Parsad

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 [email protected].

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!

I spoke to Mohnish yesterday about this because I'm getting a number of such queries. There are a few people (between family and friends) who are pooling their assets together into one entity and investing in Dhandho. Mohnish is ok with that, but would be resistant to anyone setting up a for-profit fund that profits on the back of Dhandho Holdings, since it defeats the purpose of the low, equitable compensation structure in Dhandho. As a director for Dakshana Canada, I thought about setting up a non-profit fund, with a small management fee (say 0.5%) after operating costs going to Mohnish’s foundation, Dakshana. But unfortunately, I think it would stretch me a bit thin with all of my businesses and activities. Let me know how many people would seriously consider investing in such a non-profit vehicle giving them exposure to Dhandho, and I will reconsider my decision if the number is large enough and would mean at least $25-30K a year going to Dakshana…it would mean $5M in capital would have to be raised! If not, my time is better spent setting up an annual event where I could raise as much for Dakshana. Cheers!

I have a feeling Manual of Ideas doesn't need the synergy, and is probably doing a much more effective job. Cheers!

Dhandho Holdings will be listed after the initial financing is closed on the Nasdaq or OTC. An IPO for $100M will then be undertaken in 2015, where Pabrai Funds will put in $70M. After the initial 99 slots are filled for the financing, where he could raise a minimum of $35M to $150M...I think it will on the higher side...the partnership will become a listed company once the insurance acquisition is complete and they will then do an IPO. Pabrai Funds, as mentioned above, will invest $70M in the IPO, thus investors in Pabrai Funds will have exposure without having to participate in the initial financing. Compensation is interesting too for the initial LP! I just did a quick read, so if anyone sees anything different, feel free to correct. There will be a 1% fee, through which all operating costs will be run. Investors receive 100% of distributions until it equals their capital accounts...in other words, no incentive fee until he doubles your money. Then after that, the distributions will be 90/10 to LP/GP with no hurdle. If you run the numbers it seems to fall in around 9% hurdle with 25% incentive fee, only after he's doubled your capital account. Not sure how that changes once it is listed as a company and after the IPO. Cheers!

Nooo! Mohnish thinks of me more as a little brother...literally...there's a foot difference in our height! ;D Guy is his sounding board and equal! Cheers!

Yup. I believe one of the funds paid incentive fees in the 4th quarter, and so far in January, it looks like the two other funds will also be paying incentive fees according to the letter. Cheers!

I'm sure you will at some point, like with any other business. But think about how well read Mohnish is, and how well-connected he is at this point in time. I would dare say, there are probably a number of private businesses that he could easily approach, that are well off anyone's radar. That large frontal lobe of his has amassed a pretty good base of knowledge about the various public and private companies out there! ;D Cheers!

Good question. Once I read the offering documents, I'll be able to let you know. Cheers!

Also, initially it looks like Dhandho will be capitalized with about $150-200M, so alot of smaller companies targeted by activists, may decide that Pabrai is their Indian knight! Cheers!

I have an inkling that if that Vice Chairman title has anyone on it, it will probably be somebody whose name ends with "Spiers". It would only make sense. Cheers! Instead of saying "I have nothing to add to that", she can just say: "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" Not Brittney...Guy Spiers! Sheesh!

I have an inkling that if that Vice Chairman title has anyone on it, it will probably be somebody whose name ends with "Spiers". It would only make sense. Cheers!

No, because they would not be able to analyze if the purchase price was at intrinsic value or less. What if Fairfax was trading at 3 times book if something happened to me? My family also already knows not to sell any of the FFH we already own if they can help it and just let it ride. I would rather have them give any capital outside of FFH to money managers I trust, who will always allocate the capital into undervalued securities for them. And now they have Mohnish as a choice going forward! I could not invest with him as a Canadian, but will do so through Dhandho Holdings. Cheers!