What index funds does Warren Buffet buy?
Buffett has consistently recommended an S&P 500 index fund as the best way for most investors to get stock market exposure. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks about 80% of U.S. stocks by market capitalization.
The year-to-date returns for both stocks are quite close, with VFIAX having a 4.06% return and VOO slightly lower at 4.00%. Both investments have delivered pretty close results over the past 10 years, with VFIAX having a 13.02% annualized return and VOO not far ahead at 13.04%.
According to Warren Buffet, “The best investment—by far—is developing yourself.” In particular, he says, “I would say communications skills are the first area I would work on to enhance your value throughout life...
Key Points. Warren Buffett is highly regarded for his ability to consistently beat the benchmark S&P 500. Berkshire Hathaway's investing profile has dramatically changed since the turn of the century, however. As a result, growth investors will likely be better served owning this low-cost indexed Vanguard ETF.
Overview. The Buffett Indicator (aka, Buffett Index, or Buffett Ratio) is the ratio of the total United States stock market to GDP. Buffett Indicator =
Does it make sense to have both VTI and VOO? For most investors, it probably doesn't make sense to own both. VTI and VOO both provide great diversification at a low cost. However, you may find that your retirement plan at work doesn't offer a total stock market index fund like VTI.
What do analysts say about VOO? VOO's analyst rating consensus is a Moderate Buy. This is based on the ratings of 505 Wall Streets Analysts.
Stock | Number of Shares Owned | Value of Stake |
---|---|---|
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) | 915,560,382 | $168.3 billion |
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) | 1,032,852,006 | $33.2 billion |
American Express (NYSE:AXP) | 151,610,700 | $27.3 billion |
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) | 400,000,000 | $24.1 billion |
The stock he keeps buying
Throughout 2023, Buffett consistently added more shares to one of Berkshire's top holdings, Occidental Petroleum (OXY -0.10%). Berkshire Hathaway established its position in the company when it put up $10 billion in capital to facilitate Occidental's acquisition of Anadarko.
- Never lose money. ...
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- Our favorite holding period is forever. ...
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- Be fearful when others are greedy.
Why not just invest in Berkshire?
Over the past decade, Berkshire Hathaway's stock is up roughly 215%, versus a stock advance of 155% for the S&P 500 Index. That's pretty impressive, but if you add dividends into the equation, the numbers are a lot less compelling. Berkshire Hathaway doesn't pay dividends, so its return remains at 215%.
But some of the biggest issues for Berkshire, maybe “good problems”, remain the same as in recent years: a lot of cash on the balance sheet, no big M&A deals, and an Apple stake now so large it and the cash now rival the size of Berkshire's operating companies.
Berkshire Hathaway stock generally lagged the S&P 500 index since late 2017, but managed to handily outperform the benchmark index in 2022. It lagged again in 2023 after giving up some spring and summer gains.
Buffett believes most people should consistently buy an S&P 500 index fund. That strategy spreads capital across many of the most influential businesses in the world -- companies Buffett says "are bound to do well" in aggregate over time -- and it requires almost no work.
Buffett's favorite ETF
A -0.70%) (BRK. B -0.55%) portfolio: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY 0.15%) and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (VOO 0.06%).
The 90/10 strategy calls for allocating 90% of your investment capital to low-cost S&P 500 index funds and the remaining 10% to short-term government bonds. Warren Buffett described the strategy in a 2013 letter to his company's shareholders.
VOO will offer consistent returns with diversification and lower costs. QQQ will offer you the opportunity to bring in higher returns, but these come with more risks and a higher cost. If you're looking for the best return possible on your money, then you're going to want to go with QQQ.
However, if you know that you'd like a bit more exposure to smaller and medium-sized companies or just want to invest in more stocks overall, VTI is your best bet. VOO, meanwhile, is the better option for investors who want to focus heavily on large cap companies.
Experts agree that for most personal investors, a portfolio comprising 5 to 10 ETFs is perfect in terms of diversification.
Both VOO and SPY are index funds based on the S&P 500. Stock holdings and sector allocations are nearly identical. Performance is also nearly identical, but the VOO has slightly outperformed the SPY over the long term. Both funds are easily available at popular investment brokers and through robo-advisors.
What is the best S&P 500 index fund?
Index fund | Minimum investment | Expense ratio |
---|---|---|
Vanguard 500 Index Fund - Admiral Shares (VFIAX) | $3,000. | 0.04%. |
Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund (SWPPX) | No minimum. | 0.02%. |
Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX) | No minimum. | 0.015%. |
Fidelity Zero Large Cap Index (FNILX) | No minimum. | 0.0%. |
Minimum investment: VFIAX typically requires a higher minimum investment than VOO. For example, the minimum investment for VFIAX is $3,000, while there is no minimum investment for VOO.
- Nvidia Corp. (ticker: NVDA)
- Apple Inc. (AAPL)
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL)
- Tesla Inc. ...
- AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB)
- Walt Disney Co. ...
- PayPal Holdings Inc.
Apple makes up a whopping 45.1% of Berkshire's entire portfolio, a position valued at roughly $163 billion. Berkshire also has a not-insignificant $4 billion position in HP Inc. Thus, technology is now Buffett's favorite sector to invest in ironically, although he would not classify it as such.
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- Which of these lessons do you apply to your own investing?