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With Wall Street reeling from one of its worst quarters in years, Warren Buffett is shrugging it off — and shopping for deals.
The war between US and Israel in Iran affected the market badly in early 2026. The Nasdaq fell 7% in Q1, the S&P 500 fell nearly 5%, and the Dow fell 4% (1) – the worst quarterly performance since 2022 (2).
CNN reported that both the Dow and Nasdaq entered correction territory, with the Nasdaq closing 12.5% below its October record high, while oil prices rallied (3).
For many investors, that’s the kind of environment that causes panic. For Buffett, it barely registers.
“It’s nothing to get you excited about,” he said in a CNBC interview.
The 95-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” revealed that even though Greg Abel was handed the CEO role at Berkshire Hathaway on January 1, 2026, he still comes to the office every day and has a hand in investment decisions.
Buffett describes his routine: Every morning before the market opens, he calls Mark Millard, Berkshire’s director of financial assets. Based on their chats, Millard then executes trades, though “I don’t make any (investments) that Greg thinks are wrong,” Buffett told CNBC. “Greg gets the (update) sheet every day.”
He also revealed that he had just made “a small purchase” – without disclosing what the investment was (4). Given Berkshire’s record cash and US Treasury holdings of more than $370 billion at year-end, the mystery purchase sparked immediate speculation among investors (5).
In addition, the company recently purchased $17 billion in Treasury bills at a weekly auction, Buffett shared in the interview.
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Although Buffett doesn’t like holding cash, he believes a certain amount is as necessary as the air we breathe.
“You need oxygen, and if you’re without it for four or five minutes, you’re going to learn,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC (6), “and cash is that way. So you always need to have it available, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Current price trends reflect that need. According to the American Automotive Association (7), gas prices have risen by nearly 30% since the start of the Iran war, to above $4 per gallon. For those who don’t have enough cash reserves, price hikes can put pressure on their finances.
But you can still find ways to make your cash work harder for you behind the scenes.
For example, a high-yield account like the Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new customers can get an additional 0.75% increase in their first three months of up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.
That’s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s March report.
Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new customers who enable direct deposit ($1,000/month minimum) into their cash accounts and open and fund new investment accounts an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be up to 4.30%.
With no minimum balance or account fees, plus 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds are always accessible. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC insured eligibility through program banks.
Buffett puts today’s volatility in historical context.
“Three times since I’ve taken office, it’s definitely been down more than 50%,” he said, pointing to crashes that have undercut the current pullback.
In his view, a market that is a few percentage points cheaper than its current peak does not fundamentally change the investment calculus of a firm like Berkshire.
“We’re not making five or six percent,” he said (4).
That’s a clear difference from retail investors who may measure opportunity in short-term percentage moves. Buffett’s investment horizon is decades, not quarters.
Buffett’s position provides a useful framework for anyone tempted to make dramatic portfolio moves right now. The same Iran war that drove benchmark Brent crude to around $113 a barrel and sent CNN. Fear and Greed Index “Extreme fear” is precisely the type of headline-driven volatility that has historically driven ordinary investors to sell near the bottom (3).
Buffett has survived Black Monday in 1987, the 2000 dot-com crash, the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and the COVID collapse—all of which felt catastrophic in the moment and all of which eventually recovered (8).
And his view hasn’t changed: Until valuations fall to levels that create truly outsized long-term returns, patience beats action.
“U.S. business will do well over time,” Buffett wrote in Berkshire Hathaway’s 2013 shareholder letter (9).
“There will be periodic disruptions, yes, but investors and managers are in a game that is heavily stacked in their favor.”
In fact, he recommends that retail investors keep their money in low-cost S&P 500 index funds — people “should keep buying it through thick and thin, and especially thin.” (10)
Instead of trying to time the market or wait until you have enough funds, consider automating the process by investing small amounts regularly.
For example, investing just $30 each week can add up to $93,000 over 20 years, assuming this is 10% compounded annually (11).
Platforms like Acorns allow you to turn your spare change from everyday purchases into investment opportunities.
Once you’ve linked all your cards, Acorns will automatically round up all expenses to the nearest dollar and split the difference. Once your savings reach $5, they are automatically invested in the Smart Investment Portfolio.
So, when you buy your morning coffee for $4.25, Acorns deducts $5 from your account and invests it in a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.
The best part? You can get a $20 bonus investment when you set up a recurring monthly deposit.
The legendary investor has repeatedly emphasized that what you pay in fees can be just as important as the returns you earn.
“Investing really matters,” Buffett claimed in a CNBC interview (12), “if the return is going to be 7 or 8 percent and you’re paying 1 percent in fees, that makes a big difference in how much money you’ll have in retirement.”
Opting for a discount broker with minimal commission fees can save you thousands in the long run. That’s where platforms like SoFi come in.
Their easy-to-use DIY investment platform lets you buy stocks, ETFs and more with no commission fees and no account minimums.
SoFi is designed for both beginners and experienced investors, with real-time investment news, curated content and the data you need to make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most.
Plus for a limited time you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.
If you want to try a more hands-on approach to investing but don’t know where to start, consider using recommendations from Wall Street experts.
Moby provides expert research and recommendations to help identify strong, long-term investments backed by advice from former hedge fund analysts.
Over four years, and over nearly 400 stock picks, their recommendations beat the S&P 500 by about 12% on average. They also offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
Mobi’s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide stock and crypto reports delivered directly to you. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market changes and can help you take the guesswork out of choosing stocks and ETFs.
Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smart investor in just five minutes.
– With files from Emma Caplan-Fisher
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AOL Finance (1); Morningstar (2), (8); CNN (3); CNBC (4), (6), (10), (12); American Automobile Association (7); Acorns (11); Berkshire Hathaway (5), (9)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
