kapilm

Amazing track record. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-05/roper-ceo-brian-jellison-s-death-is-big-loss-for-industrial-world?srnd=opinion http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/heraldtribune/obituary.aspx?n=brian-jellison&pid=190642046

How about becoming a financial advisor / planner? The prior HC experience would be helpful in connecting with doctors / other med professionals. Valuations are high in this market at the moment but should be able to find smaller advisory businesses in 1.5-3.0x EV/sales range.

Not sure if this got posted yet but definitely a good read - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2900447

I use bamsec.com > ctrl > scroll mouse wheel. Works well.

Triumph Group (TGI) - new CEO, undervalued in SOTP, beneficiary of the pickup in A&D, focus on cost cutting through consolidation of facilities and product lines - a value play.

A 3-D printing related business geared towards possibly highered market...Printers are becoming cheaper/smaller like Cube from 3D Systems.

Great advice to young analysts who are just starting out in the profession... http://researchpuzzle.com/files/view/young-analyst-series.pdf

I was in this class so wanted to share the article. To access it for free, type "Graham and Dodd head Downtown" into the search box at news.google.com.

I bought some at $20. Its a solid company with good track record.

It uses LIFO instead of FIFO so the inventory is substantially undervalued (credit - Saj Karsan). However, it was rapped by its auditors on weak financial controls. Anyone else looking at this one ?

Myth465: What brokerage do you use for buying LRE ?

I picked up the pink sheets. I don't think there is difference between the TSX or PK listings.

How is their combined ratio so low ? Is it sustainable as they get bigger ?

Very informative discussion. Great input, everyone !

Thank you all. I'll check out the books/links.

I am looking to learn about the insurance business in detail. What books would be best ? I already have WEB's annual letters. Thanks in advance....

If the IRA is tied with employer, then rollover is not possible. A standalone IRA can be rolled over into Roth any time with no income limits in 2010.

I think it should be ok. But do confirm with an accountant.

Great topic. I moved my 401(k) into Roth this year. Looking forward to tax-free compounding for next 40 yrs on that... :) txlaw: 2010 contribution is separate from Rollover. So if you have X in your Traditional IRA or 401(k), then you can still put in $5k in your Roth. Happy compounding...

In EV calc, you need to subtract the cash as well.

I am wondering the same too. I think WEB is making sure he is covered for the coming inflation.

For a newbie, ETFs would probably be better. Less expenses and they can trade it like a stock. Vanguard - VWO, VTI IShares are good too but a bit more exp.

I am valuing the inventory/receivables at 75% of the book value. Most of their debt is non-recourse. I couldn't find anything on the BFC financial transaction but a couple of distressed hedge funds have >5% stake. Also, their delinquency rate is less than 6% and usual VOI (vacation ownership interest) are <$15k, I think they won't have too much of a problem on collecting dues.

BXG is in the vacation resort business. Lot of good properties. Mgmt has cut spending quite a bit last year to conserve cash. With the market coming back, it looks poised to rise. At the moment, its in solid net-net territory. Any thoughts ?

This makes sense. The move away from coal is inevitable atleast in US/EU. So wether rails benefits via cap n trade or not it doesn't make much of difference to WEB. Its interesting to see how WEB focuses exclusively on the standalone merits of the business. Completely different from the other conglomerates like GE where synergy is given more weightage in deals.