Warren Buffett’s 2 Best Investments to Beat Inflation — And the New $45M Indigenous Fund Transforming Quebec

As 2025 winds down, inflation is no longer at crisis highs — but it’s still quietly eroding savings. In the United States, consumer prices were rising at about 3.0% year-over-year as of September 2025, slightly above August’s 2.9%. ^[1] In Canada, inflation cooled to 2.2% in October 2025, helped by falling gasoline and slower food price growth. ^[2]

Against this backdrop, Warren Buffett’s latest highlighted advice on beating inflation has been making headlines again, alongside a powerful, real-world example of long-term investing: a new Indigenous-led, $45+ million impact fund in Quebec designed to support First Nations entrepreneurs and communities. ^[3]

Put together, they tell a story about how to protect purchasing power — not just for wealthy investors, but for whole communities.

Why Beating Inflation Still Matters in Late 2025

Even “moderate” inflation compounds over time. At 3% a year, $100 today buys only about $74 after 10 years if your money earns nothing. That’s why central banks are still watching inflation so nervously — and why investors, households and governments are all hunting for assets that grow faster than prices.

In Canada, October’s 2.2% inflation rate is close to the Bank of Canada’s target range, but grocery prices are still rising faster than the overall index (up 3.4% year-over-year). ^[4]
In the broader OECD, headline inflation hovered around 4.2% in September 2025, with many countries still above their targets. ^[5]

That’s the environment in which Buffett’s renewed guidance — and new investment vehicles like Quebec’s Indigenous fund — are landing.

Warren Buffett’s Two Best Investments to Beat Inflation

A syndicated piece published this week on Nasdaq, based on GOBankingRates reporting, highlighted “Warren Buffett’s 2 best investments to beat inflation.” ^[6]

They’re not exotic, and they don’t involve timing the market or chasing the latest fad. They’re almost boring — which is exactly the point.

1. Invest in Yourself: Buffett’s “Best Investment by Far”

In a new Investopedia feature published November 20, 2025, Buffett is quoted reaffirming a message he has repeated for decades: the most powerful hedge against inflation is your own earning power — the skills, knowledge and reputation that make you valuable in the marketplace. ^[7]

Key ideas from that piece and the underlying CNBC interviews:

Buffett calls self‑development “the best investment by far” because:
- Skills can’t be taken away from you.
- They can’t be “inflated away” the way cash can.
- There’s no tax bill when you learn something new or become more effective at your job. ^[8]
When you become exceptionally good at something that’s in demand — whether surgery, cybersecurity, plumbing, or hairdressing — your fees and wages typically rise faster than inflation. ^[9]

In short, if inflation is a slow tax on money, high-value skills are a built-in inflation adjustment.

What “investing in yourself” actually looks like

Buffett’s advice is broad, but in practice it can mean:

Upgrading technical skills (coding, data analysis, AI tools, cloud, trades).
Improving communication, sales, or leadership abilities.
Earning credentials that signal competence in your field.
Building a track record and reputation that lets you charge more over time.

From an inflation perspective, the logic is simple: if the price of everything is going up, you want your income to be the thing that’s rising even faster.

SEO takeaway: For searchers asking “What is Warren Buffett’s best investment against inflation?” the answer, according to his recent coverage, is not a stock or a fund — it’s you. ^[10]

2. Invest in Real Estate and “Asset-Light” Businesses With Pricing Power

Buffett’s second big theme is owning productive assets that can raise prices without constantly consuming new capital.

The recent Investopedia analysis and Nasdaq/GOBankingRates article highlight two closely related ideas: ^[11]

Asset‑light, brand‑strong businesses
- Companies that don’t need to pour money into new factories and heavy equipment are less exposed to inflation in construction costs and interest rates.
- Think:
  - Consumer brands with loyal customers (classic Buffett picks like Coca‑Cola and Procter & Gamble).
  - Software and platforms, where adding an extra user is cheap.
  - Royalty and network models — payment networks, franchises, intellectual‑property catalogs.
These firms often convert revenue into free cash flow with minimal reinvestment and can raise prices without losing customers, allowing their earnings to outpace inflation over time.
Real estate as a tangible inflation hedge
- In the Nasdaq piece, Buffett’s stance on real estate is underscored: good properties and land don’t disappear and typically become more valuable as nominal prices rise.
- Once purchased, the owner can often:
  - Adjust rents over time.
  - Benefit from long‑term appreciation.
  - Avoid the constant capital upgrades that factories or complex industrial assets may need. ^[12]

The thread that connects these ideas is pricing power plus low capital intensity. Inflation is painful for businesses that must keep reinvesting at rising costs just to stand still. It’s much less painful for businesses — or landlords — that can raise prices while reinvesting relatively little.

