Markel Group's latest quarterly disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission shows a U.S. equity portfolio valued at $12.84 billion as of the third quarter of 2026, with the Glen Allen, Virginia-based insurance holding company's two largest positions, Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway, together accounting for more than $1.7 billion of that total, according to the 13F filing posted on SEC EDGAR.
The filing shows Alphabet as Markel's top holding at $936.99 million, followed by Berkshire Hathaway at $832.16 million, a combined stake of roughly $1.77 billion across just two names. Rounding out the top of the portfolio are Deere & Co at $578.31 million, Amazon at $505.96 million, Brookfield Corp at $476.66 million, Apple at $408.71 million, Analog Devices at $396.58 million, Visa at $364.33 million, Goldman Sachs at $323.55 million and Microsoft at $275.75 million. Based on the figures disclosed in the filing, those ten positions alone total roughly $5.1 billion, or about 40% of the entire reported portfolio value.
The concentration is notable given Markel's long-standing reputation as an insurer that manages its investment portfolio in a manner reminiscent of Berkshire Hathaway, using underwriting float to fund a relatively small number of large, long-held equity stakes rather than a broadly diversified basket. The fact that Berkshire Hathaway itself sits among Markel's top two holdings, alongside Alphabet, illustrates how directly that resemblance extends in practice, with an insurer modeled partly on Warren Buffett's approach also holding a substantial direct position in Berkshire's own stock.
For investors who track institutional positioning, 13F filings like Markel's offer a quarterly snapshot of how large asset owners deploy capital, though the disclosures come with limits. The reported $12.84 billion figure covers only U.S. reportable long equity positions as filed with the SEC; it excludes cash, bonds, short positions and non-U.S. holdings, and it is not a measure of Markel's total assets under management. Markel Group's broader balance sheet includes insurance reserves, fixed income holdings and its Markel Ventures operating businesses, none of which appear in the 13F data.
Markel's investment approach has long been associated with Tom Gayner, the company's co-chief executive, who has overseen its equity portfolio for decades using a value-oriented, buy-and-hold philosophy. The company rebranded from Markel Corporation to Markel Group in recent years as it expanded beyond traditional specialty insurance into Markel Ventures, a collection of non-insurance operating businesses, while continuing to run a concentrated public equity book alongside its underwriting operations.
The disclosure arrives against a backdrop of sharp single-day moves across large-cap technology and semiconductor names. Intel shares fell 28.6% on the day, while Qualcomm dropped 11.1% and Advanced Micro Devices declined 10.9%, according to trading data for the session. Applied Materials, Oracle and Palantir also posted declines ranging from roughly 6% to 7.5%. None of those companies appear among Markel's disclosed holdings, but the portfolio does carry exposure to mega-cap technology through its positions in Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, all of which sit within its top ten holdings and could be sensitive to broader swings in technology sentiment. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was among the notable gainers on the day, up 13.3%, though it is not listed among Markel's reported positions.
Beyond equities, broader markets showed mixed activity, with Bitcoin trading near $77,363 and down slightly on the day, while Ethereum held above $2,200. Those moves are unrelated to Markel's equity filing but reflect the wider volatility across asset classes during the period covered by the disclosure.
Going forward, market participants who follow institutional 13F filings will likely watch whether Markel maintains or trims its concentrated stakes in Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway in coming quarters, and whether the insurer adds to sector exposures such as industrials, where Deere and Caterpillar already feature prominently, or financials, where Goldman Sachs, Visa and BlackRock appear among its larger positions. Because 13F filings are disclosed with a lag and only capture a portion of a company's total investment activity, any shifts in Markel's next quarterly filing will offer the next indication of how the insurer is adjusting its approach amid changing market conditions.