WARREN BUFFETT: My Two Stock Pickers' Investments Outperformed Mine 'By A Lot'

REUTERS/Rebecca CookWarren Buffett

Like all of us, Warren Buffett has been getting older. This has had investors increasingly asking about succession planning at Berkshire Hathaway.

Importantly, everyone's wondering if Berkshire will have people who are able deliver impressive returns through savvy stock market investments.

Buffett's top stock pickers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, appear to be doing a decent job.

"In a year in which most equity managers found it impossible to outperform the S&P 500, both Todd Combs and Ted Weschler handily did so," said Buffett in his annual letter to shareholders. "Each now runs a portfolio exceeding $7 billion. They've earned it."

"I must again confess that their investments outperformed mine. (Charlie says I should add "by a lot.") If such humiliating comparisons continue, I'll have no choice but to cease talking about them."

"Todd and Ted have also created significant value for you in several matters unrelated to their portfolio activities," continued Buffett. "Their contributions are just beginning: Both men have Berkshire blood in their veins."

All this should shore up confidence among Berkshire's shareholders.