Parsad

It is broke. What is broken, exactly? Do you realize that if members had their way, they would have kicked you out a long time ago, but after a few experiences in the past with kicking people out, I've chosen to give people a chance on here. Rather than complaining, you should be grateful you've been given an opportunity here to express yourself, even though many don't want to hear what you have to say! You guys whine so much about a forum that is virtually free, operates with an inclusive culture, has monitored posts, zero spam, and has existed in one form or another for about 12 years this Thursday. Yes, we are slow in making changes, and progress has been gradual...and that is because things aren't broke by any means! We've grown 50-100% every year for the last five years, and added new and exciting members who have added to the dialogue while retaining most of the old-timers. How many message boards are out there that have actually improved and retained members? Value Investors...no! Fool.com...no! Yahoo message boards...yeah right! Stockhouse...nope! Tell me how many message boards have a thread like our BAC thread? Or discussions on call options that are as detailed and informative as Ericopoly's? Or track individual stocks and information about each of them like on our "Investment Ideas" thread? Or how many have a growing conference around them in Toronto? Even Mohnish Pabrai is now telling people this is one of his favorite sites? But yet it's apparently broken! By the way, good luck on starting a new board. Unless you want to spend a couple of hours a day looking after it, monitoring posts, dealing with member requests and posting on there as well, it is not going to be easy. This board was developed out of passion, not out of necessity, but has become a necessary tool for many when investing and networking. That happened because of the culture here and great members...not so easily replicated...especially when one guy would give up sleep for years to look after it with no pay. And to those that continue to show support for the board and aren't bitching, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Paul will be inserting a mobile add-on that should give some mobile functionality in the next couple of weeks. The "search" feature is something we'll have to work on and tweak over time. Cheers!

Folks, Down to my last 8 tickets! No room at the inn after that! Cheers!

It's ok if he talks up his investment, but don't make him pay a higher price! ;D Cheers!

Nice Olympics analogy Partner! C'mon Prem...own the podium! Cheers!

They've been selling the stocks and reaping the gains as the market went up. Those gains won't disappear if markets correct. Cheers! Based on my understanding, they had to realize hedge losses to keep that ~100% hedge stance. Those gains instantly disappeared. Your assumption is that markets won't turn the other way. If they don't, then Fairfax was very wrong. If they do, then they won't look so stupid. I don't see the same possibility of a massive correction like they do, but at the same time, do any of us really think that Europe has finished restructuring? The U.S. has yet to tackle it's debt problem...which is up to $17T now! Things could go sideways for a long-time as Europe restructures...those deflation hedges could be huge. Only time will tell if they were right or wrong. So far...very wrong! Cheers!

They've been selling the stocks and reaping the gains as the market went up. Those gains won't disappear if markets correct. Cheers!

Hi Folks, Many of you will be attending our Fairfax Financial Shareholder's Dinner on April 8, 2014 at the Fairmont Royal York. The dinner raises money for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada in memory of Prem's former executive assistant, JoAnn Butler, who passed away of colon cancer back in 2009 and was a good friend of mine. Last year, we raised almost $20,000 from ticket sales, a few prizes donated by myself, Fairfax and a couple of other people, as well as some large donations from key attendees. I'm looking to add a few low-key corporate donors this year. We've already receive a couple of great offers, so I'm very pleased by their generosity! There are a couple of options: - Corporate donors can give a platinum donation...$5,000 or higher...their name or logo would appear on the powerpoint home page, just under the CCFC logo, as well as on all key signage and table signage. - Corporate donors can give a gold donation...$2,500 to $5,000...their name or logo would appear on all key signage and table signage. - Corporate donors can give a $1,000 to $2,500...their name or logo would appear on all table signage. - Donate a prize for the silent auction...your name or logo would appear on a small table banner in front of the prize. Please contact me at cornerofberkshireandfairfax@gmail.com if you are interested. Thanks very much to anyone who donates, and to all of you simply for attending and supporting the dinner! Cheers!

With all of the differences from country to country...a good song is a good song wherever you go! The Red Army Choir's take on Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". Cheers! http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/%E2%80%9Cget-lucky%E2%80%9D-and-5-other-mind-blowing-covers-by-the-red-army-choir-235005231.html

I like the line in the offer..."An offer like this can only be offered to someone credit worthy...". Apparently a fictional name is credit worthy! Either that or banks are lending to anyone again. Cheers!

