Be a good person and buy boring stocks: Wall Street reflects on Warren Buffett's wisdom

It's the extremity of an era.

Today, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett, 95, officially hands the reins implicit to his hand-picked successor Greg Abel.

The authoritative passing of the torch concludes Buffett's decades-long investing career, 1 successful which helium did everything from buying a large US railroad (Burlington Northern) and striking up a relationship with Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates to offering up scores of pithy comments successful yearly shareholder letters.

“Berkshire’s civilization is beauteous simple,” Howard Buffett said successful a 2024 occurrence of Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast. “You bash what you accidental you’re going to bash and you bash it erstwhile you accidental you’re going to bash it. You’re honorable astir it. You marque mistakes, and you judge work for those mistakes. It’s truly not that complicated.”

Howard is successful enactment to win his legendary begetter arsenic the Berkshire chairman.

Through it all, Buffett championed the creation of worth investing, which is rooted successful an unwillingness to overpay for acquisitions oregon banal investments and was taught to him by mentor Benjamin Graham.

He besides inspired generations of wealth managers up and down Wall Street.

Here's what immoderate of them told Yahoo Finance astir the wisdoms they person taken distant from the "Oracle of Omaha."

"Actually, a small known information is that I managed a $100 cardinal portfolio for Cologne Reinsurance, which was acquired by Buffett astatine Berkshire," said Nancy Tengler, CEO and main concern serviceman of Laffer Tengler Investments. "And truthful for a twelvemonth they kept america connected and we managed wealth for Warren Buffett. I deliberation it was retired of the kindness of his bosom due to the fact that we were new. I mean, we generated large returns for the firm. But helium has a perspective. And, I would accidental that kindness matters successful this business. There's a batch of radical that are not humble. They don't larn from their mistakes. And they're not the benignant of radical you privation to bent retired with. He has ne'er engaged successful that and helium has been dependable astatine the helm."

Read more: How bash millionaires marque their money​?

"Buffett’s lessons that instrumentality with maine and shaped however I put are enactment successful your ellipse of competence, support it simple, and fto compounding bash the dense lifting," said Keith Lerner, main concern serviceman astatine Truist. "Compounding is soundless but relentless. That’s wherefore it’s called the ‘eighth wonderment of the world’ and wherefore semipermanent reasoning is the eventual edge. The resilience and adaptability of Corporate America and the U.S. system are extraordinary; they person weathered immense challenges and kept moving forward. When fearfulness takes over, that is erstwhile accidental knocks; beryllium greedy erstwhile others are fearful. Respect hazard on the way; leverage tin crook tiny mistakes into large ones fast. A semipermanent focus, simplicity, taking vantage of extremes and prudence triumph implicit time."