Berkshire Hathaway Class A and Class B Shares: What To Know Before Investing
Written by
Sarah Li Cain
Edited by
T. Woods
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Interested in investing in Berkshire Hathaway? According to the Motley Fool, one of the reasons investors flock to the company of which the Warren Buffet is the CEO is how strong the stock performs in the short-term. Essentially, it offers solid returns without you having to wait years for growth (though you can certainly hold onto the stocks for that long).
One of the challenges is that in the past, you could only buy the A shares so many investors held onto the stock. Plus (this is a big one), the Berkshire Hathaway A share costs $528,000. Unless you have that much to spare, this share class isn’t exactly affordable for most investors.
The good news is that you can still get a piece of the action without having to fork over more than half a million dollars. Enter: Berkshire Hathaway B shares. Like A shares, you can own Berkshire Hathaway stock but it’s much more affordable, at $348 per share.
Instead of around an average of 7,800 shares sold each day for A shares, around 3 million shares are traded on an average day. Combined with the more affordable price and higher trade volume, you have a better shot of buying the Berkshire Hathaway B share.
If you think there’s different ownership types between A share and B shares, you’re incorrect. With A shares, you have a higher number of shares, or ownership compared to B shares. So if you want to take advantage of a stock that typically performs well (though you should never say never since there are no guarantees in life, including investing), buying B shares may be your chance. Several hundred dollars isn’t exactly small change, but at least it’s way less than trying to get a little more than half a million dollars.
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