One may think that top investors would have eclectic stock tastes that led to their success. Not necessarily so, according to The Wall Street Journal, which concludes, after sharing the favorite stocks of Warren Buffett, Bill Miller, Christopher Davis, David Dreman and John Neff, that through thick or thin and ups and downs, they choose household names. Buffett, for example, has invested in ConocoPhillips, General Electric and United Parcel Services. Bill Miller of Legg Mason, whose 15-year streak of outperforming the Standard & Poor’s 500 is in danger (though he always seems to pull out victory at the 11-9/10th hour) like United HealthGroup, Aetna, Amazon.com and eBay. Davis likes insurance companies, but also favors Microsoft. Dreman, who buys “when there’s blood on the street,” picks Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth. Finally, Neff, who searches for stocks at 40% to 50% discounts, thinks Citigroup, Lyondell Chemical and YRC Worldwide are nifty. The key seems to be, when a well-known stock is down and out, it’s only a matter of time when it’s up and away.
