in AUM, which is well above the $100 million AUM limit required to file a 13F with the SEC. In other words, investors have the ability to track which stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) New England Asset Management is buying, selling, and holding.
Though Warren Buffett closely oversees the $280 billion in AUM spread across more than 40 holdings for Berkshire Hathaway's primary investment portfolio, NEAM's $616 million investment portfolio, which is spread across 122 securities, has a separate investment management team. Nevertheless, the stocks and ETFs that New England Asset Management buys and holds are, ultimately, under the umbrella of Berkshire Hathaway. You could rightly say that NEAM is akin to Warren Buffett's "secret" portfolio.
While this secret portfolio is known for spreading its invested assets across well-known ETFs and brand-name businesses (not all of which are found in Berkshire Hathaway's $280 billion portfolio), it's what NEAM's investment managers have been buying of late that's turning heads.
During the March-ended quarter, Buffett's secret portfolio made four new purchases, two of which are individual stocks. One offers the biggest share-repurchase program on the planet, while the other holds the distinction of being trademarked "The Monthly Dividend Company®."
Image source: Getty Images.
Buffett's hidden portfolio adds shares of the world's preeminent share-buyback stock
Based on New England Asset Management's first-quarter 13F, the investment management team opened a new position totaling 3,382 shares in tech colossus Apple (AAPL +2.08%). It's the first time this hidden portfolio has owned shares of Apple in more than a year -- albeit it's a far cry from the nearly 20 million shares of Apple NEAM held during the fourth quarter of 2022.
Apple didn't become one of Wall Street's largest public companies by accident. It's maintained its leadership status because of its competitive advantages.
One thing it brings to the table is an exceptionally loyal customer base. Apple is one of the most-recognized consumer brands worldwide and its customers tend to trust its products. Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett is a big-time believer in companies that earn consumers' trust, which is probably a big reason why Apple is Berkshire Hathaway's largest investment holding.
Apple is also a leader on the innovation front. It's been incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in its iPhone and other physical products for years. Since introducing a 5G-capable iPhone in late 2020, Apple has held a 50% domestic share (or greater) of smartphone sales.
NASDAQ: AAPL
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But Apple's most-defining factor, beyond its AI roots and innovative prowess, is its world-leading share repurchase program.
In 2013, Apple's board approved an aggressive buyback program that's put all public companies to shame. As of March 29, 2025 -- Apple's fiscal year usually ends in late September -- Apple had cumulatively spent $775.19 billion to repurchase over 43% of its outstanding shares. Buying back this much stock has had a decisively positive impact on the company's earnings per share and made its stock more fundamentally attractive to value-focused investors.
The Oracle of Omaha's secret portfolio also purchased shares of Wall Street's top monthly dividend stock
In addition to New England Asset Management reopening a position in Apple, NEAM's 13F shows that 55,140 shares of premier retail real estate investment trust (REIT) Realty Income (O +0.21%) were bought in the first quarter. It's the first time Buffett's secret portfolio has held shares of Realty Income since the September-ended quarter of 2018.
Realty Income is nothing short of a powerhouse in the retail REIT space, with more than 15,600 commercial real estate (CRE) properties owned, as of the end of March.
NYSE: O
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What makes its CRE asset portfolio so impressive is that an estimated 91% of its rental income is tied to businesses that are resilient to economic downturns and e-commerce pressures. We're talking about brand-name, time-tested, stand-alone companies that provide basic need goods and services that can draw consumer traffic regardless of how well or poorly the U.S. economy is performing.
On top of targeting basic need industries, Realty Income's cash flow consistency is a reflection of its disciplined approach. A smart vetting process reduces delinquency rates, while initial long lease terms -- the company has a weighted average lease length of 9.1 years -- ensures predictable funds from operations. There's a reason Realty Income's median occupancy rate of 98.2% is 400 basis points higher than the median occupancy rate for S&P 500 REITs since 2000.
But what places Realty Income in a class of its own is its monthly dividend. Realty Income has increased its payout for 111 consecutive quarters and has passed along 131 monthly dividend increases since going public in October 1994.
This isn't just a token dividend, either. Its 5.62% yield, as of the closing bell on June 16, is more than four times higher than the average yield of the S&P 500, which places Realty Income into ultra-high-yield territory.
