A summary of that paper from the authors is here: https://www.aqr.com/Insights/Research/Journal-Article/Buffetts-Alpha https://www.aqr.com/Insights/Research/Jou

A summary of that paper from the authors is here: https://www.aqr.com/Insights/Research/Journal-Article/Buffetts-Alpha https://www.aqr.com/Insights/Research/Journal-Article/Buffet.... They work at AQR, a firm which is notable for being one of the only successful hedge funds to actually publish meaningful research. The paper's conclusion is noteworthy: > The efficient market counterargument is that Buffett was simply lucky. Our findings suggest that Buffett’s success is neither luck nor magic but is a reward for a successful implementation of value and quality exposures that have historically produced high returns. Second, we illustrated how Buffett’s record can be viewed as an expression of the practical implementability of academic factor returns after transaction costs and financing costs. We simulated how investors can try to take advan- tage of similar investment principles. Buffett’s success shows that the high returns of these academic factors are not simply “paper” returns; these returns can be realized in the real world after transaction costs and funding costs, at least by Warren Buffett. Furthermore, Buffett’s exposure to the BAB factor and his unique access to leverage are consistent with the idea that the BAB factor represents reward to the use of leverage.