LOL! By the way, Cohen also has one of the largest collections of Hurst's artwork I believe. Cheers!

I agree. There was some discussion on here of another manager with stellar returns, where one investment had created a disproportionate return over the years when annualized. But if you look at the returns now, they are in line or below the S&P500. You need to see a significant number of swings before you can come to any conclusion about batting averages. That's the one thing I'm proud of so far. Because of our cash holdings over the years, you don't see the high batting average of our picks that have worked out...year in, year out. Not any given year, not any given pick. That's what you want to see over time...that the average is high on the analysis and the swings. Cheers!

Well, then either this is the best laugh right now here in my office, or back at Fairfax's offices. He, he, he! Sender can at least comfort himself with the fact that he owns probably the most overpriced, overpaid collection of modern art (re: Damien Hurst garbage) in the world! Cheers!

Do we have a lot of analysts on here? ;D Somehow, the voting was so lopsided for the Broncos, but after the game was over, the Seahawks became the favorite in voting. Cheers!

Yeah, what the heck was that. He pulled it out of the 1970's! Cheers!

Oh Lord, that was about as bad as a first half any Denver fan could have imagined! All the questions around Manning and the big game have started all over again. Poor guy! Please cue the miracle 2nd half comeback, otherwise this Hall of Famer is going to be nagged by the most annoying and persistent questions he could ever imagine. This really sucks! Cheers!

Oh yeah, it's crazy here in Vancouver too. A lot of Vancouverites have jumped on the wagon too, because the Canucks suck this year. You've got "Go Seahawks" signs everywhere, and the bars will be full of Seahawks jerseys today. I'm probably one of the few Bronco fans in Vancouver! Cheers!

Broncos! I've been a Manning fan since he came into the league. It was Indy for 11 years, now the Broncos for 2. And with the way Manning has shredded defenses all season, and the way the Broncos defense has stepped up in the Playoffs, I think Seattle will be in tough with Denver. This Broncos team is great on special teams and Manning has something he never had in his career...someone who can run the ball and give him options. He doesn't have to try and beat the defense in the air every down anymore, and that's what allowed him to set the records this season with so few interceptions. Cheers!

I agree. Some people love cars and enjoy them, so it may be worth paying more for a car if you are one of these people. I've always hated cars and thought of them as an insanely expensive necessity. I could never enjoy owning an expensive car. I have some requirements, it needs to have heat, A/C, a working radio, and be able to do at least 85mph on the highway. My family car needs to do those things, plus tow a camper and have ample cargo space. Other than that, I am not willing to pay for any extras or luxuries. To me, I just want to get where I'm going, without needing to squash in near a bunch of gross people on a train/bus or need to pedal 15 miles to work in the snow. I love cars, ever since I was toddler, and I always dreamed of driving Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, etc. Funny thing happened when I became a value investor. I felt very uncomfortable owning such luxury cars. In many parts of the world, including Canada and the United States, driving such cars could get you shot in some neighbourhoods. And then I realized, I don't want my image to be about the car or house I own...I want it to be about the companies I own...especially if I own the whole company. Thus I never felt comfortable buying an expensive car after becoming the investor that I am, when I would rather throw that money into a business. Cheers!

Actually, I bought a 2008 Mercedes B200 Turbo two days ago with only 38K km on it! I don't like spending a lot on cars, and this thing is in mint shape and was cheap because it was now outside of the warranty. But with only 38K km, it's almost like a new car. Got it for $13K CDN! Even the interior, including the seats, don't look like they've ever been used. It has all of the bells and whistles that I need...heated seats, air conditioning, power everything, hands free telephone, etc. I looked at newer cars, especially with all of the "zero down" financing available...free money! But, when I saw this and the shape it was in, I was much happier spending far less for a pretty new car, and paid cash instead of financing which was my preference. Go with a mint-shaped used car with low mileage...it's the value investor's choice! Although I bought it at a Jaguar/Landrover dealership and that Jaguar F-type was sweet! As was the Range Rover Sport I took for a test drive! But I can't justify paying more than $35K for a car. Just can't do it. Cheers!

