8 Best Buffett Stocks for Retirement

Let's cut to the chase when it comes to picking stocks for a retirement portfolio.

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Let's cut to the chase when it comes to picking stocks for a retirement portfolio. There's nothing wrong with sorting through individual names for desirable attributes such as reliable dividends, low volatility and secure business models. But it's quicker, easier and perhaps wiser for retirees to first narrow down the field. Taking the lead of the greatest value investor of all time is a good way to start.

Under Warren Buffett, shares in Berkshire Hathaway (symbol: BRK.A, BRK.B ) have delivered the kind of outperformance that would put a longtime shareholder on easy street. From 1965, when Buffett took control of the company, through the end of 2016, Berkshire stock has returned 20.8% a year, on average. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, by comparison, had an average annual return of 9.7%. It’s no wonder Berkshire ranks as one of the greatest stocks of all time.

Berkshire is more than just its portfolio of stocks, of course. It owns scores of subsidiaries as well. But Buffett's investing prowess can’t be denied. If you're looking for great stocks to own in retirement, piggyback on some of Buffett's best ideas. After all, his preferred holding period is "forever." Here are eight of the best Buffett stocks for retirement.

Disclaimer

(Shares prices and other data are as of Sept. 25, 2017. Berkshire holdings are based on regulatory filings and CNBC’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker. Stocks are listed in alphabetical order.)

Dan Burrows
Senior Investing Writer, Kiplinger.com

Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the august publication full time in 2016.


A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of SmartMoney, MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, InvestorPlace and DailyFinance. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Senior Executive and Boston magazine, and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among other publications. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and hosted a weekly video segment on equities.


Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.


In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, funds, macroeconomics, demographics, real estate, cost of living indexes and more.


Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.


Disclosure: Dan does not trade stocks or other securities. Rather, he dollar-cost averages into cheap funds and index funds and holds them forever in tax-advantaged accounts.