Vanguard's Ticker for the S&P 500, VOO - VOO and Chill
The Case for Buffett’s Recommended Investment Strategy
Warren Buffett is widely regarded as the greatest investor of all time. People have asked him for decades how they should invest. His answer — which he gives away for free — is simple: most people should buy and hold a low-cost S&P 500 index fund.
My question was straightforward: Is he right?
After hundreds of hours of research, I was surprised to find that he is.
One of the most important — and least understood — discoveries I made is that America and American business are the greatest wealth-building engine in history, and that it has never been easier for individuals to participate in that success in an optimal way.
By following Buffett’s advice, an individual investor is likely to outperform roughly 95% of professional money managers over the long term.
And this is where the problem becomes clear.
According to a 2025 Gallup study, approximately 38% of U.S. adults do not own any stocks at all. Among those who do invest, research cited by J.P. Morgan Asset Management shows that investors trail the market by roughly 63% over time, largely due to behavioral mistakes.
That gap represents one of the greatest missed opportunities in personal finance — and one Buffett has already shown how to close.
In effect, Buffett has handed the public the Holy Grail of investing.
This website exists to show:
- The Philosophy behind the thesis
- Why it works
- Why it outperforms
- And how to stick with it
Start by watching Buffett make the case in his own words.
Then explore the rest of the site for the data and evidence showing why it works better than just about anything else.
▶ Watch Buffett make the case
▶ The Warren Buffett Investing Plan
Warren Buffett’s Investment Advice - In his own words
- When he purchased his first stock during WWII, the best thing he—or anyone—could have done was to buy the S&P 500 index fund.
- $10,000 invested in an S&P Index fund at that time would be worth a staggering $52 million in 2018.
- Think of investing in the S&P Index as buying and holding a piece of American business.
- One investment decision for your lifetime:
- You would never have to look at another stock quote or listen to another person give you advice.
- All you had to do was believe that America would do well over time. If America did well, American business would do well.
- If you listened to the doomsayers and invested in gold, you would have 1% of what you would have had investing in a productive asset like the S&P.
- We have operated in this country with the greatest tailwind at our back that you can imagine; it's an investor's heaven.
- You can't really fail unless:
- You buy the wrong stock.
- You get excited at the wrong time.
- But if you own a cross-section of America and consistently invest over the years, there's no comparison between that and:
- Owning something that produces nothing.
- Trying to jump in and out of stocks.
- Paying investment advisors.
- The only problem with this advice? Your friendly stockbroker would have starved to death, and you could have gone to their funeral to atone for their fate.
- The truth is, you would have been better off doing this than a very high percentage of investment professionals or active investors.
- It’s very hard to move around successfully and beat what can be done with a very relaxed philosophy.
- You don’t need to know about:
- Accounting.
- Stock market terminology.
- What the Fed is going to do next.
- None of that counts in a lifetime of investing.
- What counts is having a philosophy that you stick with and understand why you're in it.
Then explore the site to learn:
- Why owning a piece of American business has been a winning strategy for generations
- Why this solution was developed, after researchers in the 1970s discovered that professional money managers were not beating the market—the market was beating them
- The proof that it works, backed by decades of data
- Why it works and why it is likely to continue working in the future
- Why it is uniquely suited to long-term, buy-and-hold investing
- How Buffett won a $1 million bet that an S&P 500 index fund would outperform a collection of hedge funds
- How to prepare for inevitable market declines, including guidance from Peter Lynch on handling periods when stocks fall sharply
- Endorsements and testimonials from other legendary investors who independently reached the same conclusion
And much more.
One investment decision. One lifetime plan.
© 2025 Dan Mahoney | Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. I am a self-taught investor who worked in sales in the IT reseller solutions industry. After watching Warren Buffett—arguably the greatest stock picker in history—deliver an investing lesson, I asked a simple question: Why would he recommend a low-cost S&P 500 index fund for just about everyone?
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