Wesco Financial Corporation · Pasadena, CA United States ·(NYSE Alternext: WSC)

Wesco Financial is sort of like Berkshire Hathaway Lite. Charlie Munger, Berkshire vice chairman and a confidant of Warren Buffett, leads Wesco. And like Berkshire, the investment firm provides insurance and reinsurance; in Wesco's case, it does so through subsidiaries Wesco-Financial Insurance Company and Kansas Bankers Surety. It also holds shares in some of the same companies as Berkshire, like Coca-Cola, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, and Wells Fargo. However, Wesco gets more than 40% of its revenue from CORT Business Services, one of the largest providers of rental furniture in the US. It also operates Precision Steel Warehouse, which has steel service centers in Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina. To read the full description, subscribe now.