'Decades-Old Investing Principles Apply Even Today': D-Street Honours Warren Buffett's Unmatched Legacy

Legendary investor Warren Buffett, will step down as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Berkshire Hathaway on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at the age of 95, after six decades of being at the helm of the conglomerate, in one of the most extraordinary leadership tenures in global corporate history.

Widely known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Buffett has been seen as a global investing legend by stock market participants worldwide for decades, for not just crucial investing guidance, but also for important life lessons.

In a tribute to Buffett on his retirement, India's leading market veteran Raamdeo Agrawal, chairman and co-founder, Motilal Oswal Financial Services spoke to NDTV Profit and revealed everything that he learnt from his 'guru' and shared his long-cherished, favorite memory with the legend.

The Motilal Oswal veteran thought ''he was very smart'' till he read Berkshire Hathaway's first annual report of 1994-95. ''Then, I realised I have to go to kindergarten to learn investing,'' said Agrawal. The market veteran found the Berkshire Hathaway CEO as his guru and claims to have followed his investing tips and wisdom on life throughout his career.

Agrawal said he learnt the concept of return on investment (RoE) and the power of high quality companies from Buffett, along with quality investing. He claims to have evolved his learning after reading Buffett's biography.

''I wrote my own version of 'Buffettology', which is QGLP, meaning quality, growth, longevity at reasonable price,'' said Agrawal. According to the D-Street veteran, Buffett's decades-old principles of investing remain the same today.

''He framed it very well. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. The whole thing is about understanding value. Both Charlie Munger and Buffett excelled at value investing,'' explained Agrawal. According to the market expert, the real architect of Berkshire Hathaway was Charlie Munger.

''He showed him the way to quality investing. One of Munger's popular saying is that it is far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than a fair company at a wonderful price. Buffett's biggest mistake was buying Berkshire itself, which is a value company, as per Agrawal.

However, the money Buffett got from that was spent on investments such as Coca Cola, Apple etc. ''Then, they focused on buying quality companies at reasonable price than buying cheap companies of low quality,'' said Agrawal.

'Be greedy when the world is fearful, and be fearful when the world is greedy'. Sharing one of Buffett's investing quotes, Agrawal said, ''That's one thing which will be a timeless lesson in terms of opportunities and challenges in the market. ''At the bottom of the market, nobody believes in it, while at the top, everybody is confident,'' explained the D-Street veteran.

Agrawal also revealed his favorite Warren Buffett memory. ''I shook hands with him at one of the annual conferences held in Texas. He signed on a dollar bill for me as an autograph.'' Remembering his meeting with Buffett, Agrawal said, ''He's like a child who's smiling and giggling. I never saw stress on his face. He is truly a people's person ad always wanted to connect with people. He has so much enthusiasm even at this age.''

According to Rajeev Thakkar, CIO, Director, PPFAS Mutual Fund, Buffett's principles apply even today, although some specifics may not apply. ''Few things that he said decades ago, such as losing money in the first year of any investment, may not prove to be bad. Buffett always looked at lifetime value of a customer and believed in survival of the fittest,'' said Thakkar.

On Buffett's investing tip of buy once and hold forever, Thakkar believes that the Omaha said that in aspirational terms. ''If nothing needs to be done, then don't unnecessary churn the portfolio. However, in his own investments there has been occasions when Buffett has had to exit positions sometimes very quickly, or when valuations became expensive.''

Coming to Buffett missing India's growth story, Thakkar said that he invested in companies listed in the US, but those have businesses all over the world, such as Coca Cola. India's big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, is known for his investments across companies like Tanishq and Crisil. ''So, principles don't change even when markets change,'' agreed Thakkar.

Adding to the difference between Buffett's investment strategy and the Indian market's mannerisms on trade, Agrawal said that for Berkshire, growth was part of quality and not explicit. ''In our framework of Buffettology, we have said, QGLP with longevity growth. That's what India is all about. India is at a break-neck growth speed of 7-8% and more.''

''So, we have to buy quality business companies and growth has to be implicit. We have to understand the power of compounding. That's why most stocks in India are expensive, as we have to sit through long periods of time for the power of compounding to work in investments,'' he said.

Commenting on Buffett's retirement and his absence from Berkshire Hathaway, Thakkar said that the premium associated with him goes away without his presence. ''People would see it as a sign of stability if Buffett invested in something. That kind of capability cannot be replicated by someone,'' he said.

Berkshire Hathaway announced that Greg Abel, vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, will succeed Buffett as CEO effective Jan.1, 2026. Abel, a longtime Berkshire executive, has been widely viewed as Buffett's chosen successor and has played a key role in expanding the company's energy and infrastructure businesses over the past two decades.

Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, initially seeking to salvage the textile business before gradually redirecting capital for other sectors such as insurance, railroads, utilities, consumer brands, equities.

He transformed it from a struggling New England textile manufacturer into a diversified global powerhouse valued at over $1 trillion. Over the last six decades, his disciplined value-investing philosophy and long-term approach delivered unparalleled returns for shareholders, earning him global recognition as one of the greatest investors of all time.