Parsad

I can give a pretty good idea for a few of these: 1. Pretty obvious that succession planning started sooner at Fairfax than Berkshire. While the old guard is still in place, Andy Barnard's position as chief of insurance and Paul Rivett's position of chief of pretty much anything outside of insurance, suggests that this may be a Tony Nicely/Lou Simpson like division of labor, with quality people working under each. Andy would watch over all insurance subs, and Paul would lead Hamblin-Watsa and non-insurance businesses. I would not be surprised to see a Watsa installed as a figurehead Chairman, not unlike Howard Buffett, to oversee and make sure the culture at Fairfax remains intact. 3. Fairfax has not invested in Dakshana. Prem's personal foundation, The Sixty-Three Corporation, invested the proceeds in Dakshana. Still a good question...did Fairfax invest in the Dhandho raise? 4. Core group is made up of I believe six committee members and Prem, plus one other person (Sam, Roger, Brian, Chandran, Paul, Wade and Prem, plus one that shall remain unnamed). Francis Burke is also on the committee, but I don't think she looks after any capital directly, and focuses on Fairfax's trading. They are each allocated several hundred million plus. Very large investments get the final call by Prem. Analysts also get a portfolio to manage, but much smaller. You've got some of the smartest guys in the business working there together. Going to be hard to replace them...not simply on skill, but their ability to work as a team. Cheers!

Yeah, that's what is happening to me to. Anyone else having issues like that? Please let me know. We'll also be updating to the newest SMF software in the next week or so, so they can fix any issues we may be having. Cheers!

I would have preferred to see him say he was wrong on Fairfax Financial. He told me flat to my face at the very first Value Investing Conference in New York that he had not read Fairfax's quarterly or annual reports, but that he relied on two very good sources who did their research...hmm, can you guess who they were...one's dead and the other writes a blog! How the worst miscreant journalists escaped Fairfax's wrath in their lawsuit, I don't know. Yes, they would have hid behind the Fifth Amendment, but if you are going to blow $200M on a lawsuit, might as well go after the journalists too, and make them or their publisher fork out legal fees defending them. Really disappointed Fairfax didn't go after these guys too! Cheers!

Hi Folks, So the details are below: 2014 Fairfax Financial Shareholder’s Dinner Tuesday, April 8, 2014 Fairmont Royal York Upper Canada Room - 18th Floor 100 Front Street West 5:30-6:15pm - Meet & Greet, and also grab your seat! - For those having dinner, the buffet will be open...we have a full evening, so we want to make sure you've got your food early. - Presentation only guests are welcome to water, coffee, tea and the cash bar. 6:30pm - A few words from Sanjeev 6:45pm - Mark Ram, formerly of Northbridge Financial, and now National Director for Crohn's & Colitis Canada will speak 7:15pm - Craig Graham, CEO of Rainmaker Entertainment, will speak 7:45pm - Andrew Berger & David Polonitza from AB Value Management will speak 8:15pm - Bob Robotti, of Robotti & Company, will speak Around 8:45pm - Prem will arrive with his team If anyone is interested in corporate sponsorship of prizes, or any donors for prizes, please contact me at cornerofberkshireandfairfax@gmail.com. If you are still looking for a ticket...please contact me as well. We are sold out, but there are always cancellations. Look forward to seeing you all there!

From Mohnish, for you guys wanting the list: Sales/Marketing Reading Materials Referenced in Mohnish’s Presentation 1. Marketing High Technology by William Davidow 2. Power vs. Force by David Hawkins 3. Strategic Selling by Miller/Heiman 4. Conceptual Selling by Miller/Heiman 5. Successful Large Account Management by Miller/Heiman 6. The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses by Amar Bhide 7. Inc. Magazine Subscription 8. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy 9. In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters Cheers!

