Parsad

I think picking a specific period is arbitrary. - If you go solely by 2010-2015, then we haven't beaten the market. - Add one year...2009-2015 and we have beaten the market and are on par with the best investors. - Look at 2006 to 2015 and we are in the top 1%. But our numbers don't matter because no one gives a flying fig about our long-term results. They really only care about shorter term periods or recent history. Many of the managers who started when we did are no longer in the business. We keep plugging away slowly like Francis did 20 years ago. So much capital in the wrong hands and we can barely get a speck of sand on a huge beach! Cheers!

I love reading. I'm of the opinion that it matters less what you read, but the fact that you DO read and ABSORB everything you read. I'm not going to shoot somebody down for reading infoporn, fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, blogs, online, hardcopy, whatever...just read. In fact, I think people who read everything have a pretty good idea of what the world around them looks like. And for those that like to read only very narrow-subject material, all the power to them, because they are specializing in a niche of great interest to them. I read all sorts of material: - I don't know how many legal documents, filings, press releases, invoices, etc go across my desk in a month. - I read two-three newspapers a day. - I read about two books a month. - I read flyers, pamphlets, junkmail, everything. - I read online - I read offline - I read blogs - I read magazines - And of course, I read 10-K's, 10-Q's, presentations, business plans, powerpoints and everything else I can get my hands on related to investing. I don't want to read less...I want to read more and more! Cheers!

Have to say that I fully agree with those shareholders who wanted the AGM to be webcast years ago. I feel like I'm sitting right there like I regularly used to! Thanks Warren for webcasting the meeting! Cheers!

Not so lucky! I paid part of my brother's wedding & reception and I help them out now...raised him with my Mom, so unfortunately I've inherited what would have been my father's expense! ;D Although I do have an awesome 18-month old nephew that I love spoiling! Cheers!

Don't do that...you'll make yourself miserable. If you do some of the basic fundamental things: - Spend less than you make...live within your means! - Don't take on any unproductive debt or debt that could sink you. - Try and pay yourself first. - Take advantage of tax benefits that could lower your tax bracket or the amount of tax you pay. - Have an emergency fund of at least six months. - Invest any other capital you have...either in tax-free accounts or outside. - Use an investment system that works for you...ETF's if you have no time or use Ben Graham's methodology if you do. - Always pay your credit card off each month. - As your income goes up, pretend like your disposable income didn't increase nearly as much as your savings did. - Don't compare yourself to others...worry about what you enjoy and like! The last one is important...once you know what you like and who you are, alot of things don't matter. I was having drinks with Francis Chou and Peter Kaufmann last Wednesday night in Toronto with a bunch of employees from Premier, and Francis and I were trying to out-duel each other on who gets the better deals...Francis who shops at Costco...or me, who shops at Walmart! I didn't worry about spending money on the drinks or what the compounded loss would be because of the bill. When is that ever going to happen again to me or my staff? The only thing that could have made it better was if Wayne Gretzky and Prem showed up to join us! :o Cheers!

And if the marriage doesn't work out...100% loss of investment...but at least you had one hell of a party! Cheers!

Hi Everyone, Just want to say thank-you to all those that attended or supported our 11th Annual Dinner, as well as the host of other events that happened this week. Everything went great! We raised a lot of money, had terrific presentations and speakers, and everyone enjoyed themselves. One little thing that upset me. Our dinner did not start until 6pm, and that was because we were still preparing the room for the event. I had two Premier employees stand by the door and just let people know that that room wouldn't open until 6pm. Some f**king jackass told one of my employees "You're being a bit of a dick!" and then proceeded to barge through. This selfish individual disregarded what was said, and apparently if they had ever participated in any of our dinners in the past, would have learned this was inappropriate. Now unfortunately I don't know who this person is, because I didn't find out about it until the event was over, but I promise you that if some jackass did that in front of me, I would refund his ticket price at the door, and tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine! This is unwelcome at our dinners, and if this individual cannot adhere to decorum, then he's welcome to take his ass somewhere else! Thanks for letting me vent! Cheers!

Francis will be speaking as part of the Fairfax team that arrives around 9pm to do the Q&A. He usually sticks around till well past 11pm to answer questions. Cheers!

Hi Folks, Just a last minute reminder. If you have not bought your tickets yet, you need to buy them by the morning of the 5th, as I have to finalize the dinner number that afternoon. We can sell presentation-only tickets right up until the door, but if you want dinner, you will be out of luck! Cheers! Details for our annual dinner. To buy tickets, go to: www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca Scroll down half the page...Select the type of ticket you want, and click "Buy Now"! Please review the details below for the dinner. Cheers! 11th Annual Fairfax Financial Shareholder’s Dinner CMC Fairfax Financial Shareholder’s Dinner Imperial Room - Main Lobby Level Wednesday, April 13th, 2016 Fairmont Royal York 100 Front Street West Toronto, Ontario (416) 368-2511 Presentation Only - $100.00 CDN Presentation & Expansive Full-Buffet Dinner - $200.00 CDN Cash Bar If anyone is interested in corporate sponsorship of prizes, or any donors for prizes, please contact me at cornerofberkshireandfairfax@gmail.com.