A New $45M Indigenous Investment Fund in Quebec Puts Buffett’s Playbook Into Practice

On November 27, 2025, an announcement in Wendake, Quebec, put these principles into motion at a community scale. Investissement Premières Nations du Québec (IPNQ) launched Investissement Premières Nations du Québec II (IPNQ II), an Indigenous‑led impact fund of more than $45 million dedicated to the social and economic development of Quebec First Nations communities. ^[13]

Although the full CBC story linked in your prompt is not directly accessible, multiple syndicated feeds and news aggregators describe a $45M fund aimed at stimulating growth and opportunity in Indigenous communities, with a focus on tourism, construction, renewable energy and services connected to natural resource development. ^[14]

The legal advisory firm Davies, which helped structure the fund, describes it as: ^[15]

A “by and for” First Nations investment vehicle.
Designed to facilitate access to capital for First Nations entrepreneurs with tailored financing that complements existing funding sources.
Explicitly framed as a “concrete, thoughtful and sustainable commitment” to the economic self-determination of First Nations in Quebec.

Who’s Backing the Fund?

A recent post from Fonds de solidarité FTQ on LinkedIn provides more colour on the capital behind IPNQ II: ^[16]

FTQ says it is the largest institutional investor in the 45M$ fund.
Other partners and co‑investors include:
- The Government of Quebec
- RBA Groupe financier
- Corporation de développement économique montagnaise (CDEM)
- SOCCA (an Indigenous commercial credit society)
- The Assemblée des Premières Nations Québec–Labrador (APNQL)
- CAP Finance
- Desjardins Capital

The launch event at the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations in Wendake brought together First Nations leaders, institutional investors and senior Quebec ministers, underlining that this is not a symbolic announcement but a serious long-term commitment to Indigenous economic growth. ^[17]

What the Fund Will Actually Do

Based on available descriptions of IPNQ and the new fund: ^[18]

Direct investments in Indigenous businesses
IPNQ already makes direct equity and quasi‑equity investments in Indigenous‑owned commercial, community and private businesses across Quebec. The new fund scales this model with more capital and a dedicated impact mandate.
Sector focus aligned with long-term, real‑asset growth
Reports linked to the CBC coverage say the fund will prioritize:
- Tourism – community‑owned hotels, cultural tourism, experience‑based travel.
- Construction and infrastructure – housing, community facilities, and commercial projects.
- Renewable energy – solar, wind, and other clean‑energy projects in or near First Nations communities.
- Services supporting natural resource development – Indigenous‑owned companies providing environmental services, logistics, and workforce solutions to mining, forestry or energy projects. ^[19]
Capacity building as well as capital
The fund’s mandate explicitly includes supporting the capacity development of Indigenous businesses — helping them strengthen governance, financial management and strategic planning so that capital can be used effectively. ^[20]

In other words, this is not just about writing cheques. It’s about building long‑term, inflation‑resistant economic engines inside Indigenous communities.

How the Quebec Indigenous Fund Mirrors Buffett’s Inflation Strategy

The parallels between Buffett’s playbook and the IPNQ II fund are striking.

1. Building Human and Community Capital

Buffett’s top inflation hedge is human capital — becoming so valuable that your income tracks or beats inflation. ^[21]

At a community level, IPNQ II is doing something similar:

Financing First Nations entrepreneurs so their businesses can grow.
Strengthening local skills, governance and financial capacity.
Creating jobs and business ownership that keep cash flows within communities, rather than letting profits leak out.

That’s collective “investing in yourself,” scaled up to nations instead of individuals.

2. Owning Productive, Real Assets With Pricing Power

Buffett’s second principle is to own real assets and asset‑light businesses that can raise prices over time without constantly reinvesting huge sums. ^[22]

The Quebec fund is targeting sectors that fit that logic:

Tourism assets can raise prices as demand and overall price levels rise, especially when they offer unique cultural experiences that can’t be easily replicated elsewhere.
Renewable energy projects often have long‑term power purchase agreements and tangible infrastructure that generates steady cash flows.
Construction and infrastructure projects, when community‑owned, turn inflation in materials and labour into higher nominal asset values and rental or service income.
Services around natural resources can negotiate contracts that index fees to inflation or commodity prices.

These are exactly the sort of long‑duration, cash‑generating assets that tend to hold their value when money itself is losing purchasing power.