Very funny cover for this year's edition. Buffett in his paperboy outfit! You can hear him yelling..."Get y'er copy of "Of Permanent Value" right here!" Cheers! AndyCardOPV2014.pdf

Totally agree with this. This is why we don't have one...the options are available, but I chose specifically not to activate them years ago. There are no revered auteurs on here, just plain people, rich, poor, happy, sad, funny, unfunny, good-natured, ill-mannered, but all willing to learn and share. I don't want to make new members feel like they have to write something transcendent to simply feel like part of the group. Everybody has something to offer and we can learn something from anyone! Cheers!

Sure Gio! But it will really only be two great investors and two fans...Mohnish is a big fan of mine! I kid, I kid! Cheers!

Congratulations Dustin! Very nice looking site. Good luck! Cheers!

Marlin is an old-timer Yellow BRK'er...back when Warren used to come to the party and speak for 45 minutes to an hour! It's where I first met Buffett, Mohnish, Marlin, Sherrie Gregory, et al. My friend John Zemanovich, Lotsofcoke, told me to come there on my first visit to Omaha at the Omaha Golf & Country Club. It changed my life. Marlin can post about Andy or whatever the hell he wants to! I'm a big fan of Andy's, as "Of Permanent Value" was part of the effect on my life in terms of Buffett and value investing. Buy "Of Permanent Value"...it's independently published, by a honest guy who isn't just shilling Buffett's name, but was there when no one wanted to write about Buffett. Now you have a deluge of books on Buffett, written by ten year olds or recent graduates of high school! Buy "Of Permanent Value"...a recommended choice by "Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax" and Sanjeev Parsad! ;D Cheers! http://www.andykilpatrick.net/

I get Capital IQ through my employment for free. I like it as it helps me see decades of financials on one screen, but I wouldn't pay for it personally. As for everything else: you guys can think I'm crazy or not. A good chunk of my office does, but we get along well anyway. I don't really let what people think about my lifestyle influence me, because it does not really matter to me what anyone thinks of me. I dropped out of the fourth grade and became a recluse for over a decade before I was hired by my employer. I'm happy to go back to that lifestyle should it ever be necessary. For various reasons I don't have to work, I just do so because it gives me something to do. This is true freedom to me. Beyond the laws of the land, I don't have to answer to anyone if I do not want to, which I think is an advantage as it allows me to run my life my way and live by my own principles. I'm not going to condemn any of you for having more lavish or more frugal lifestyles than I have. If that is what makes you happy, then I am glad for you. My way is not for everyone and I know that, but it is the best way for me that I have found. If I ever find a better one, I will change, but until then, I am happy with how I operate right now. Good for you Scott! Do what works for you. I know too many people who conform and are depressed, unhappy with life, and haven't found themselves. Better to be different than one of them! Cheers!

Here is why you should attend... I wrote this up after last years meeting: http://www.beyondproxy.com/fairfax-annual-meeting/ Great right up last year Michael! It's the best meeting outside of Berkshire...and you don't get the circus atmosphere...at least not quite that level! ;D Cheers!

Do one night stands count? They do get expensive! After my Dad died, there was a period of time in my mid-20's where I wanted to get married and there were a few candidates over those years. Unfortunately, for whatever reason it didn't happen, and I spent my 20's raising my brother instead with my mother. As I was turning 30, he was all grown up and doing well in University, so I thought that would be the time to focus on myself. I had no idea I would run into the love of my life...value investing in 1998! It's consumed pretty much every facet of my life over the last 15 years. This website, starting a company with my cousin, launching the funds, meeting Buffett, Prem, Mohnish, Francis, Tim all would never have happened. So the problem with me isn't finding a woman...but that she has to compete with my business and the things I like to do. I'm set in my ways now...the dog cannot learn any new tricks...and I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. Now going back to the one-night or one-week stands...they're great! ;D Cheers!

Well, he's never slacked off, but he always kept comments relatively brief and concise. This was probably the best letter I've read by Francis in years, and one of the best letters I've read this year by any manager. Cheers!