I'm incredibly frustrated lately with Canada's banks and their subsidiaries. Yes, they came through wonderfully through the financial crisis, but in terms of competition, pricing, service and just plain common sense, they continue to operate as if they are institutions from a Third World country. Seven fu*king months we've been trying to open a bank account with RBC Royal Bank Cayman Ltd. Their onerous burden of proof required for every piece of documentation is mind-boggling, and the fact that two subsidiaries of Royal Bank can't even talk to one another, let alone address letters to each other, is just completely irrational! The fund was approved seven months ago, but our checking account is in limbo still, because these assholes in the Caribbean work on Island time and have very little discretion to use actual common sense. What we pay for at RBC Dominion for the Canadian Fund, costs us 80% less at UBS in Chicago, where Ajay Desai's team makes Canadian brokerages look like warts on the financial industries ass! Yes, I'm not holding back today. Eight god-damn years we spent with RBC Dominion and Royal Bank, and they can't get their shit together to open a checking account in the Caymans. Documentation from U.S. legal counsel, Cayman legal counsel, Canadian legal counsel, our directors, our registered agent, bank references, personal references, utility bills, full breakdowns of corporate hierarchies and the shareholder base at each level, and on and on it goes...for a fu*king checking account! And what is it with Canadian wires. A new partner in our Canadian fund wired capital two days ago, and it still hasn't shown up even though the routing instructions were perfect. In the U.S., almost 99% of our wires show up within hours, and rarely does it take a day to show up! Is the money being physically counted by a group of seniors in a back room at Royal Bank, before they electronically show it appearing?! Finally today was the straw that broke the camel's back! I go into Royal Bank to do a corporate deposit. They have one person in the Business Deposit section and 9 tellers in the Personal Deposits section. Two customers are at each line. So I go through the Personal Deposit's line, even though I have a Business Deposit...I've done this for 8 years without a problem. The girl at the counter tells me "Oh, this is a business deposit. You have to go into that line over there next time." I said, "Well you have 9 people here and one person there." She says "Well, usually once we finish with the people here, we'll bring over anyone over there, so please wait in that line next time." I flipped out and said "Do you really think it's appropriate to tell your customers that they should wait in the other line? Or do you think it's more appropriate to simply apologize to them by saying "I'm sorry you had to wait there, we'll try and speed up the process for you next time." She was stunned, stamped my deposit book and I was on my merry way. Now I'm going to write a letter to the CEO of Royal Bank and rip a new asshole into him, including how dysfunctional his Cayman Island's commercial banking staff is. And I am also now a confirmed proponent for far greater competition in the Canadian banking industry. You guys suck! Cheers

A NYC based investment fund with a global, concentrated (10-15 positions, top 5 majority of portfolio)), long-term value investment strategy is interested in hiring a summer intern. This internship provides a unique opportunity in a recent start-up (2.5 years old) with a strong performance track record. The analyst would work directly for the Managing Partner providing significant research responsibility as well as a great, hands-on learning opportunity. Responsibilities include idea generation, financial analysis and scuttlebutt research. Candidates must have a strong passion for value investing, significant understanding of financial accounting, and knowledge of Microsoft Excel (ie be able to develop a basic financial model). Please submit an email titled NYC Value Fund Internship with a resume, cover letter and brief (1 page max) investment write-up to nycvaluefund@yahoo.com.

For his oldest fund, PIF2, it's about 16.7% annualized since October 1, 2000 to December 31, 2013. S&P500 TR did about 3.9% annualized during the same period. Cheers!

Yup, if you charge an incentive fee, partners need to be qualified. Cheers!

Actually, Mohnish thinks Dakshana and Dhandho should be separate, so I won't be considering the non-profit SPV. Sorry! Cheers!

This is an interesting concept - though it is not clear how this will work. Isn't the money put into Dhandho permanent capital? Is the plan to sell Dhandho shares after IPO to pay for Dakshana? cheers! No, the GP would essentially be the non-profit partner. The partnership would own the shares. The shares would not have to be sold off immediately, but a certain amount every couple of year or say five years of the GP's capital account would be sold/transferred in kind to Dakshana. $100K 1) A lot of people want to get in at the financing, because they believe the stock will trade above book after the IPO. 2) Probably not, but this is for the financing, which he has control of. Cheers!