Changing of the guard: Where top investors moved their money in Q3 2025

The latest 13F filings mark a turning point for some of Wall Street’s biggest names. In Q3 2025, veteran investors such as Warren Buffett and Michael Burry stepped back for different reasons, while others like Stanley Druckenmiller and Harvard’s endowment fund leaned into fresh opportunities across AI, energy, and cryptocurrency. Here’s how top portfolios shifted as the old guard gave way to a new wave of high conviction moves.

Buffett and Burry step out of the spotlight

One of the key highlights from the latest 13F filings was Berkshire Hathaway opening a $4.3 billion position in Alphabet [GOOGL:US], which now makes up 1.62% of its portfolio. Berkshire also trimmed its Apple [AAPL:US] stake by 14.9%, a significant reduction in its largest holding. Investors are speculating to what extent the Google purchase came from Warren Buffett himself or rather from his successors.

In May, Buffett announced he would retire as Berkshire’s chief executive at year’s end. On November 10, he confirmed the move in a letter, writing: “I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting. I’m going quiet. Sort of. Greg Abel will become the boss at year-end. He is a great manager, a tireless worker, and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure.”

Meanwhile, Michael Burry is closing his fund. In an October 27 letter to investors, the Scion Asset Management founder said he would liquidate and return capital, keeping only a small audit and tax reserve. On November 10, Scion formally withdrew its SEC registration, confirming the shutdown.

“Burry’s decision feels less like calling it quits and more like stepping away from a game he believes is fundamentally rigged,” said Bruno Schneller, managing director at Erlen Capital Management. “Don’t count him out, just expect him to operate off the grid for a while,” Schneller added. “He may simply pivot to a family office and run his own money.”

Burry’s fund closure also aligns with his recent warnings about an AI bubble. The Big Short investor has accused major AI hyperscalers of artificially boosting earnings. Scion Asset Management’s final 13F filing before closure revealed large put options (contracts betting the stock’s price will fall) against Nvidia and Palantir, highlighting Burry’s bearish stance and scepticism toward AI-driven market euphoria.

But Burry could be moving on to something new. On X, via his profile Cassandra Unchained, he teased, “On to much better things Nov 25th,” telling his followers to “stay tuned.”

Druckenmiller’s new playbook

Stanley Druckenmiller appears to be quietly positioning in areas he believes could drive the next wave of global growth. The billionaire investor, known for an extraordinary 30-year streak of 30% average annual returns without a single down year at Duquesne Capital Management, added several new holdings with an eye toward long-term secular trends. His latest trades could suggest three themes shaping his outlook: artificial intelligence infrastructure, energy security, and a possible rebound in emerging markets.

Druckenmiller’s top three positions are in biotech and pharmaceuticals, including Natera [NTRA:US], Insmed [INSM:US] and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries [TEVA:US], together making up about 30% of his portfolio. He increased his holdings in all three during the past quarter.

Similar to Berkshire, Druckenmiller was also leaning into the tech trade. He initiated new positions in Alphabet [GOOGL:US], Amazon [AMZN:US], and Meta Platforms [META:US], investing nearly $180 million across the three. These companies dominate cloud infrastructure, a core pillar of artificial intelligence and digital services. The move could suggest confidence that demand for computing power and data capacity will continue to grow over time.

Finally, his largest new position was a $101 million stake in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF [EEM:US]. After years of underperformance, emerging markets are trading at historically low valuations compared with US equities, similar to levels seen in the early 2000s. Could this signal that Druckenmiller is positioning for a potential rebound, or simply seeking diversification in regions the market has tended to overlook?

Bitcoin takes the top spot in Harvard’s portfolio

Harvard University’s endowment fund 13F filing shows it has sharply raised its exposure to Bitcoin [BTC/USD], boosting its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust [IBIT:US] by 257% in Q3. The position, now worth $442.8 million, has become Harvard’s largest single holding, surpassing its investments in major tech names such as Meta, NVIDIA, and Alphabet.

The Harvard endowment is the world’s largest academic endowment, valued at $56.9 billion as of June 30, 2025. It is managed by Harvard Management Company and supports the university’s mission through annual distributions from its investments.

The university also doubled its exposure to gold, lifting its holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust [GLD:US] to $235 million, suggesting a diversified tilt toward both digital and traditional stores of value.

While the fund’s move signals growing institutional comfort with Bitcoin, it carries extra weight coming from Harvard. The university, founded in 1636 and the oldest in the United States, has long been seen as a pillar of academic tradition. Yet America’s oldest university now appears unafraid to test new ideas.

Some academics at the institution have historically been sceptical of Bitcoin. In 2018, Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff told CNBC that Bitcoin was more likely to fall to $100 than rise to $100,000 within a decade. With Bitcoin already surpassing that milestone, the prediction now stands as a clear miss, and the university’s own balance sheet is now telling a very different story.

^{Source: HedgeFollow, Harvard Management Co Inc Holdings}

What the smart money bought last quarter

Quarterly buying totals from DATAROMA, which tracks 79 value-focused investors, show continued accumulation in large-cap technology, while UnitedHealth attracted ongoing attention following its sharp pullback.

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