He started with friend/family money, but then expanded. 600mm aum - but aum size doesn't dictate the size of the companies you invest in your idea of a networker as someone at the bar at a conference handing out business cards is my idea of a sh*tty salesperson. maybe our difference of opinion lies in a difference in our definitions of "networker" Its myth that he got to where he is now based on book smarts and researching stocks like a recluse. He exchanged investor ideas, recruited partners/clients AUM, got access to company management (which is no easy thing), orchestrated deal-making. People downplay his networking skills (or social skills, if you'd prefer that term) as a role in his success...I'm not sure why. The guy deserves credit for it. You're correct, but it came over time. It's well documented in The Snowball, Of Permanent Value and his own comments that dealing with people wasn't his first inclination. It became part of him so that he could achieve his goal of financial independence. Even comments about him by his wife Susan Buffett suggest a peculiar, more introverted personality when he was young, and that actually he opened up after the Dale Carnegie course, his marriage to Susan and his long interactions with Kay Graham. Buffett became/is an extremely extroverted personality, with sales skills galore and a bewildering charm. A lot of it was learned over time. Not unlike Mohnish...the fellow you see and hear today is not the guy I met in 2001. I would not have bought a chocolate bar, let alone invest in a partnership with him back then. He was also the fellow who came up with the idea to use value investing with technology companies...Digital Disrupters...remember that! Five years later he was a very different person, terrific investor and fantastic marketer...ten years later he had become a natural teacher. Today, he's dinner companion to Charlie Munger, philanthropist and value investing icon. But he wasn't that way in 2001. We all learn to adapt to our environment and what is required of us to achieve our goals. Cheers!

You guys aren't psychologists or therapists, so I'm uncomfortably surprised by the amount of venom or at least, impolite bullying, thrown at ScottHall. Very surprised by some of the people on here with the comments. The courtesy and humility of Buffett or Prem should be one of the lessons you guys learn, alongside the ability to return 15% annualized. Live and let live people! Neither would have said the things you guys have said if Scott Hall described his lifestyle. Personally, do what makes you happy Scott! I live in a 4,000 square foot house, but during the holidays, my favorite thing to do was turn on the fireplace and sleep on a makeshift bed of three blankets near it on the floor, while Bloomberg played quietly on the big-screen tv and I could see my beautiful Noble Fir fresh Christmas tree lit up. I rarely sleep in my bed...often on the living room sofa or the family room sofa. My family thinks I'm crazy, but I love sleeping like that. When we have a big family party or wedding, etc, everyone takes a room when you have so many guests over, but for several of us, we like to camp out in the family room and sleep there, while talking till 6-7 in the morning reminiscing. It's a hell of a lot of fun! So to each to his own...you never know what things, even the simple things in life, make people happy! Cheers!

Mohnish did a talk for the Southern California chapter of TIE on sales and marketing. Cheers! http://vimeo.com/89140080

Sure, if people want to tweet it live, that's fine. I'll set up a Twitter account for Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax, and you guys can tweet directly onto there if you want. Cheers!

Sorry folks! There won't be a recording of the event. Just like the Fairfax AGM or Berkshire AGM, we like to maintain a candid atmosphere for our presenters, and at the same time encourage people to attend the event in person to get the full experience. Cheers!

Article on Fairfax's AGM and Dr. George Athanassakos' Ivey Conference by our own Norm Rothery! Cheers! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/fairfax-annual-meeting-is-a-big-day-for-value-investors/article17664842/

When did this happen? What happened exactly?

