Buffett was perhaps prescient, as the 1970s then proved to be one of the worst decades ever in the stock market. Returns were essentially flat for the decade, even as earnings grew, as the price-to-earnings ratio of the market went from about 20 times earnings to just 7 times earnings. Yikes!

Warren Buffett is now sitting on more than $325 billion cash after continuing to unload billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America shares this year and continuing to collect a steady strea

Berkshire Hathaway was a net seller of $127 billion of stocks this year, including Apple and Bank of America. That brings its equity portfolio down to $300 billion and nearly doubles its cash position to a record $311 billion.

Buffett trimmed his Apple stake by about a quarter in the last few months. The company had a solid recent earnings report, but has posted slow growth. The stock trades at an inflated valuation, which may have helped prompt the sale.

Interestingly, while many investors avidly track which stocks Buffett buys and sells, they often ignore one of his most prudent recommendations. "In my view, for most people, the best thing to do is to own the S&P 500 index fund,