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!

It is indeed interesting that Berkshire now holds $320 billion in cash vs just $272 billion in equity investments. Put another way, Buffett is holding more cash than stocks. "That’s a lot of firepower if markets see a sustained drop," notes Colas. "While Berkshire is not especially expensive, its multiple may be worrisome to a value investor ."

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