Every once in a while, a single personnel move sends ripples far beyond the walls of the companies involved. Today, December 8, 2025, feels like one of those moments.
Warren Buffett, now 95, just announced that Todd Combs – one of the two star portfolio managers he personally hand-picked more than a decade ago, and more recently the CEO of GEICO – is stepping down from Berkshire Hathaway to take what Buffett called “an interesting and important job” at JPMorgan Chase.
If you follow markets closely, your first reaction was probably the same as mine: Wait… what?
A Succession Plan Suddenly in Motion
For years we’ve known Greg Abel will become CEO when Buffett finally steps away – a transition now scheduled for the end of 2026. What we didn’t expect was one of the key figures groomed alongside Abel to leave the castle before the king even hands over the crown.
Todd Combs wasn’t just another executive. He was part of the tiny circle Buffett trusted with Berkshire’s billions. Together with Ted Weschler, Combs managed growing chunks of the equity portfolio, scored big wins (remember the precise timing on Apple?), and in 2021 took the reins at GEICO when the auto-insurance giant desperately needed a turnaround.
And he delivered. Premiums grew, combined ratios improved, and the advertising gecko actually started making money again instead of just being cute on television.
What Buffett Himself Said – In His Own Words
“Todd has resigned to accept an interesting and important job at JPMorgan. Todd made many great hires at GEICO and broadened its horizons. JPMorgan, as usually is the case, has made a good decision.”
– Warren Buffett, December 8 2025 statement
Classic Buffett: short, gracious, more than a little complimentary toward the rival that just poached his talent.
So What Exactly Is Combs Going to Do at JPMorgan?
Details remain thin – this literally broke hours ago – but here’s what we know so far.
Combs already sits on JPMorgan’s board (he joined in 2023), so relationships at the very top are warm. Jamie Dimon and his team clearly see something special. Sources familiar with the matter suggest the role will be senior, strategic, and very likely involve overseeing large pools of capital – possibly even a path toward the asset-and-wealth-management empire or a broader chief investment officer-type mandate across the firm.
Think about that for a second. JPMorgan manages or administers close to $5 trillion in client assets. Giving someone with Combs’ track record real firepower there would be a statement.
Why Leave Now? Reading Between the Lines
Let’s be honest – nobody walks away from Berkshire Hathaway lightly. The place is a cathedral of capital allocation. You sit at the feet of the master, you get permanent capital, you’re judged over decades instead of quarters. It’s the closest thing to investing nirvana most of us will ever see.
So why would a 54-year-old in the prime of his career leave all that?
- Opportunity size. At Berkshire, even the star deputies oversee “only” tens of billions. At a giant like JPMorgan the canvas is vastly larger.
- Direct P&L responsibility. Running GEICO was huge, but insurance is still one (very profitable) corner of Berkshire. A top role at JPMorgan puts you in the cockpit of the entire franchise.
- Personal timeline. With Greg Abel firmly in pole position for CEO and no sign the job will ever be split, the realistic ceiling for Combs inside Berkshire might have become clear.
- Compensation. Let’s not pretend equity packages at the largest U.S. bank are anything less than eye-watering for the right talent.
Perhaps the simplest explanation is also the truest: JPMorgan made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and at 54 you don’t get many chances to run something that big.
How Berkshire’s Investment Bench Looks Now
Ted Weschler remains – and by all accounts is brilliant in his own right – but the duo that Buffett proudly paraded as proof he’d solved succession on the investing side is now broken up.
Greg Abel, the incoming CEO, has deep operational chops (energy, rail, retail) but has never pretended to be a stock-picker. The question some shareholders are already asking in chat rooms and message boards: does this increase the odds that Berkshire slowly shifts toward index-like investing or more acquisitions rather than individual stock bets?
Maybe. Or maybe Buffett and the board already have the next generation warming up in Triple-A. They’ve certainly kept those cards close to the vest before.
Market Reaction and What Comes Next
As I write this, Berkshire Class B shares are down about 1.2% – not a panic, but definitely noticeable on a quiet Monday morning. JPMorgan shares are up fractionally, which feels about right: they just grabbed elite talent without breaking the bank on the stock move.
Longer term, this feels like another small crack in the idea that Berkshire is eternally unchanging. Charlie Munger gone. Buffett retiring in 13 months. Now one of the two named investment successors walking out the door.
Change was always coming. It’s just arriving a little faster than many of us expected.
Final Thoughts – Respect Where It’s Due
Todd Combs was never a household name outside investing circles, but inside them he was revered. Landing the Berkshire job at age 39 after running a modest hedge fund in Connecticut was the ultimate validation. Turning around GEICO while simultaneously helping steer a $350 billion stock portfolio was proof he belonged.
Now he gets a new mountain to climb. And knowing his track record, I wouldn’t bet against him reaching the summit there too.
As for Berkshire – the institution is far bigger than any one person except maybe the man in the Omaha office who still signs the annual letter. The culture, the balance sheet, the moats… those don’t walk out the door.
But today feels like the end of a chapter all the same.
And if you’re a shareholder, a competitor, or just someone who loves watching great investors move the chess pieces, the next few years are going to be fascinating.
