frog03

Congrats Packer for the performance and Norm for the article! Sanjeev, still planning to get your book out in 2015?

yes, I'd prefer both as well Norm. This being said putting only the gross number does not seem very ethical to me.

I don't like the chart gross of all fees. Arlington Value has also used a similar chart earlier this year. Why do successful investors fees like they have to show gross of all fees? Net of all fees in these two cases is certainly good enough...

Flinvest does publish their top holdings monthly (thru email) but you need to be acknowledged as an ower to receive the mail. Moneta Micro Entreprises has, as far I as know, the very best record of any mutual fund in Europe but is now closed. They also disclose their top positions monthly as well.

Nice article. 52% between Cash and Fairfax, this should hold well if/when the markets finally tank.

OK, what is the best one, and one that the average Joe can buy into?

The spreadsheet does not like some markets. I can't seem to get any prices for Swiss stocks.

In M&T's bank presentations, they list the top US performers (stock price + dividends) since 1980. The first five: 1) Eaton Vance 25.1% 2) Limited Brands 23.3% 3) Gap 22.8% 4) Progressive 22.8% 5) TJX 22.6% ... 11) Leucadia 20.9% ... 17) Berkshire 20.2% In Canada, depending on the metric (book or total return) and exact time interval, CNQ and Alimentation Couche Tard have done about as well as Fairfax.

Are we too bullish? What little US economic growth (2% or so) there is in the US is financed with an 8% deficit... http://www.sprott.com/markets-at-a-glance/ignoring-the-obvious/

Thanks. I knew about GBL, but hadn't heard about IDI. I'll have a look, it sounds interesting. ********** Not technically part of the Eurozone but Kinnevik in Sweden has done 20% a year on average over 30 years and also trades at a nice discount. This reminds me of North America where some of the best capital allocator companies such as BRK, FFH or LUK basically trade at close to book value when they have killed the indices. Better capital allocator than average at cheaper than average multiples should certainly prove rewarding over time.

Quote from: txitxo on December 28, 2012, 03:05:39 AM Gio, nice to see you quoting Capablanca. He was truly an artist. I fully agree with Howard Marks, and he was vindicated by 2008-2009. But I am very reluctant to hold large amounts of cash. I've looked a lot into timing systems, and I think I've found a very good one but I am still skeptical about it because there has only been a couple of bear markets to test it. And I've done many backtests which prove that unless you time exceedingly well your entry and exit points, your performance will be inferior with respect to buy and hold. So putting together macro and micro, the optimum strategy should be to buy cheap stocks in cheap markets. You do your favorite variant of value investing, either mechanical investing as I like, owner-managers which is your specialty, Grahamesque cigar-butts, or Buffett-like palaces with moats. But you buy those stocks in markets which are statistically cheap according to all the possible indicators you can muster. You only go to cash if all the markets in the world become expensive at the same time. Right now my model indicates that sometime before the end of next quarter, US, Canadian and Australian stocks are about to start a big decline. The UK market is pretty rich too. This is a statistical prediction, and I have no idea what will be the actual detonator of the decline. But if that does not happen, this time will be truly different. On the other hand, Euro-zone markets are very cheap and buying value stocks there should work very well in 2013. It is a pity that there are no real equivalents of LUK, BRK, MKL, FFH, etc. in the Eurozone. That would simplify the life of the part-time investor significantly... ********** There are some in the Eurozone but not many and unlike the US examples, they are not insurance related. I can think of two. GBL in Belgium (partnership between the Belgian Frere family and the Canadian Desmarais family) IDI in France (listed company that invests mostly in private equity. 66% owned by three main managers (OK 2, one passed away recently). 15% return to stockholders since 1991 despite currently trading at 2/3 of Book value. There got to be others. Anybody has other names?

Interesting but why start with 1977 and why exclude dividends...

I did not know the company but a quick glance at MSN reveals a very wild ride... http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/key-ratios?symbol=ca%3aocx&page=TenYearSummary

Some comments on Bestinver. 1) They always compare their performance vs. index without dividends 2) Once you include dividends, their hedge fund launched five years ago has not beaten the index 3) The position reports are as of 6/30 on the fact sheet So, the investment may be fine but a positive view by Bestinver is only a starting point...

Interesting thread to reread. Claire Barnes is still on fire : http://www.apolloinvestment.com/performance.htm Allan Mecham has similar outperformance to Buffett's early years James Wang of Oceanstone has done 35% net over 6 years (w/out leverage) Steven Palmer has done 30% over 14 years (AIG then Alpha North Partners) with serious volatility though Any new names that need to be added?

Magic Formula works better on small stocks than mid/large used in the funds.

thanks Nate and Hellsten!

Anybody got plays on timber? Historically timber has appreciated faster than the stock market with less volatility but pure plays without hefty fees are hard to find.

No news of Arlington on the SEC so they must still be below 100 million.

His outperformance is really mind boggling. Very few managers beat the index by 5 points or more annually LT. Extremely few do 10 points or more. Doing 20+ points for 10+ years is really a fantastic accomplishment. The comparison with Buffett's early years is very telling. Will be very interesting to see how this young man develops.

His performance the last few years has been so so, especially in light of his absolutely unbelievable performance for the first twelve or so years.

Sanjeev, you need to ask your friend Allan from Arlington to do such an auction. He has a much better record than Mohnish yet much less is known about him. I am sure Allan could find a favorite charity :)

I think their assets are still below 100 Million (probably not for long if they keep delivering at this rate...) so no 13F

Twa, any more companies you care to share that are on your list? Thanks ********** In truth, I have no expertise in adequacy for such claims, but I do know that BRK and FFH are on my short list of companies I want to be a part owner of

Beating yet again the market and its peers YTD...