Warren Buffett Urges Consistent S&P 500 Investing

Warren Buffett recommends that investors avoid timing the market and instead focus on owning high-quality companies for long periods to build wealth. In interviews with CNBC, he advised most individuals to avoid picking individual stocks and instead consistently invest in the S&P 500, suggesting they continue buying "through thick and thin -- and especially through thin."

This long-term strategy is supported by historical data showing that the S&P 500 has delivered positive total returns over 20-year periods, even when investments were made immediately preceding major crashes in 1929, 2000, and 2008. A JPMorgan Chase study further indicates that investors who miss the market's best trading days significantly underperform those who remain fully invested.

Buffett applied these principles at Berkshire Hathaway, which saw an overall gain of 5,502,284% from 1964 to 2024.