Parsad

What have you been eating recently? My portfolio needs that you go out for lunch! SJ Frickin' can't until the restrictions are off. It's no fun when hot waitresses have masks on all of the time! Cheers!

Whenever I see a run of posts like this on Fairfax, the stock usually does well in the ensuing months...keep it up! Cheers!

i disagree with this comment specifically. I think 9-10% ownership is a huge incentive. Sure, this is not BRK level of ownership with Buffet. But if i compare to many other companies their CEO ownership is as low as 1%, it is really high. More so, what else is in Watsa's portfolio. Is it >90% FFH stock, if yes, than i think proper economics incentive is there on both dimensions. Personally, i would preferred no dividends as it gives the optics of cash-cow that all it does is to ensure the cash inflows is just enough to cover the cash outflows + $10 per share for dividends. But that is me. +1! Cheers!

i disagree with this comment specifically. I think 9-10% ownership is a huge incentive. Sure, this is not BRK level of ownership with Buffet. But if i compare to many other companies their CEO ownership is as low as 1%, it is really high. More so, what else is in Watsa's portfolio. Is it >90% FFH stock, if yes, than i think proper economics incentive is there on both dimensions. Personally, i would preferred no dividends as it gives the optics of cash-cow that all it does is to ensure the cash inflows is just enough to cover the cash outflows + $10 per share for dividends. But that is me. Yes, the key difference is that the typical CEO with a 1% ownership stake is not entrenched by virtue of multiple-voting shares and is at risk of being turfed if he pursues too many visible pet projects. That is possibly one reason why you will not see the CEO of Bank of America hive off $50m for his son to manage. It is probably also the reason why the CEO of BAC will not nominate his son and daughter to sit on the Board. If you are going to make use of multiple voting shares to retain control with a relatively small economic interest, you need to always be more Catholic than the Pope when it comes to using the firm's funds. SJ I think Berkshire and Fairfax shareholders know the difference between how these two companies are managed and the typical corporate structure of most corporations. You get what you get with Berkshire and Fairfax...that you will be treated equal to management, and that management has interests that are aligned with shareholders long-term. That some family influence or atypical culture will exist...be it Howard Buffett on the board of Berkshire or Ben Watsa on the board of Fairfax. Otherwise investors are welcome to invest in other companies where the culture is more agreeable to them. Cheers!

Why Silicon Valley's Biggest Companies are Investing Billions in India: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/tech/google-facebook-india-investment-jio/index.html Cheers!

Well, yes, that is one potentially valid conclusion, and I generally view it as solid, sound advice. But, there is yet one more problem with an outfit that sometimes does not seem to respect its partners. That problem is that the controlling shareholder has, until recently, only owned 7% of the economic interest in FFH but is likely now up to 9% ownership of the economic interest. That arrangement once again creates incentive problems because it creates a situation where every dollar of FFH's money that the controlling shareholder channels to his pet projects only costs him personally 9-cents. This might be a potential explanation for seemingly strange decisions like hiving off $50m of FFH's investment portfolio to be managed by Ben Watsa. What is FFH paying Ben's firm to manage that $50m? Is it 200 bps per year? More? Less? Nobody on the outside knows. But, what we do know is that if it is 200 bps, that makes $1 million per year, and of that sum Prem would pay $90k to guarantee his son a job while the minority (majority) shareholders would pay the other $910k. Prem could have allowed his son to manage $50m of his personal assets, which would also have guaranteed Ben a job, but then Prem alone would be paying the freight on that. Is it the same type of situation with TS? As others have noted, the TS controversy amounts to chicken-feed in the context of FFH's operations. Giving Paul Rivett a sweet-heart deal on TS would only potentially cost a few million of FFH's dollars. But, is this a case where Prem is happily spending 9-cent dollars for the benefit of his friends? Who really knows at this point. I would hope that Prem provides an explanation at the next quarterly call. The problem with this type of personal conduct that gives the appearance of a potential conflict of interest is that it casts suspicion on both good and bad decisions. The charitable gifts that FFH makes are the same sort of thing where Prem is effectively spending 9-cent dollars. We like to believe that all of these donations are made with the most altruistic and best intentions. But, now, when an expenditure is made that is not perfectly obviously aligned with the duty of a fiduciary, it is hard to not have a niggling concern in the back of one's head that the expenditure might not really be in the interest of shareholders. SJ The "market" has responded to all of Prem's actions in the way that matters most; Fairfax's share price has gone no where. In fact, it is currently back to where it was at the end of 2013. Closing Price in CAD: Dec 31/13: $424.21 Dec 31/14: $608.78 . . . . Dec 31/19: $609.74 July 16/20: $424.41 It will take performance of 15% per year for the next 3 years to get us slightly above the price at the end of Dec 31/14! So this will be a 9 year period where the share price will have done absolutely nothing. There are many reasons for the under performance of the share price however I can't help but think that Prem's pattern of personal conduct has played at least a small part. Markel's price hit 2015 prices...WTM hit 2015 prices...Everest Re hit 2014 prices at their lows...this is irrelevant to whether an investment is a good investment or not. Whether FFH is a good investment now...especially compared to when it was priced higher. You know better than that! Cheers!