3. Long-Term Partnerships Instead of Short-Term Speculation

Buffett famously dislikes speculation and market timing. His approach to inflation is not to chase whatever commodity happens to be hot, but to own durable businesses and hold them for decades. ^[23]

Similarly, IPNQ II is structured as an impact fund with long-term goals, not a quick‑flip vehicle:

It’s designed to complement government programs like Quebec’s Fonds d’initiatives autochtones and national tools such as the Indigenous Growth Fund, both of which provide longer‑term capital to Indigenous businesses. ^[24]
It aligns with a broader movement toward Indigenous economic sovereignty, including events like the First Nations Investment Forum scheduled for December 2025 in Vancouver, which will showcase investment‑ready Indigenous projects across energy, infrastructure, gaming and AI. ^[25]

In other words, the fund treats Indigenous economies the way Buffett treats Berkshire’s portfolio: as a collection of long‑term, compounding assets, not a place for short‑term trades.

What Everyday Investors Can Learn Right Now

You may never manage billions, but there are very practical lessons here for anyone trying to protect their savings from inflation in 2025 and beyond.

1. Treat Your Skills Like Your Primary Inflation Hedge

Make a one‑page “skills balance sheet”: list what you’re better at than most people, where the market is moving, and where you’re falling behind.
Pick one upgrade for the next 6–12 months — a certification, portfolio project, language, or leadership skill — and treat the time and money spent on it as your main “inflation hedge” investment for the year.
Remember: paying off education loans while inflation slowly reduces the real value of that debt, and your earning power rises, is exactly how Buffett’s logic plays out in real life. ^[26]

2. Look for Pricing Power, Not Just “Cheap” Prices

If you invest in stocks or funds:

Favour companies or ETFs tilted toward businesses that:
- Have strong brands or network effects.
- Don’t need huge ongoing capital spending.
- Have a history of raising prices without losing customers. ^[27]
Be wary of businesses that look cheap but require constant heavy reinvestment just to stay competitive — inflation hits them twice (higher input costs and higher capex).

3. Don’t Ignore Impact and Community-Led Vehicles

The Quebec Indigenous fund shows that impact investing and inflation protection aren’t opposites:

Projects in clean energy, sustainable tourism and infrastructure can offer real-asset exposure plus social and environmental benefits.
For investors who have access — through specialized funds, pension plans or community vehicles — these kinds of assets can diversify portfolios away from purely financial instruments.

Even if you can’t invest directly in IPNQ II, look for similar themes in your local market: co‑op housing projects, community energy funds, Indigenous‑led investment vehicles, and social infrastructure partnerships.

4. Verify Your Buffett — Beware Deepfakes and Fake “Advice”

One 2025 twist: we’re seeing a surge in AI‑generated deepfake videos of Warren Buffett on social media, promoting crypto giveaways and “guaranteed” get‑rich‑quick schemes. Berkshire Hathaway itself issued a warning this month, and Investopedia reports a 1,300% jump in deepfake fraud attempts since 2024. ^[28]

Practical safeguards:

If a video shows Buffett pushing crypto, high‑yield trading bots, or instant riches, it’s almost certainly fake.
Cross‑check any quote you see on TikTok or YouTube against:
- Berkshire’s official site or transcripts.
- Major outlets (Reuters, CNBC, established financial publishers like Investopedia). ^[29]

Sticking to verified sources is part of protecting yourself — and your money — from a very modern form of “inflation”: the inflation of misinformation.

Key Takeaways for 2026 and Beyond

Inflation is lower, not gone. Around 3% in the U.S. and just over 2% in Canada still erodes savings over time, especially if your income and investments don’t keep pace. ^[30]
Buffett’s updated message is simple and consistent:
1. Invest in yourself — your skills, knowledge and reputation.
2. Own real or asset‑light businesses with enduring demand and pricing power. ^[31]
Quebec’s new $45M Indigenous fund, IPNQ II, illustrates those principles at scale — channeling capital into productive assets like tourism, renewable energy and infrastructure that can generate cash flow and opportunity for First Nations communities well into the future. ^[32]
Indigenous economic sovereignty is emerging as a major theme in Canada’s investment landscape, from dedicated growth funds to national forums on First Nations ownership in major projects — a trend likely to grow as investors seek both returns and reconciliation. ^[33]

None of this is a quick fix. Buffett’s own career — and the new Indigenous fund in Quebec — are both built on patient, compounding gains rather than overnight wins. But in an inflationary world, that may be exactly the kind of strategy that stands the test of time.

Warren Buffett on best protection and investments during inflation