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British Columbia Investment Management made some major changes in its U.S.-traded stock investments.

BCI, as the agency is known, manages the province’s public assets. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, BCI managed C$153.4 billion in assets, with 30.6% of that invested in the U.S.

In the last quarter of 2019, the manager quadrupled its investment in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKb), and also bought up Aurora Cannabis (ACB), General Electric (GE), and Boeing stock (BA). BCI disclosed the fourth-quarter trades, among others, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

BCI declined to comment on its transactions.

The manager bought 757,082 shares of class B Berkshire Hathaway stock in the last three months of 2019, raising its investment to 1 million shares. Buffett’s company underperformed the market last year, as the shares managed a gain of 10.9%, about a third of the S&P 500 index’s 28.9% rise. So far in 2020 through Friday’s close, Berkshire stock is up 0.1% while the index has gained 4.6%.

Barron’s has picked Berkshire Hathaway stock as a top pick for this year. One observer told us that he sees it as “a high-quality defensive stock.”

Aurora Cannabis stock lost more than half its value in 2019, and so far this year, it’s down 36.9%. The Canadian pot producer was hurt when the sector bubble burst, and losses mounted in the fiscal second quarter, which was reported last week. Aurora Cannabis founder and CEO Terry Booth retired earlier this month.

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BCI dramatically raised its investment in Aurora stock, buying 1.2 million more shares in the fourth quarter to end the year with 1.4 million shares.

The manger also bulked up on GE stock, buying 677,872 additional shares in the fourth quarter, raising its stake to 2.1 million shares.

GE stock surged 53.2% in 2019, and so far in 2020, shares have rallied 15.0%. GE bears have been rethinking their calls, and although we gave high marks for the work CEO Larry Culp has done, he himself was much tougher on himself.

Boeing stock is up in 2020, as well, rising 4.5% after a challenging 2019 that saw shares eke out a 1% gain. Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX jet continues to be an issue in the wake of deadly crashes, and the company’s new CEO has vowed it will resume flying.

BCI bought 576,784 Boeing shares in the fourth quarter, raising its stake to 675,145 shares.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.