2 Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist and 1 to Avoid

You could certainly do worse than ride Warren Buffett’s stock-picking coattails. His Berkshire Hathaway portfolio boasts a market-beating long-term track record, after all. And he’s managed to beat the market with a simple buy-and-hold approach rather than constantly swapping out existing holdings for hotter prospects.

Just because a stock is currently in Berkshire’s portfolio, however, doesn’t mean it’s a great pick for you to purchase at this time.

With that as the backdrop, here’s a closer look at two Warren Buffett stocks most investors can plow into right now, and one you might want to steer clear of — at least for the time being.

Bank of America

If you’re looking for excitement, pass on Berkshire Hathaway holding Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). It doesn’t offer it.

But if you’re looking for reliable and consistent results, Bank of America is for you.

The company doesn’t need too much of an introduction. It’s the nation’s second-biggest banking name, with $2.5 trillion worth of assets on its books. Like most of its peers, it provides basic banking services like checking accounts and loans, as well as a variety of investment and wealth-management services. Also like most of the country’s bigger banks, Bank of America works with corporations to help them raise capital. It’s not a particularly complicated business, and it’s not as if one of these entities enjoys a hyper-competitive edge.

And yet, Bank of America is clearly something of a standout within the banking industry. It managed to add 130,000 new consumer checking accounts last quarter, and brought in 40,000 new brokerage and private-banking customers. Investment banking fee revenue improved 7% year over year despite the worldwide lull in capital markets activity. Its capital ratios and equity ratios are holding up pretty well, too, despite the wobbly economic environment.

Perhaps the only worry in last quarter’s numbers is the uptick in loan charge-offs, but even this growth was only slight. A mere 0.45% of the…