Stop defending him....this one is not even close.... The revised Rivett/Bitove bid works out for something like $60 million in total to acquire a company that has $70 million CASH on its books and NO DEBT and no unfunded pension liability plus it has various minority investments that conservatively will raise a further $100 million when they are sold. You're asking some shareholders to stop defending him, but have you or anyone asked Prem why he is supporting the Bitove/Rivett deal? You guys always talk about self-dealing at Fairfax...show me some frickin' examples. The only things you guys point to is Resolute and now this. Resolute was to the benefit of Fairfax shareholders. If the Bitove/Rivett deal wins, do you think there might be some long-term opportunity for Fairfax? And why are you pissed off at the investor and not Torstar management...they are the ones who should be explaining why they are supporting a specific deal to all shareholders. Cheers!

Jim Pattison has a yacht: https://www.superyachtfan.com/yacht-nova-spirit.html Charlie Munger has a yacht. https://channelcatcharters.com/about.html Although it is a cheapskate yacht really. Jim Pattison has a yacht: https://www.superyachtfan.com/yacht-nova-spirit.html Both Munger and Pattison use it more for either their customers/clients or charitable events. Cheers!

First Kennedy Wilson/Fairfax investment under $2B loan portfolio: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kennedy-wilson-fairfax-complete-first-100000592.html Cheers!

The subscription fee is only for those that want the upgraded services above and beyond the message board. Otherwise, they would have full access and use of the message board as they do now. So nothing would change for the majority of users or new users. Cheers!

Yes, that will be in there. Cheers!

Yeah, not gonna happen. Even if you relegate both Fairfax and Berkshire to the garbage pile, understanding what they've done right and wrong will always be of intrigue to people...especially value investors. It's the very reason why Berkshire is called Berkshire Hathaway...learn from the past. And regarding Fairfax, Prem is now at the same point in time where Berkshire was 30 years ago...1985-2020....Berkshire 1965-2000. Berkshire grew book value at 23.6% annualized from 1965 to 2000, and Fairfax grew book value at 18.5% annualized from 1985 to 2020. To say that Fairfax is a mediocre company is like saying Mike Tyson was a mediocre fighter with a weak chin because he lost to Buster Douglas once! Cheers!

Carried over. So other than Politics, which won't be saved or archived, the other sections will be essentially the same and carried over. Cheers!

There will be a whole new site here most likely beginning September 1st. Originally I was aiming for January 1st, but we've moved that timeline up. I guess now would be a good time to address your issues: https://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/general-discussion/cobf-new-website/msg422404/#msg422404 Cheers! Sanjeev

Hi All, The new COBF website is aiming to launch around September 1st. Originally I had set the date for January 1st, but it has been moved up. Depending on the beta tests of the new site, it should be up by then, but there might be a few delays. I thought I would share with you what the new site will be like: - No politics section and no politics on there...period! - The look and design will be more like Microcap Club, but you do not have to submit ideas to be invited as a member - Members who are currently on here, will be automatically transferred over to the new site as "members", including usernames and passwords, and will have access to a similar type of message board...the registration fee for new "members" will remain a one-time fee of $29.95, but it will be USD. - Members can upgrade to "subscriber" for $19.95 USD per month or $199.50 USD per year...subscriber benefits will include: Subscriber Benefits - Access to stock selection competition with cash prizes - Quarterly newsletter with interviews, articles from a handful of selected writers including stock selection ideas - Access to private chat room to hold live online events for invited subscribers - Live vlog interviews with investment managers, writers and myself - Invites to private COBF events, including our Toronto dinner - Access to the job postings section - Access to the future COBF ETF by select COBF members We are in the programming/design stage now. If there are any other ideas or initiatives you would like to see incorporated, please let me know...for members, subscribers or both. Cheers! Sanjeev

Please leave your politics in the "Politics" section. He's half white and half black. But you've chosen to lower the bar of discussion by pointing out only that he's black. Cheers! Are you insinuating he got a better contract because he was half white? Last I checked you have plenty of people far less than 50% claiming identities...like a certain Massachusetts senator. He got a crazy contract because of his skills. He is what most consider(maybe not Joe Biden) black, and I just think its worth noting that there are definitely certain levels of success available to ALL Americans, which is what the American dream is/was all about. No, I'm saying that race has no part in it and you were making it a discussion about race. Cheers!

