Good morning investors!

Two major money events happened this weekend:

Horse betters wagered more than $320 million on Saturday. A speedster named Mystik Dan won the main event by a snout, at roughly 18 to 1 odds.

As it turns out, that’s a paltry amount compared to what Warren Buffett is currently sitting on.

Today’s letter is brought to you by iTrust Capital

Bitcoin has been one of the best-performing assets of the last decade. Yet if you turn to a traditional exchange, you have to pay taxes.

iTrust Capital offers tax-advantaged accounts so you can save money on taxes while still investing in crypto. Long-term investors understand the power of an IRA.

Find out how you can leverage one from iTrust Capital.

$189 billion — in cold, hard cash

On Saturday, Warren Buffett presided over the first Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting without Charlie Munger.

Thousands of shareholders and Buffett enthusiasts descended on Omaha to watch the 94-year-old field questions about his business, portfolio, and six-decade friendship with Munger, who passed away in November at 99.

One key detail from the weekend: Berkshire revealed the company’s cash pile hit a record $189 billion at the end of March.

That’s more than double the market cap of Starbucks, and up from about $168 billion one quarter earlier. 

Fielding questions at what’s been dubbed “Woodstock for Capitalists,” Buffett told attendees he expects that war chest to balloon to $200 billion halfway through 2024.

“We’d love to spend it, but we won’t spend it unless we think they’re doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money,” Buffett said. 

It’s not nothing when an investing legend implies good bargains aren’t readily available.

While Buffett indeed still has plenty of capital deployed, keeping that much cash on the sidelines doesn’t exactly resemble a vote of confidence. 

In the first quarter, Berkshire spent $2.7 billion on stocks and sold about $20 billion. 

Buffett added that building up cash holdings seems to be the right move given the economic environment.  

“I don’t think anyone sitting at this table has any idea how to use it effectively, and therefore we don’t use it,” he said Saturday. 

Notably, the conglomerate trimmed its stake in Apple by about 13%. 

Still, Buffett maintained he anticipates the iPhone maker will remain Berkshire’s largest stock holding for the foreseeable future. 

So there seem to be a few reasons Buffett’s hoarding cash: 

Some on Wall Street have argued that equity valuations have become too stretched and, in turn, less enticing over recent months. 

Based on his portfolio, Buffett’s outlook seems to fall into that camp.

There’s little sense spending money for the sake of making a transaction, especially if it doesn’t look like a winning bet. 

"We only swing at pitches we like,” Buffett said. “Today things aren’t attractive.”

*At a glance:

Elsewhere:

Rapid-fire:

Last thing:

Interested in advertising in Opening Bell Daily? Email phil@openingbellmedia.com