I had to make a decision, about what to write about, here.
I chose New Year's Resolutions, because I hope they might help even just one or two of our readers get 2026 off to a good start, financially.
The other choice? Marking Warren Buffett's departure from the corner office at Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) (I own shares).
He will remain Chairman of the company's board, but the 95-year old has decided that after six decades in charge, he'll no longer be the CEO.
And fair enough.
In his characteristically humble way, he recently wrote that he would step down because he wasn't as sharp as he used to be, and because he believed his anointed successor, Greg Abel, would do a better job.
I hope that if you've been reading these notes for any length of time, the name 'Buffett' is a familiar one.
But just in case you're not, Warren Buffett is the investing GOAT – the 'Greatest Of All Time'.
He ran Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years, turning a struggling New England textile mill into his personal investing canvas – and delivered some astonishing returns for himself and for the company's shareholders.
How good?
When he took over, Berkshire shares were changing hands for US$19 each.
Now? Well, they finished 2025 at US$754,800.
No. That's not a typo.
More than three-quarters of a million dollars, each.
And he's retiring, undefeated.
For sixty years, Buffett compounded the company's value by around 20% per annum, on average.
That is simply astonishing.
('Astonishing' is a dramatic understatement, of course, but I don't know what string of superlatives could do a better job than the numbers themselves!).
More than that, though, Buffett spent those 60 years as a teacher. He and his late business partner Charlie Munger freely and happily dispensed their investing wisdom, inviting others to invest the same way.
They didn't hide their expertise, or pretend there was some black box. Other than questions about what Berkshire was buying or selling, any topic was fair game, and they answered question after question from shareholders at the company's annual meeting each year, while writing plenty and giving regular media interviews.
Buffett could rightly have lorded his success over everyone. He could have taken a massive cut of the company's performance as a 'performance fee', and no-one would have considered it unreasonable, given his astonishing run.
Instead?
He lives in the same house he bought decades ago. He took a $100,000 salary (only!) and insisted on paying the company back for any and all use of company assets.
Instead of seeking glory and adulation, he is giving 99% of his wealth to charity and wrote his last letter to shareholders about, of all things, kindness.
Oh he's plenty human. He's made mistakes, personally and professionally. He would be – he is – the first to mention that.
In his last letter, he wrote:
"One perhaps self-serving observation. I'm happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first. My advice: Don't beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them."
And again, perhaps fittingly, his executive career at Berkshire ended not with a bang, but a whimper.
I don't know what happened in the office at Kiewit Plaza, Omaha, on December 31, but there was no external fanfare, no press release, no grand gestures.
I suspect he just shook some hands, had a Coca-Cola (his drink of choice), and left the building.
On a personal level, I have Buffett and The Motley Fool to thank for my professional trajectory – and my personal investing approach.
I found The Oracle of Omaha through my early reading of The Motley Fool's then US-only website, and his teachings and example have shaped my investing approach.
Don't get me wrong: I have no delusions of grandeur. There is only, and will only ever be, one Warren Buffett. But we can learn from his words and actions, and aim to improve our investing, accordingly.
Berkshire will not be the same without Buffett at the executive helm. Nor will the investing world.
He was the man we turned to for reassurance and reminders of the right way to invest when things got tough.
He was the man companies and governments turned to, too, in times of crisis.
He's not gone yet, of course, but he has said will be "going quiet".
His record will likely never be eclipsed, and his example will similarly hard to match, in words, deeds and actions.
We have been lucky to be the recipients of his wisdom and public counsel over his time at Berkshire.
And what should investors take away from that immense body of work?
A few things:
– The value of long-term investing. It works.
– The concept of a company's 'moat': the sustainable competitive advantage that allows it to survive and thrive.
– The idea of having a 'circle of competence' – the things that you know that you know.
– How to think about that circle: it's not the size that counts, it's knowing where the edges are.
– Thinking independently: being fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when they're fearful
– Buffett's popularisation of Ben Graham's concept of 'Mr. Market' – the volatile business partner whose moods you should take advantage of, but whose counsel you should never seek, nor accept.
– The importance of seeing shares as pieces of real businesses, not just digital trading cards.
– The idea of 'intrinsic value' – that a company's shares are worth the value you calculate for them, not just what the market is offering them for on a given day
-The importance of management quality: if they're smart, hard working but lack integrity, you're on a hiding to nothing
– 'The three most important words in investing: Margin of safety': making sure you allow room for error
… and a whole lot more!
Each of those ideas deserves its own article, of course, but hopefully it'll be a reminder of how Buffett invests, and gives you some touchstones to take into 2026 and beyond, courtesy of the investing GOAT.
Well done, Uncle Warren. We thank you and salute you.
Fool on!
