villainx

I guess the analogy that I'm thinking of is maybe like small/regional banks? Even if banks are in same geographical area, they serve different clients/customers in different markets/services.

Is the idea that there's enough different segment and geography to have multiple winners, that total market is still very large and fragmented, and most of the big players don't necessarily compete but co-exist, occasionally bump into each others but have their specialty/markets?

If this was the 1950s investment, he sold out of the position in about a year's time. Not that your point isn't valid, but I think @Marco Van Basten meant keeping it at that elevated portfolio level over long term. And regarding Buffett and Berkshire ownership, many folks - through their job - have probably an extremely high % of net worth tied to their job, perhaps to a degree that they aren't fully aware of - good or bad.

My guess is the question to the matter is what would one do with new investing money. All else equal, I assume at 70%, most would either go to the next best idea(s) or even diversify to some general index. But it's also dependent on how did that 70% happened, Fairfax went up higher? or other high conviction bests shrunk? Right? 46% -> 70% means either something went really well or really bad, or there's a temporary market turmoil.

Seems like 10-20% at cost can easily run and stay 40%+ at market for a long time. Yeah the great ones can find a bunch of winners over time, but getting one or two right happens. Wouldn't want to sell your winner just because it's 40%+ to water your weeds.

Is this more or less ammo for Muddy Waters?

Should be more dividend increases coming?

I'm in same boat. Curiosity keeps getting the better of me. Many smaller positions when concentration would have been (hindsight) better.

Added small amount. Have room to make position larger, but trying to wait for good price. But willing to do a little at low 1700s for US shares.

I think various times FIH gets wildly undervalued, at around .7 book. It might get there with a bit of uncertainty floating around. Present level is interesting. I’m trying to wait but I’ll see.

Was just thinking the same.

From the WSJ 2012 article, this was the kinda details I was looking for! Thanks! Bargain-hunting is a skill that Mr. Chou, now 56, honed as a boy.Born in India to Chinese parents, he wandered among food stalls in the small northern Indian city of Allahabad, clutching a shopping list from his mother. Because there were no refrigerators, milk had to be bought almostevery day. While his mother worked as a Chinese-language teacher, the young Mr.Chou wouldcheck for freshness, turning the glass bottles to see the milk'scolor and thickness. He tried to discern which were priced too high, those likely to spoil soon and others that were watered down. In 1973, Mr. Chou's older brother immigrated to Canada. Mr. Chou joined him three years later, with $200 to his name. Eventually he landed a job as a repairman for Bell Canada. But when Mr. Chou stumbled on an article about value investing, he felt he had found his calling. A year after starting his club in 1981, Mr. Chou went looking for value-oriented firms. He introduced himself to Bob Tattersall, then at Bolton Tremblay Funds Inc., a Montreal investment-counseling firm that later grew into Canadian fund manager Montrusco Bolton. "I have two weeks' holiday," Mr. Chou said at the time. "Can I work for you for free?" Mr. Tattersall said yes. He was impressed by Mr. Chou's insights and asked him to analyze auto-parts maker Kelsey-Hayes Canada Ltd. "He did a good job on the report, and he was pretty excited at the end when we called the CFO, put him on the speaker phone and did a telephone interview," Mr. Tattersall recalls. For Mr. Chou, the two-week stint was a chance to scout Bay Street investment advisers, especially those who shared his value-oriented philosophy. In 1984, he left Bell Canada for good, joining investment firm Gardiner Watson Ltd. as an analyst, working beside value investor Prem Watsa. It was Mr. Watsa who pressed for his hire. "My boss asked me give him 10 minutes. We spoke for a half- hour. I have never been more impressed with anyone than I was in that half-hour." At Mr. Chou's urging, Mr. Watsa bought control of teetering Markel MKL +0.75% Financial of Canada, the Canadian unit of insurer Markel Corp. It eventually became Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., FFH.T +1.57% of which Mr. Watsa now is chairman and chief executive. Mr. Chou worked at Fairfax for about a decade, managing the company's surplus cash while running the grown-up version of the investment club launched at Bell Canada.

More of his India and then India to Canada story. Most of the articles pick up from investment club on. More for my kids to learn about his early history. But there might be reasons that part is glossed over.

Is there an article or other source about Francis' early years? Most everything I found online is came from India to Canada at around 20, started investment club with coworkers a few years later, rest is history.

I would assume TDG would go where the margins are and start from there. Any redesign would seemingly be more opportunity as TDG would be better able to identify where to go after than other aftermarket folks. Maybe?

Hmm... sounds like the making of a short report, Fairfax creative engineering.

even better reason to stay off that radar!

Is shipping to NE USA reasonable?

Going to Seattle and Vancouver with family. Any non obvious things to consider?

Heading to Vancouver, any Fairfax associated things to check out? I see there's several The Keg. Edit: Should look here, right? https://www.recipeunlimited.com/en/our-brands.html

Interesting. If the business is still viable, cleaning house was the right choice though. Maybe getting someone more seasoned to fix and prep for sale? I guess the business being viable is the thing. Then again, maybe it's my bias for selling losers.

Was just wondering the same.

For a sec, with all the Canadians here, I thought it was from the North. Deep South would have been my second guess! Or I guess anywhere else. I assumed it was pocket change type of meaning, but folding cash definitely has a nice ring to it.

Never heard this expression before? origin?

If life was a TV show, this is like a callback to Berkshire's earlier type of investment?