The question of who might take over the running of Berkshire Hathaway when Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, steps aside has been a parlour game among financial types for many years.

Mr Buffett, who currently has no intention of retiring, has long said that he would split the top job between a chief executive to oversee Berkshire’s operating companies and a handful of managers to look after the substantial investment portfolio – possibly under a chief investment officer.

On Monday night, however, the race to fill the latter post became more heated after Berkshire said it had hired a 39-year-old hedge fund manager from Connecticut to oversee a large portion of the group’s portfolio – its first public appointment related to the succession issue.