You don't need them to have worker's comp unless they are on your payroll or employed by you...they break a leg and are out for a while, it's just like any other self-employed individual...they should have their own short-term/long-term disability. They just need insurance to protect you and them from any liability...your house insurance will protect you. But say they hurt somebody with a piece of equipment? They need insurance for that...otherwise your neighbour/victim can come after you. Cheers!

Congratulations! You'll definitely need help because you won't be sleeping much. :) I would recommend you make sure they have their own insurance. My gardener and handyman both have their own insurance. Cheers!

You're partly right! That's a very hard thing for people to accept...so you will get push back on this. You can have the right training and that's what Benjamin Graham, Buffett, et al are to investors, but: - You cannot teach or train the right temperament - Or how someone will react to a crisis - You cannot teach patience - You cannot teach someone to think independently if they aren't prone to that type of thinking...thus you get cloning practiced rampantly these days - You cannot teach someone to manage risk, especially if they are prone to a gambling mentality or an overly conservative mentality So alongside a firm, if not enlightened grasp, of how to apply an intelligent framework to evaluating securities, you need a number of other characteristics, including both emotional and intellectual traits. That's hard to find! The solace that all investors have though is that they can hone these skills and become better versions of themselves. So while everyone may not be great, most can be good! Cheers!

+1! Only a matter of time before someone creates a COBF algorithm. I'm going to start a post on "Fintech" stocks! Cheers!

Intel giant Andy Grove passed away at 79. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-mastermind-silicon-valley-statesman-022547436.html

Hi Folks, We are getting closer to the dinner date! I'm taking online ticket purchases up until Friday, April 8th. All sales and refunds will end on that day, other than presentation-only tickets which will be sold at the door. I have to give the Fairmont Royal York the final dinner number on the 8th, thus the cut-off. Also, if anyone wants to donate something for the silent auction, including any sort of Berkshire/Fairfax/Value Investor memorabilia, please contact me at cornerofberkshireandfairfax@gmail.com. Thanks very much for your support! Sanjeev

Few people are truly good or bad...we're all shades of both. They're saying that Sandridge is the alledged co-conspirator to the price fixing. I voted against Tom Ward a couple of years back when there was a proxy there due to the exorbitant spending and compensation, but every time I met Tom in Toronto, he was very gracious and shared his knowledge with us. I'm sure Aubrey was similar, as he and Tom were very good friends. Sad to see someone take their life like that...for him and all of those he left behind!

Holy smokes! Wow. Just crazy.

I feel like telling some of you Burry hasn’t crushed the S&P is like telling a kid there’s no Santa. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO SANTA! F**K YOU! :)

Hi Everyone, Over 50% sold, so please get your ticket orders in. Just under two months from the dinner! Cheers!

Hi Winjitsu, No problem. Please email me. Thanks! Sanjeev

Hi Folks, If any of you are investment bankers in Hong Kong, please contact me at cornermarketcapital@gmail.com. Thanks very much! Sanjeev

Agreed. What a wonderful archive of videos it would be if they had started in the early Youtube days.. Probably no choice at this point...crowds are just too big. There is no other venue big enough if the crowd gets significantly larger. People are renting cars after flying into Lincoln, Nebraska or Iowa, because you can't get rental cars in Omaha. Hotels in Omaha and Council Bluffs are fully booked...many a year ahead of time. Also, a lot of the old-time BRK shareholders are approaching their 70's, 80's and 90's, so many might prefer to just watch it online now instead of dealing with the crowds...and only going to get worse. Cheers!

Nothing I'm aware of, but it could be that our service provider does upgrades around midnight EST. Cheers!

In some ways I feel like DTEJD1997 completely trolled this forum. The guy is a coin dealer and I believe owns a coin store. There was a thread on this a year or two back. He's talking his book like anyone else here talking some stock. I think it'd be interesting to know how many people on here could really pull together $4-5k in a day or two (probably most, but this is also a board filled with rich people). I worked at a place with stock options that needed to be exercised with cash and in talking to co-workers the common response was "who has $3k in cash laying around?" The idea that anyone even had that sort of money available was absurd. Stock options paid for in cash? Really, that's crazy. I would agree, that most people on here could pull together that type of cash no problem. I could do that in ten minutes. But most people on here are smart enough, and as you said probably well off enough, to keep a certain amount of cash and liquidity. Average Canadian debt/income ratio hit 170% yesterday...highest since 1990. Not sure the average Canadian/American could wrangle that type of cash up right away. Cheers!

Personally, I think there is some need to hold some cash outside of an institutional account, simply because you could have a major catastrophe (Earthquake, solar flare, terrorist attack, etc) that forces you to do without the banks, internet and ATM's for a few days. As well in any financial crisis, there would be a run on banks for a few days or weeks, until the government could find another institution to step in or nationalize the bankrupt bank(s). You might not qualify for a loan also if banks suddenly tighten lending requirements like they did in 2009 and after. So a good chunk of cash sitting in a safety deposit box/safe/filing cabinet might be a good idea. I don't think you need gold or silver...unless you think the country is going to collapse into chaos. You would be better off spending that time and energy growing your own food in your backyard, paying off any debts/mortgage, than wasting it buying gold and silver. At least you could live off your own land...thus why Buffett would rather own all of the agricultural land in the United States plus 25 Exxon Mobils, than all of the gold ever produced. Fear drives people to do stupid things! Including very smart people. How many were buying gold at $1,800 US oz instead of Wells Fargo at $12 and Starbucks at $6 in 2008? Cheers!