ourkid8

Happy Birthday! :)

Bank of america buying countrywide!

I would love for Fairfax to buy 100% of Chou funds and uses it as a platform for future Fairfax global funds. This works 2 folds, you bring a high caliber fund manager back in house in Francis Chou and have a solid platform to rollout globally. (They have Brazilian operations, why can't that be the next area?) Tks S

I strongly believe Class I railroads will do extremely well over the next generations. A few of the reasons are pricing power as they are able to raise prices over inflation, extrmely large moat since it is next to impossible to build new tracks, population growth as this trend continues additional goods will need to be moved and additional effieiencies to continue to drive down capex. I also believe the future compounders will not be obscure names but will be everyday names we overlook just like KO, Philip morris etc... Tks, S

Marlboro is the only true global cigarette brand. tks, S

Not 40% but I am at 17%... Tks, S

As of Dec 31, 2013 - 6.1% of his Chou RRSP fund was in TorStar. http://choufunds.com/pdf/RRSPport1213.pdf thanks, s

I for one do not agree with outrageous pay packages and if I was an individual shareholder I would have voted against the deal. The difference is, Buffett/ Prem are looking to acquire businesses to be run independently and self managed. If they start interfering with compensation, owners/CEOs would be reluctant to sell them their businesses since they would be concerned they may interfere in not only compensation but other matters. At the Fairfax shareholder dinner, management at Fairfax did not agree with TW compensation but considered it part of doing business. They work in the background to address these issues then airing dirty laundry in public. Tks, S

You forgot who is the Casanova of the forum and my bet goes to Gio... :)

Sanjeev, i am excited about tonight and want to thank you in advance for planning it. I am no doubt it will exceed my expectations! Thanks, S

Citigroup Inc

Does anyone know which stock Francis is referring to? An interesting anecdote to the said Russian pharmaceutical company: When companies trade on different exchanges and they spin-off a subsidiary, one would expect them to do it on the same record and/or ex date. This Russian company traded both on the Russian stock market (“Russia”) and the London Stock Exchange (“London”). However, when it spun-off its subsidiary, which was roughly 25% of the value of the parent company, it did so on separate dates. So, if you bought the shares in Russia, in order to get the shares of the spun-off company in January 2014, you needed to have been a registered owner by the record date in late December. But if you bought them in London, the record date to get the shares of the spun-off company is in late March 2014. You would expect that shares listed in Russia would trade ex-spinoff at a price 25% lower than the ones listed in London, until such time of the London spin-off occurs. However, the shares in London took their cue from the prices in Russia and traded at roughly the same prices as those in Russia. The shares in London are still entitled to the spin-off company, which is worth 25% of the parent company. The shares were already cheap, trading at less than three times free cash flow, and we bought our shares in London. We have not revealed the name as it was bought in 2014, but for the curious and the enterprising investor, enjoy your early Easter egg hunt. Tks, S

Has anyone bought into Thomas Cook India directly or playing it via Fairfax? Tks, S

I am super disappointed how they sold Wells Fargo, JNJ and USB but adding to their position in a sub par business. Prem really needs a Munger on staff to convince him to focus on high quality businesses... Tks, S

My portfolio is about 12-15% leveraged (during the recession it was significantly higher) as i borrowed against my HELOC during the crisis. I am paying this down aggressively as I am also trying to avoid excessive leverage. On top of that leverage, I currently have a significant position of BAC warrants / options so those have inherent leverage built in. To sum it up, I have too much leverage which I have to reduce especially as the market is making new highs! Thanks, S

oh, okay... :) I agree, I really like the hurdle as well. This was all derived from Buffett's original fund structure... I have a very large position in Chou Associates and the MER is 1.86%, i wish there was a hurdle but it is a relatively low fee structure for a Canadian mutual fund. What i especially like is the fact that anyone who does not hold the fund for a minimum of 2 years, there is a 2% fee that goes back to the fund. Thanks, S

I totally disagree. It's vital keeping fees as low as possible thus maximizing investors returns. Lets say he goes through 7 lean years, what happens then? Even the best investors go through slumps... Tks, S

Citi and AIG are two extremely cheap stocks selling below liquidation value. Tks, S What are you looking at? I think SUSQ looks cheap.

I find it puzzling how people are having a hard time finding bargains when Financials are selling below book / TBV... It's almost a no brainer! There are still many pockets of value but Financials should not be overlooked... Tks, S

In the Investment Ideas section, why don't you provide us any? Tks, S

Since we have all become macro investors, here is another data point which shows the US economy continues to expand and 4th quarter GDP growth maybe revised higher! For me, I continue to buy companies selling below intrinsic value. I am not concerned what will happen to the global economy in the short term. http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBREA2B1H020140312?feedType=RSS&irpc=935 Tks, S

@Long investor: in general I do agree with your statement but the team seems to have started to correct themselves. Prime restaurants IMO was a poor acquisition especially owning 100% of a tier 2 restaurant business in Canada. The team corrected their mistake and merged it with CARA while taking a 49% stake in the combined entity. They also have brought in strong management to help run the company, great move!!! The synergies from merging these two companies is huge and will payoff in the years to come. The keg, william Ashley and thomas cook; I love these acquisitions. I know they were not cheap as they have a huge runway of growth ahead of them and each have strong competitive advantages. However, I do question the others such as ridley, sporting life and kitchen stuff plus which do not have a strong competitive advantage... Thanks, S "FFH's foray into wholly owned businesses is rather unimpressive and leaves one scratching heads."

I know the chou opportunity fund does not have a long track record and you will probably rule it out because of it but look at the long term results of chou associates fund (choufunds.com) and you will understand why i highly recommended it. Thanks, S

Mr. Watsa also praised Tom Ward of Sandridge. In regards to ethics and operational execution, he was an absolute disaster. Even during the proxy battles, Fairfax openly supported TW which was a huge mistake (he destroyed billions of dollars in shareholder value) considering how strong the current management is in comparison and the amount of work that was required to turn around this company. IMO, Mr. Watsa lacks good judgment in character and he will continue to support and have full faith in the jockey until the end. This is totally different from Mr. Buffet who expects high quality management with good judgment or he would typically avoid the investment. Tks, S

Hi all, I was wondering if I can get some advice from any full time private investors who left their day job to focus on their portfolio? I have a portfolio between $500k-1 million and I am reaching a point where I would like to focus fully on increasing my circle of competence and investing full time for myself then working a 9-5 type of job. I have a well paying job but its not my passion at all and I do love investing and have been rather successful to date. I know there are many people here who are in exactly the same situation. What risks/ challenges or even advantages do you see in leaving your job to invest as a private investor? Is my portfolio too small at this time to go ahead with that route? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, S