CNBC Television Sep 18, 2026
With John Rogers, founder and co-CEO of Ariel Investments
John Rogers expects the premium investors have paid for Warren Buffett's presence at Berkshire Hathaway to fade once the market absorbs that he is not in the game full time.
The reflex on a founder's departure is to ask what changes in the portfolio. Rogers's answer is that the holdings and the plan should stay as they are, and that what erodes is the valuation, not the strategy.
"Well, I think the Buffett premium will naturally start to be less and less as time goes on."
Rogers founded Ariel Investments and runs it as co-chief executive. He was introduced on air as a former Berkshire shareholder and corrected the record himself: he still holds the stock in his personal account, and has for years.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 5 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
The Buffett premium in the share price fades as the market registers that he is no longer full time
Some of that premium survives on the board and management he assembled
Berkshire should keep cash on the balance sheet for what Rogers calls an inevitable correction
The portfolio and the plan should stay as they are, with no case made for divestitures or spin-offs
Berkshire should still be able to lean on Buffett for the visionary decisions, because few people see the future that clearly
1. Buffett Steps Back
The news the segment was built on is that Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and moving to an emeritus role, saying father time always wins, with his son Howard succeeding him as chair. Asked how the next chapter goes and whether this is a real shift in strategy, Rogers went to governance rather than to holdings.
His answer was about the structure Buffett built
Warren is a genius, and he's had such extraordinary success. Understands governance better than anyone.
John Rogers
And who is best placed to make the handover work
No one has more capability to do that than Warren Buffett.
John Rogers
The specific job he credited Buffett with is assembling a management team and a board that will carry his values forward.
2. Who Sources Big Ideas
The host raised a morning discussion about the portfolio and Greg Abel's comment earlier in the year that the Alphabet purchase was initiated by Buffett himself, then asked whether further large ideas still need to come from him or be passed by him. Rogers said he hoped so, and explained why in terms of how hard the job is.
The difficulty is the market itself
Markets are really efficient.
John Rogers
Which is why the skill is rare
There are a few people in the world that are gifted to be able to see the future with the way, the kind of clarity that Warren Buffett has been able to see the future.
John Rogers
So he wants the access kept open
So hopefully Berkshire can still lean on him for those visionary decisions.
John Rogers
3. The Buffett Premium
Asked whether the change in the chairman role, and the chief executive role with it, alters the thinking on valuation, Rogers accepted that it does.
The premium erodes with time
Well, I think the Buffett premium will naturally start to be less and less as time goes on.
John Rogers
He put that down to human nature and to Buffett's own point that time passes and people get older. Once the market registers that he is not in the game full time, the premium goes with it.
But not all of it
That Buffett premium over time could probably dissipate.
John Rogers
He qualified that immediately: given the board and the management leadership Buffett has put in place, Rogers still expects somewhat of a premium to be left.
4. Cash for the Correction
Asked whether he is anxious for Berkshire to put some of its cash to work, Rogers said the opposite. Patience wins over time, and both Buffett and the company understand that the market has had a very strong run.
The condition he is describing
There's a lot of enthusiasm in the market, especially around AI.
John Rogers
Which makes the cash an asset rather than a drag
So having some cash on the balance sheet is a good thing to be able to take advantage of the inevitable correction that one day will happen.
John Rogers
5. The Portfolio Stays
On whether the same portfolio makes sense in a post-Buffett era, and whether divestitures or spin-offs are in prospect, Rogers made no case for changes.
He expects continuity
I think the same plan makes sense.
John Rogers
Because the handover was planned for
He's always talked about how succession is so critical in whatever industry or whatever company you invest in.
John Rogers
Rogers said he knows Buffett has thought deeply about this.
Bonus Insights
Rogers corrected his own introduction on air. Presented as a former Berkshire shareholder, he answered that he still owns the stock personally.
What he actually holds
I still own Berkshire in my personal account that I've owned for years and years.
John Rogers
Rogers's bottom line is that Berkshire's strategy, portfolio and cash discipline should carry on unchanged, that the part of the share price which rested on Buffett's personal presence will slowly go, and that the company's best outcome is continued access to his judgment on the largest decisions.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
Berkshire Hathaway (Buffett is moving to an emeritus role with his son Howard as chair; Rogers owns the stock personally and expects the plan and portfolio to stay intact)
Ariel Investments (Rogers's own firm, which he founded and runs as co-chief executive)
Alphabet (The purchase Greg Abel said earlier in the year was initiated by Buffett himself, which the host used to ask who sources Berkshire's big ideas now)
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