this article is reprinted by permission from nerdwallet the investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only nerdwallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks securities or other investments beginner and experienced investors are navigating an uncertain investing environment affected by inflation war and a pandemic financial clarity and strategy are in demand as shown by the thousands of berkshire hathaway brkb shareholders who met april 30 in omaha nebraska for their annual conference or watched the live stream on cnbc berkshire hathaway’s chairman and ceo warren buffett one of the richest men in the world is a 91yearold investor and business legend known for his strategic financial advice and prowess here’s what you can learn from him about inflation index funds and value investing and what you can do today to level up your financial portfolio 1 inflation is out of investors’ control inflation “swindles almost everybody” buffett reminded investors on april 30 the prices of goods and services are rising meaning the us dollar can buy less than it bought a year or two ago us families already dealing with decades of wage stagnation now are contending with rising food gas and shelter prices to name a few and while market changes and global events are out of an individual investor’s sphere of influence it’s wise for consumers to focus on what they can control in most cases that means staying the course with your investing strategy after all as buffett would advise investing over the long term is typically the best way to beat inflation also see warren buffett’s investing prowess will go on forever after researchers cracked his investing code buffett is a big fan of index funds investment bundles that mirror a particular market index such as the sp 500 “in my view for most people the best thing is to do is owning the sp 500 spx index fund” said buffett in may 2022 lowcost index funds typically charge lower fees than actively managed funds and allow you to buy a diversified slice of a market or industry in practical terms it spreads out the risk of your investments which is especially important during volatile times in contrast “stock picking” or actively managing a financial portfolio by buying individual stocks can be expensive timeconsuming and risky and according to san franciscobased financial adviser kevin cheeks it often doesn’t pay off “most professional money managers can’t consistently beat the market they might have a few good years but 70 to 80 of fund managers will underperform the stock market” the data proves that sp dow jones indices reported nearly 80 of actively managed funds underperformed the sp composite 1500 in 2021 “paying higher costs for something that may not perform well over time doesn’t add as much to your portfolio” says cheeks when asked about stock picking on april 30 buffett said “we buffett and charlie munger berkshire hathaway vice chairman haven’t the faintest idea what the stock market was gonna do when it opens on monday we never have” he continued “i don’t think we’ve ever made a decision where either one of us has either said or been thinking we should buy or sell based on what the market is going to do or for that matter on what the economy’s going to do we don’t know” to get started with index funds pick an index like the sp 500 dow jones industrial average djia  nasdaq composite comp or wilshire 5000 and a fund that tracks that index many investors select index funds by their expense ratio or your annual fee expressed as a percentage of your investment then when you’re ready to buy you can do so through an investment account such as a brokerage account or an ira employersponsored retirement plans such as 401ks may also offer access to index funds 3 value investing can be a solid strategy “buy into a company because you want to own it not because you want the stock to go up” buffett told forbes magazine in 1974 assessing a company’s value is one strategy for choosing where and when to invest value investing means buying highquality stocks ideally at value prices and holding them for years there’s also investing in line with your values which involves considering your social faith environmental or moral beliefs when you invest buffett has done pretty well for himself by following both strategies for example at this year’s annual conference buffett announced berkshire hathaway had purchased 15 million shares of gaming company activision blizzard the acquisition is one of the more recent examples of buffett’s strategy of picking undervalued investments at an attractive price instead of choosing stocks based on high growth potential in the case of berkshire hathaway’s beliefs buffett has prioritized four main areas insurance apple aapl  railroads bnsf railway and energy in his 2021 letter to shareholders buffett describes the railroads as “the number one artery of american commerce” and “an indispensable asset for america as well as for berkshire” a belief in the services railroads provide and their impact on the environment are central to buffett’s investment “if the many essential products bnsf carries were instead hauled by truck america’s carbon emissions would soar” he wrote see warren buffett and berkshire hathaway are once again outperforming the stock market apple is one big reason but these other 10 stocks also helped even for those with 100 or 1000 to invest investing based on your values can still be an important consideration cheeks helps clients make a range of valuebased choices as they invest “let’s focus on what you need to accomplish and then let’s look at how we can do that through a particular lens like being impactful or charitable” he says if you’re interested in value investing you’ll need to research underpriced and overlooked companies in today’s stock market which is easier when the market is largely down as it recently 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