Those pundits who think guru investor Warren Buffett's time has come and his magic faded away are bolstered by a Bloomberg report that says shares in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) slumped some 19% since mid-December. Buffett has been hurt by large investments in both insurance and banks, industries that have suffered tremendously.

Lest you think this short-term lack of performance has swayed investors into looking elsewhere to park their money, many investors are looking at the fall in Berkshire stock as a buying opportunity.

According to Bloomberg, Frank Betz, a partner at Warren, New Jersey-based Carret Zane Capital Management said he'd "put a new client in Berkshire right now. [...] It's probably the highest-quality collection of individual companies that's ever been assembled. Long slides are not in the Berkshire Hathaway lexicon."

With the stock market drop, many contrarian investors think that stocks have hit bottom and are very cheap. Buffett, who is sitting on such a large cash position, may be able to take large stakes in solidly profitable yet beaten up companies.

If he decides to put his cash to work, he has the ability to get deals that happen only once or twice in a lifetime. He may end up providing returns that make his previous track record look just average. For the Buffett investors, the best may is yet come.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 7/1/08.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"My top conservative stock idea for 2008 is CarMax (NYSE: KMX)," says Paul Tracy, editor of StreetAuthority Market Advisor.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has recently disclosed that is has taken a 6.4% stake in the used-car retailer. It's impossible to know for sure if Berkshire's stake is the result of Buffett's own buying or that of one of Berkshire's subsidiary companies, but either way it's a vote of confidence for CarMax.

"KMX has been sliding in recent months due to fears that a consumer slump would impact sales of used cars. But we continue to believe those concerns are overblown.

"The company offers a unique shopping experience that is unrivaled by traditional used-car dealerships -- the firm's superstores are well-stocked, offer haggle-free pricing, and provide painless trade-ins and vehicle financing.