So Sanjeev, what you are suggesting is that you would prefer a lower share price to ensure a better quality of shareholders. But isn’t that rather counterproductive? I mean the value of the company is generally the product of management - not the group intelligence of shareholders. Further, in watching the share price of Fairfax bounce around over the past few years doesn’t give one lot of confidence in the ability of the present shareholders to put a proper or consistent value on this company. While the value has been consistently increasing, the share price charts looks like my dog’s teeth.
Let’s say splitting shares eventually leads to an average 5-10% increase in share value, don’t you think that would outweigh the fact that you would have a lesser quality of shareholders? And as far as volatility is concerned, this company can move 10% in a couple of days and all too frequently does.
Hypothetically, lets say ownership of FFH was limited to a few dozen very knowledgeable shareholders, are you sure that the share price would rise quicker over time than if they were more widely held? What if if liquidity was lowered to the point where there was such a limited market there was no one to sell the shares to?
The expertise of many members of this board is most impressive, but there is one rule of business that rarely fails. Any commodity, no matter what it’s value is only worth what someone will pay for it. When you limit your market, you limit the competition and thereby what people are willing to pay. Long term or short term, isn’t the reason any of us buy shares in any company is to make money? (Forgive me if I sound like Kevin O’Leary)