On stocks:Over the long term, it's hard for a stock to earn a much better return than the business  which underlies it earns. If the business earns 6% on capital over 40 years and you  hold it for that 40 years, you're not going to make much different than a 6% return— even if you originally buy it at a huge discount. Conversely, if a bus... See more

Also, their discipline of walking away from insurance business when it was badly priced was key to their success.