Parsad

No. Outside of inflated tech stocks, equities are still appealing compared to the alternatives, so betting against stocks at the moment may not be the best idea. Question is, and there is ample ammunition for this line of thought, is there an exogenic event that would cause yields to go back to much more sensible levels? The world is an economic powder keg at the moment...is someone or something going to light a match? If yes, then staying out of most asset classes is a good idea. If not, then stocks will continue to prove more appealing. That being said, I do know of one asset class that provides equity-like yields with zero correlation to other asset classes. In fact, an exogenic event would have little or no effect on this asset...insurance-linked securities! Why every pension fund, endowment, family office and large hedge fund isn't allocating a portion of their capital into it, I don't know?! But it exists! www.sequantre.com Cheers!

I don't hate my investors. I hate the fact that for some of them, their emotional constitution gets far better of them than their rational side. I would surmise that if and when the smoke clears, many will be kissing his ass again. People had the same comment back in 2007/2008 about him when the fund was down 70%. I know of very few managers (cannot even count them on one hand) that continued to manage their fund after such a loss and recoup those losses for his partners. Munger would be the only comparable I could bring forth. Pabrai could have easily taken the much-followed route of shutting his fund down and then start a new one in 2009 like many investment managers did. No need to try and get back up to a high watermark...but he didn't and he made every penny back. Most managers cannot beat the markets long-term. I just think that the assumption that those that did for many years are suddenly poor investors or incapable of doing so is shortsighted. With an operating company, there are no expectations to manage. The capital is captive and you can take a very long-term view. The operating manager can look stupid for many years until proven right...think Prem and his deflation bet. Far easier than managing a fund where investors can pull capital on you whenever they get scared or start to second-guess your abilities. Cheers!

To be fair, and I'll admit I'm not very familiar with Chou, his letter doesn't inspire much confidence. The section on Valeant is almost cringeworthy reading. It reads like it was written by an 18-year-old college student who fancies themself an "investor"... LOL! I can assure you that Chou is the type of investment manager that Buffett would not hesitate to hire. He once said that he was looking for someone like Peter Cundill...well Chou embodies everything that Cundill was about. If Berkshire shareholders had no clue who Ajit Jain was, it is likely they would not hire the man who has made more money than anyone outside of Buffett for Berkshire. Cheers!

I think investor expectations are so f**king wacky that investors themselves don't know what they are talking about. Buffett hasn't beaten the indices over the last 7 years...is he suddenly retarded? Not good enough? A has been? Apparently Chou, Pabrai and Watsa don't know what they are doing anymore! I've made money for my partners since May of 2006...beating the indices over those years by about 3.5% annualized...that's the top 1% of money managers during that span. Even this year, we are up 9% for the first half, while the market is up 3%, but I've got a partner who is pulling some money because I don't report often enough or consistently enough. I suppose they would prefer if I expounded on the markets, macroeconomics, stock picks and all of the other value investing bullshit you could put into a letter, instead of making money for them and working my ass off! Incidentally, that 9% is on a portfolio holding about 45% PDH which hasn't moved...so I've returned about 18% at June 30th on half of the portfolio I could allocate into ideas. Again, it must be time to part ways with me, since I have no f**king clue what I'm doing. Maybe Francis should be put out to pasture with me...Pabrai too...he's really sucking ass right now. Anyone else you guys can think of that are poor performers? Cheers!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2016/08/29/young-hedge-fund-manager-cracks-the-private-equity-code-small-stocks-and-leverage/#4d5d2aaf4147 Cheers!

You guys have it a bit mixed up. They are exchanging the converts. Total dollar amount of the convertible position remains the same. Cheers!

Great article on Doris Buffett (Warren's sister) and her philanthropy through the Sunshine Lady Foundation. They are looking for volunteers in the Boston area. Cheers! http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/08/13/meet-doris-buffett-warren-sister-she-wants-your-help-spending-her-brother-billions/aEc47mXfoSeRkTgal5FgvK/story.html

