I recently reviewed the latest portfolio of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. The top seven holdings, which make up 93.62% of the portfolio, include:

• Microsoft (MSFT): 32.71%
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B): 21.01%
• Waste Management (WM): 15.77%
• Canadian National Railway (CNI): 13.59%
• Caterpillar (CAT): 5.14%
• Deere (DE): 2.79%
• Ecolab (ECL): 2.61%

It’s no surprise that Microsoft leads the portfolio, and Berkshire Hathaway follows due to Buffett’s annual donations of Berkshire shares. Together, these two holdings represent over half of the portfolio.

The intriguing part lies in the remaining four top holdings, which account for 39.9% of the total. These are solid, “boring” businesses — waste handling, railways, construction, mining, and farm machinery. In 7th place, Ecolab deals with clean water.

This focus on essential, reliable businesses makes sense for a foundation designed to endure long-term with a steady spending budget. These companies form the backbone of civilization’s core operations. They reflect the daily, steady activities of ordinary people with obligations, like you and me.

Civilization’s breakthroughs are often driven by rare, impactful innovations that don’t come every year. Meanwhile, countless basic economic activities sustain our society day-to-day.

While chasing the latest trends is thrilling, long-term investors prize predictability. But investing is a personal journey; not everyone has the temperament for this approach. To succeed, you must understand your personality and select an investing style that suits you. Otherwise, you may find investing dull “work” and give in to the temptation of something “interesting” but not necessarily wise.

“Take a simple idea and take it seriously.” — Charlie Munger