When I did my basement I didn't think about the time, because like investing I really enjoyed the process. I also rationalized that if I were to lose my job I could probably get a construction job to pay the bills, I was learning a skill! It's fun to build something yourself, I love it. The impression factor is nice too. It's cool to have friend over and hang out and know that I created the place on my own. Not only are you learning a skill, but it's a very creative process...for you and many others! I never liked shop in high school and I don't like fixing my hardwood floors or fridge today. But I do love technology, computers, business, etc. My point was that frugal makes sense to a certain extent, including when you enjoy the process of an act and it saves you money, but at some point, your time spent elsewhere doing something you enjoy that is profitable, will offset the cost of someone else providing a service for you for a fee. When I first started the funds, I hardly ever ate out and brown-bagged my lunch every day for several years. I did not want to take the chance that any extra dollar I spent could jeopardize my future to run the funds if I eventually ran out of money. I sold my other car as well...my beloved Mini...just to make sure costs were low monthly. I used public transport weekdays, and only drove on weekends most of the time. Cut coupons all the time, travelled only for fund business (Toronto & Pabrai Funds meetings) and even gave up some of the sports I enjoyed like skiing, Canuck games, etc. But as the fund's future started to look better and better, I could relax a bit, because I knew I wasn't going to run out of money any time soon. In fact, things started going dramatically the other way. My investments did well, the funds did well, my house appreciated dramatically, the website was doing well, my other business interests were doing well, etc. At this point, I work from my home office 2-3 days a week, and I'm in the office downtown 2-3 days a week. When I go to the office now, I don't brown bag it anymore. This is for three reasons: One, because I'm in the downtown office less now, so I don't leave my desk for the 6-7 hours I'm there on those days...I don't have time for anything other than work. Two, I can easily afford to spend $10 on a cup of coffee and freshly made sandwich for lunch. That fear in the back of my head when you start down the road as an entrepreneur is no longer there. Finally, the cost of not brown-bagging it, is now offset by me eating lunch at home in my home office half of the time. So the point is that it's good to be frugal on things, but everything has an innate value...a sandwich, a repair job to your porch, your hourly rate of earning income and even your free time. Like buying stocks, it only makes rational sense to weigh those things against one another. At different points of your life, those values will vary. But if you enjoy doing any of those acts, then that adds to the innate value...such as working on your own house, painting, taking photographs, watching a sports event, etc. Cheers!

You have to be careful with frugality, and weigh it against the income you would make with the time spent saving money. For example, a lot of these behaviors have become habit for me over two decades, such as cutting coupons when I buy groceries every week. But as time went buy, I realized that if I spend half an hour cutting coupons that will save me $5, but in that half hour I earn $100, it's probably not the best use of my time. So a lot of frugal behaviors that I carry out now, I always weigh them against the value of that time. If I'm not doing anything, then sure I'll save that $5, or research that discount on phones, cars, furniture, etc. I'm not the most handy of individuals, so I'm never going to spend hours remodelling my kitchen myself. So I'll seek out deals, haggle, etc and get great work for a fair or cheap price. What I've found is that I can get better discounts by simply calling up the retailer and haggling with them on the phone. That's what I do for my smartphone, computers, furniture, cars...just about most things. If you ask or haggle, generally you will save a fair amount of money without wasting too much time. Any fee or bill I receive that I don't like...I phone them up and seek a reduction or haggle for a fee removal. Cheers!

Everything you just said. +1. My wife feels the same way about cards. When she buys someone a gift, she'll spend an extra $4 or $5 on the gift and skip the useless card (price is what you spend, value is what you get, or give in this case). And when sending someone a card is necessary, a $0.99 card gets the job done just as well as a $4.50 card. Every store has a $0.99 card section if you look. Yes, this is something I don't understand. People have been brainwashed into buying cards thanks to Carlton and Hallmark! I never buy cards...just a waste of money. I figure a better gift is better than a card. Then again, when I do receive a card from friend and family out of the blue or at Christmas, I do put them on my desk or mantle. Maybe I am cheap! Cheers!

Absolutely! When it comes to marriage you want to get it right the first time, no 20 punch cards. I don't know. Other than the mental anguish and financial damage of divorce, that kinda sounds fun! Cheers!