Steady as She Goes, Greg Abel

To the Editor:
Aside from buying a whole lot more Berkshire Hathaway stock himself, CEO-designate Greg Abel should stay the course (“Berkshire Without Buffett: What’s Next for the Company and the Stock,” Cover Story, Nov. 13). Do no harm, and don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Once the market corrects from its manic overvaluation and speculative artificial-intelligence fever, Berkshire’s performance will outshine once again, just as it did after the dot-com face plant.

Richard Goldstein
On Barrons.com

Worsening Disparities

To the Editor:
Concierge medicine is just an example of further wasteful spending in medicine that does nothing but increase the cost of medicine for everyone and worsens disparities (“Concierge Medicine Is Booming. Should You Join the VIP Club?” Nov. 12). Ordering additional testing because it “feels right” without any good evidence of improving care leads to further testing and increased costs because all of that further testing is being paid by the insurers or the government—hence everyone. It leaves a much smaller pool of primary-care physicians seeing a much smaller panel of high-net-worth individuals. This result leaves—once again—the younger population, the poor, and the working class without the same level of access and a higher cost of care.

Dr. Louis J. Papa
Rochester, N.Y.

Spiking Volatility

To the Editor:
We all know that millions of people are going to lose their jobs over the next two to three years because of artificial intelligence (“AI Anxiety Reaches Fever Pitch in the Stock Market. Why It’s Still Not Time to Worry,” Tech Trader, Nov. 13). Conversely, businesses will see unusually large earnings increases the first few years, which will goose the stock market. At the same time, government jobs numbers will show job losses, and investors will be rightfully confused. Volatility will spike like never before.

Shepard Fargotstein
On Barrons.com

Rethinking 60/40

To the Editor:
Whether it’s fixed income here or abroad, it’s still subject to the deleterious effect of profligate fiscal policy worldwide, intermediate and long rates reacting negatively to misguided Federal Reserve policy, and tariffs/embargoes that create inflation (“6 Global Balanced Funds That Make Sense for This Market,” Funds, Nov. 12). The traditional 60/40 asset mix is clearly outmoded in today’s investing environment. Instead, consider a 50/25/25 mix of growth stocks, high-yield value stocks with increasing dividends, and gold miners/bullion, which has a better chance of preserving capital, providing growth, and generating a rising income stream.

Mike Meehan
Bradenton, Fla.

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