Warren Buffett – one of our favourite investors – announced he would step down as chief executive later this year. This doesn’t mean he’s retiring outright though. He intends to stay on as chairman at Berkshire Hathaway.
Since taking over Berkshire Hathaway when it was a struggling textile company in 1965, Buffett has built one of the largest US conglomerates.
In August 2025, Warren Buffett will be 95. Throughout his career, he’s estimated to have grown a $160 billion fortune.
Famous for his business nouse and shrewd investment approach, Buffett champions a long-term strategy of buying and holding stocks.
Here are five key lessons every investor can learn from Buffett.
1. Never lose money
“Rule number one is never lose money. Rule number two is never forget rule number one.”
Simple and direct, Buffett’s golden rule is “never lose money”.
Any investment comes with an element of risk and an asset could increase or decrease in value.
If you do lose money, it’s important to compare the relative returns of your investment portfolio to a similar target over the same period of time.
Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting out on your investment journey, it’s always wise to share the load of this responsibility with someone who can help you follow Buffett’s golden rule.
While there’s always an element of risk, having a professional by your side could increase your chance of success.
2. Do your research
“Never invest in a business you do not understand.”
Buffett is a strong believer in researching and understanding a business deeply, well before he invests.
One reason people may end up losing money when investing is that they invest in assets or businesses they don’t understand. This may be due to taking advice from family, a friend, or a stranger, or simply because they’ve heard some random comment about a “great opportunity”.
To avoid falling into the FOMO (fear of missing out) trap, only invest when you understand what you’re buying into.
Buffett is known to invest in companies and sectors he knows something about.
As a result, over the course of his career, he’s mostly stayed clear of investing in the technology sector. That said, he did make an exception for Apple, primarily because he thinks of it as a consumer goods company. At one point in 2024, Buffett was one of Apple’s largest investors.
If you’re unsure about how or where to invest your wealth, we can help.
3. Pay attention to fees
“Keep your investment costs low; over time, fees can erode even the best returns."
Costs are an important aspect of your investment strategy, which is why Buffett warns investors to pay close attention to fees.
He says: “If returns are going to be 7% or 8% and you’re paying 1% for fees, that makes an enormous difference in how much money you’re going to have in retirement.”
Buffett has also taken bankers to task: “When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients.”
This is an important aspect of our investment philosophy too.
At Ascenta, we don’t recommend commission-based plans. Instead, we are completely transparent and operate on a fee-only basis. And we’ll never recommend anything we wouldn’t do ourselves.
Read more: Fees v commission: How financial advisers are paid in Singapore and why Ascenta embrace transparency
4. Keep a cool head when markets are volatile
“Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful”
While it’s all too easy to panic and take a knee-jerk reaction when markets are turbulent, this quote is a solid reminder that you could learn to use market volatility to your advantage.
Because so many investors rush to panic-sell their investments, due to fear that their assets could lose more value, selling only serves to crystallise the loss.
And yet, over time, markets usually rebound after financial crises.
Although you may see temporary loss in value during a market dip, you’re less likely to make a material loss if you remain invested.
In fact, the smartest investors understand that falling markets could in fact be an opportunity to invest more at a lower price, and allow potentially greater long-term growth as the market recovers.
5. Take a long-term view
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
This famous quote could encourage you to focus on the why of your investment strategy, not just the what.
You may have started investing many years ago with a view to growing your wealth passively during the course of your career, so that you could sell some assets and afford a more comfortable retirement.
Alternatively, you might have a specific short-term goal in mind, such as paying your children’s university fees within the next decade.
By forming an investment strategy that focuses on your goals first, you are “planting a tree” that could help your beneficiaries, or your future self, “sit in the shade” later on.
We can help you focus on the right type of investment for your goals and attitude to risk, helping to angle your investments towards the future you want to have.
This quote also points towards investing to generate wealth over the long term, rather than looking to win short-term profits.
As Buffett has also said, “Our favourite holding period is forever.”
When you invest, remember that it’s for the long term, and that patience is often rewarded.