I take issue with this statement. While I see what you mean in terms of technological development, advances in certain fields, etc., it's estimated that millenials will be the first generation in a long while to NOT be better off than their parents on average. My nieces, nephews, their friends are all millenials. They are all in a better position than I was at their age. While cost of housing is higher for all of them, they have better quality jobs, benefits and prospects than I did. They have cheaper access to capital. They have better medical, dental and general healthcare. They have better access to information, technology, air travel and personal freedoms. Their mixed race friends that are couples don't face past prejudices and their gay friends don't worry about being beaten while walking home at night. Expenses outside of housing are actually generally more affordable than in past generations such as food costs, utility costs, automobile costs, etc. Millenials are graduating in a world that demands they go to college at an exorbitant cost, take on tens of thousands in debt to do so, to be eligible for jobs that are highly competitive and barely pay better than the $15/hr demanded by fast food workers who don't need degrees, just so they can become "contributing members of society"/tax payers which means they are immediately on the hook for carrying the rest of the country with their income taxes by taking. The United States, as well as Canada, actually has more opportunity in science, technology, healthcare today than any other period in the last 50 years. With the boomers retiring en masse, millenials will have access to a dearth of jobs as teachers, police officers, doctors, dentists and especially tradespeople. My nieces and nephews are all leaving university or college with jobs or decent prospects. Further, tax rates are at historical lows while deficit and debt are at historic highs. Any millennial with a brain can see that the likely trajectory in taxes is up even while the likely trajectory of benefits for our generation is down (social security being nonviable, growing health care costs to be carried publicly, deleveraging of public balance sheet at some point given the 100k/tax payer balance at the moment, etc.). This is true. Doesn't negate the higher quality of life they will enjoy and the longevity that will exceed ours. Millenials are looking at more debt (personal and public), higher taxes, more expensive housings/cars/etc., lower social benefits, lower incomes, and lower investment returns going forward. On top of that, very little of this was their fault (other than maybe student loan balances). This is all the consequences of decisions made by those representing their parents and grand parents. Disagree on the lower social benefits, lower incomes and lower investment returns. The last five years were some of the best returns the market has ever seen and it won't be the last. Millenials are also about to benefit from the largest transfer of wealth in history as they inherit from their parents and grandparents. Sure we have smartphones and computers are ubiquitous. It's still hard for me to see how that makes up for a lot of the above and can definitely understand why the younger generation is pissed off and supporting non-traditional candidates like Bernie and Trump. If you watch old episodes of "All in the Family" or "Good Times", you would think that the world would have run out of food by 1999 and that domestic political turmoil/protests/riots would never end. The country goes through cycles, where bombastic candidates like Trump fuel voter's fears, and the country has gone through a period of turmoil, either economic or political, including unsuccessful foreign policy. This is a replay of the late 60's and early 70's. A generation that thought things would never get better, yet they had one of the greatest periods of success in history...the Boomers! The Millenials may worry in the same way, but everything points to them having as good a life or better in the future. Cheers!

I've refrained from putting anything political on here, as such posts always end up in a flurry of rhetoric, but this one really made me laugh. I love Wilbur Ross the investor, but if Americans want to know (do they even really care?) what the rest of the world is looking at and the perspective they have on what is happening in this U.S. election, this is all you need: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/video/wilbur-ross-trump-joking-khan-114100665.html No real way to defend Trump's comments on the Khan family, but even poor Wilbur gives it a go! This oomphaloompa is so close to being the next President, even right-wing conservatives in Canada can't believe what is happening. I know, I know...Hillary sucks...and I agree! But really, you guys are contemplating giving the keys to Trump? Every single person on this message board today, is living better than the previous generation, yet the fear this guy is permeating makes many Americans think they are still stuck in the middle of the Great Depression or in the midst of World War II. I'm willing to bet that almost everyone on this board is living better than they did even 8 years ago! Yeah, I know you guys can't stand Hillary, but don't give the keys to this raging lunatic who contradicts everything Americans and the rest of the world holds true. And stop trying to explain what he REALLY meant when the crap comes flowing out of his mouth...not worth the effort or the self-denigration! Cheers!

For someone who likes to hold themselves to lofty ethical standards, he sure had some unethical tactics in how he tackled his fraud thesis on Fairfax Financial. I'm glad he doesn't mind what people think of him, as I've always felt he had the characteristic odor of what I sometimes wipe off the bottom of my shoe! A blast from the past that the rest of my life can do perfectly fine without. That being said, many people on this board became incredibly wealthy betting against Hempton, Eavis, Greenberg, Chanos, Gwynn and the rest of the FFH shorts. Cheers!

Thanks everyone! Much appreciated! Have 4th of July to my American compatriots! All the best, Sanjeev

Hi Guys, Yeah, there was an update by Watermelon Webworks and the banner is blocking a bit of the message board on iPhones and Blackberry. They are working on it this weekend and everything should look back to normal after the weekend. Thanks! Sanjeev

Coremark report on Fairfax India...good read. Cheers! FIH_Initiation_2016-06-10.pdf

He was my father's favorite boxer and in many people's minds, one of the great generational athletes, but Muhammad Ali passed away at 74. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/muhammad-ali--simply--the-greatest---dead-at-74-042902069.html

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 [email protected].

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!