Please leave your politics in the "Politics" section. He's half white and half black. But you've chosen to lower the bar of discussion by pointing out only that he's black. Cheers!

What a player, what a contract! https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2872613-report-patrick-mahomes-chiefs-agree-to-10-year-contract-through-2031-season?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial Cheers!

Four in a whole day, sure ok...but six before noon...wow! Yeah, my eyes would be buggin' out! Although all the La Croix might be flushing the caffeine out of your system, so that might work. The other thing is that I really enjoy my coffee more when I have less...so I actually do savor each cup. My face does light up like a Folger's commercial in the morning. I do switch to a cup of iced coffee during the summer months in the morning, but I still stick to the two cups a day thing. Cheers!

1 hour every week if I'm ordering online and getting delivered. If I have to go to the store, then it's 1.5-2 hours every week because I'm hitting the grocery store and the drug store. Every two weeks, I go to the country market as well to pickup fresh produce and a few other things...30-40 minutes every two weeks. Other than that, one big shopping trip usually 2-3 weeks before Christmas. Cheers!

Greg, As you perhaps already know, I'm pretty observant to facts posted here on CoBF, and by all means much-much more observant how those so-called facts are processed and handled. So, to me, you are here just such a low-life cheat fiddling with your numbers that you post here on CoBF, dividing by four, instead of dividing by four-and-something! [ : - D] I hope everything is evolving well over time for your part, and yours! Take care [ : - ) ] [The rest that we're talking about here on CoBF is "just money" [and all that].] In short - now that I actually think about it - there is no capital gain comparable to become a parent again! [ : - ) ] Haha thanks John. Yes, things are well. Just another "period of adjustment" as seems to currently be the norm in the world. I'll do one more day, and then stop posting my daily meals. Just trying to emphasize how it is possible to eat well and cheap. One thing I have found very helpful is that going to the store daily and buying only really what I need for the days meals, greatly cuts back on waste/saves money. Previously, or when I go to Costco, its very easy to fall into a "I'll have some of this, and a bit of that, and oh, throw this in the cart too" mindset. Much of that stuff either goes bad or sits in the pantry collecting dust. Breakfast Eggs Benedict: Eggs 2.49 carton Hollandaise sauce 1.29 packet English muffins 1.50 a sleeve for store brand French toast for kids 2.79 for a box that lasts a week 6 coffees(I drink too much) K cup style 80 ct is $20 Apple juice 2.99 a jug, lasts 2 weeks Lunch Pierogi 3.79 a tray Sautéed Onion 1.99 lb Fish sticks for the kids 2.99 a box (although typically I catch the walleye and wife breads them, so free, unless you want to incorporate all the boating/fishing expenses, which will be an obnoxious add on) Dinner Skate Wings 7.99 lb Asparagus 1.99 a bundle capers 1.79 a jar couscous 1.99 a box pizza bites for the kids 1.99 a bag which lasts 2 meals 6 cups of coffee for breakfast...or do you mean you drink that through the whole day? No headaches, sleeping problems, etc? I have one cup in the morning or afternoon (large mug size), and a decaf cup after dinner (dinner cup size). 6 cups...I'd be wired! Cheers!

This is so true, most grocery store vegetable/fruits have no flavour here in Canada as well. We try to go to smaller farmer's markets or actual farms to get stuff in the summer. Some vendors at bigger markets just buy wholesale and repackage, but you can taste the difference when you buy from the actual farmers. Quite true for some produce. I tried organic purple and white carrots and I don't think I can go back to grocery store orange carrots...same with tomatoes. Also with eggs...they have to be Omega-3 or free range eggs. I've found those three things in particular taste incredibly different than the cheaper versions. Cheers!

Even our local Save-on-Foods, which is a chain similar to Albertson, Kroger, etc has ground bison, venison chops and a few other new offerings. Game meat isn't my thing, but interesting that they now carrying it. Cheers!

Eric did you go vegetarian? I remember you used to raise chickens and would eat fresh chicken. Cheers!

Welcome back! Cheers!