Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commissions or income through links in the content below.
Although Warren Buffett will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, he is far from retired in the traditional sense. The 95-year-old still works in the office five days a week as president of the company, reminiscent of the man who once said, “I will continue working until about five years after I die (1).”
Buffett has also retained some ownership of Berkshire, although all of his shares will go to philanthropy for the decade following his death. And since the Oracle of Omaha is known for generating huge returns, those stocks are worth quite a bit of money.
From 1965 to 2025, his company earned compound annual returns of 19.7%, substantially outperforming the S&P 500’s 10.5% average annual return over that 60-year period. Today, Berkshire Hathaway’s cash and US Treasury holdings exceed $370 billion (2).
And Buffett believes he could once again build enormous wealth if he starts relatively small.
In 1999, he told Bloomberg Businessweek: “The highest rates of return I ever achieved were in the 1950s. I killed the Dow Jones. You should see the numbers,” he said (3).
And he was sure he could do it again, stating, “I think I could make you 50% a year on a million dollars. No, I know I could. I guarantee it.”
Twenty-six years later, that confidence has not been shaken. This is how Buffett would do it.
The Moody’s Handbooks were a series of publications by the financial services company Moody’s on publicly traded stocks. These texts provided detailed information on various industries, companies and securities.
“I found all kinds of interesting things when I was 20 or 21,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in 2024 (4).
Through his dedicated research, he was able to gain extensive knowledge about how different industries and companies worked, even little-known ones. He believes this type of behavior can provide an advantage.
“I don’t know what the equivalent of Moody’s Manuals or anything like that would be now, but I would try to know everything about everything small and find something,” he said.
Modern platforms like Moby are equivalent. Their team of former analysts and hedge fund experts spend hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide top-tier stock picks and crypto reports to keep you up to date on what’s moving the markets.
Moby’s superior research can help you reduce the guesswork when selecting stocks and ETFs. Over four years, across nearly 400 stock picks, their recommendations have outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 12%, on average.
With its easy-to-understand formats, you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read more: I’m almost 50 years old and I have no retirement savings. Is it too late to catch up?
Read more: Non-millionaires can now invest in this billion-dollar private real estate fund from just $10
Note that Buffett’s comments refer to what he would do, not necessarily what the average person should do. He considers investing his passion and has previously expressed that stock picking is not an optimal strategy for average investors.
In fact, at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 shareholder meeting, Buffett stated, “I don’t think the average person can pick stocks (5).”
Instead, he has repeatedly said that most people should invest their money in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund.
If you’re looking for an easy way to invest, consider Robinhood.
Platforms like Robinhood are designed to make investing easier and more accessible.
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can also buy and sell individual stocks, fractional shares, and options (for qualified traders), backed by 24/7 support. Trades in stocks, ETFs and their options have no commissions.
With access to popular ETFs like the Vanguard S&P 500, you can build diversified exposure without needing to pick individual stocks.
The platform also offers a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, so you can choose the tax strategy that fits your retirement plan.
With its recurring investing feature, you can set up automatic investments of your preferred fractional shares, stocks, and ETFs on your own schedule.
Over time, this will help investing become a habit and grow your portfolio steadily.
Earn up to 3% on eligible account transfers to a taxable Robinhood account through March 25. Risks and terms apply. Robinhood Gold subscription ($5/month) may apply.
As Buffett stated, if he had to start with just $1 million today, he would arm himself with knowledge by reading in detail today’s equivalent of the Moody’s Manuals to find opportunities, including those that may not be suitable for large funds.
You can still find these texts today: they are called Mergent Manuals. Mergent, Inc. acquired Moody’s Financial Information Services division in 1998 (6).
Today’s investors can also take advantage of tools and resources that didn’t exist when Buffett began investing, such as Internet databases.
For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR database allows investors to access detailed presentations and reports filed by publicly traded companies.
While the investing legend believes a 50% annual return is achievable, he acknowledges that it takes more than ambition.
“With a million dollars you could earn 50% a year, but you have to be in love with the subject. You can’t just be in love with money,” he explained at the 2024 shareholders meeting. “People find other things in other fields because they love to look for them.”
If you’re not passionate about the topic, a financial advisor can help you bridge the gap: They’re already doing daily deep dives and can give you expert guidance on your portfolio.
But finding the right advisor for you isn’t always easy.
That’s where Advisor.com can come into play. The platform quickly connects you with expert advisors you can trust.
Advisor.com does the heavy lifting for you, vetting advisors based on their track record, client ratings, and regulatory history. Additionally, your advisors are fiduciaries, meaning they are legally obligated to act in your best interest.
Simply enter a few details about your finances and goals, and Advisor.com’s AI-powered matching tool will connect you with the qualified expert who best fits your unique financial preferences and goals.
Schedule a free initial consultation today to see if they are the right fit for you.
Join over 250,000 readers and get the best Moneywise exclusive stories and interviews first – clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
We rely only on verified sources and credible third-party reports. For more details, see our Ethics and editorial guidelines..
Invest in yourself (1); Berkshire Hathaway (2); Bloomberg (3); CNBC Television (4); CNBC (5); Mergent (6)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
