ourkid8

Yup, it has been a total homerun but remember this is a relatively small position for Francis. As per September 30, 2013 it was 2.1% of his fund. 2013 was a superb year for Chou Associates... :) Tks, S

Gio is assuming the market will continue to march toward for 3 more years and then we will get a huge correction. What he is also not accounting for is that we also hold equities which will also fall which should net out the gains from the hedges. I really wish they did not hedge, pay down debt and hold additional cash at the holding company. Tks, S How do you know that they will make 35% for 3 years?

As of Feb 14, 2014 YTD the Russell 2000 index is down 1.14%, the S&P500 is down 0.34% and the S&P /tsx 60 is up 2.77%. Thanks, S

Sorry to sound like an ass but please do a basic search. That topic has been discussed to death and it will never change. Fairfax will always be paying out a dividend. Tks, S

That could be the intention. A return of capital instead of a return on capital during this rough economic patch. Sajeev previously mention, maybe they were expecting a hard market and if they wanted to significantly ramp up on premiums written they could have had a regulatory challenge if the market also fell at the same time. A counter point to that which I would have preferred would be to pay down debt, improve your credit rating and hold additional cash at the holding company. Tks, S

As of Feb 7, 2014 YTD the Russell 2000 index is down 3.98%, the S&P500 is down 2.78% and the S&p / tsx 60 is up .81%. Thanks, S

My friend, stocks go up and down and take time for the thesis to play out. Right now we seem to be in the middle of a correction so this is the perfect opportunity to load up! "The big money is not in the buying and selling … but in the waiting. " - Charlie Munger Tks, S

Don't forget, C has about $2B in preferred which they can call. I am assuming those will be called as part of this CCAR results as they have been improving their funding model. Tks, S

As of Jan 31, 2014 YTD the Russell 2000 index is down 2.77%

I just initiated a small starter position of Citi at $48.15. It is currently 13% below TBV and 34% below book value. CCAR results are just around the corner and I cannot wait for C to continue to repurchase a larger amount of their stock under TBV!!! Tks, S

Thanks! As of Jan 24, 2014 YTD the Russell 2000 index is down 1.64%. Tks, S Most of the hedges are on the Russell2000. Gio

Eric, we both know BAC is almost a no brainer over the next 2 years. I have about 20-25% of my portfolio in BAC common/warrants / options and would love to continue to add but trying to buy at the bottom of this sell-off. I was lucky to buy near the bottom like yourself but I did not have the balls to go 100% of my portfolio at that price... :) Tks, S Wow, and to think I waited for two years just to break that level.

Hi all, Which indices is Fairfax hedges against? I am being a bit lazy and asking on the board instead of searching online. I want to see how much they have dropped during this sell-off. Tks, S Updated with hedges: - 3.1bn Russell 2000 - 1.6bn Individual equities - 400mn S&P500 - 200mn S&P/TSX 60 - 140mn Other indices

I am still waiting for BAC to drop into the $15.xx, everyone, be patient... Tks, S

The fun is not over with BAC but good luck!

Unfortunately FFH is around a 12-15% position. It has really been an anchor for the last couple of years. Tks, S

4.3% now...

I believe I am at that point as well and it will kill me to sell as i wanted to hold on to this investment for life. In regards to blackberry, it seems Prem's emotions of saving a past Canadian icon seem to have taken the better of him. Prem learned earlier in his career it is better to buy a high quality insurance companies yet he still has not learned it is also better to buy high quality non insurance businesses as well. Tech companies can become irrelevant very quickly and that's the direction blackberry seems to be heading. I agree, this $1.3B investment is fully speculative if they can turn this company around and not a value play. Tks, S $350 million. I agree there is an outstanding risk control question of how big of a position they will take in a given company as a % of FFH's equity and it isn't reassuring that Prem gives a poor seat of the pants answer. With that said, however, there is a large difference between another $500 million in BBRY equity and another $500 million in BBRY debt. Thanks for the cost base in BOI. I agree there is a huge difference between debt and equity. Risk is much less. It's the position size that bothers me. I would say my biggest issue with BBRY is that they took a huge equity position (when they had the Total Return Swaps on BBRY as well) relative to FFH's equity. That made absolutely no sense. What if the value of BBRYs carcass is zero. Then FFh has invested 1.3 b in an investment worth nothing. They are out of their circle of competence, and it's totally speculative. BOI I always understood because its a bank with real customers, a real franchise, etc. RIM no longer has a franchise. They may have patents worth a couple hundred million, but time has moved on, since the heady days of patent buying, and technology has moved on as well. 1.4 billion invested in a good cash flow business would be throwing off 150 million a year right now. I asked myself some really hard questions about FFh and have reached the conclusion, a year ago, that I am better off not owning it at this time.

Thank you for posting this as it fully answers A_Hamilton on why i am getting annoyed and scared of this investment. Imagine the universe of high quality businesses we could have taken private in the $1.3bB range. Tks, S I just don't get it. They have now invested 1.38bln! Think about the opportunity cost of that money in todays market.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackberry-says-fairfax-buy-250-184609577.html I guess this means Fairfax now purchased $500 million of the convertable debt. This position keeps on getting larger and larger and it's honestly scaring the $hit out of me!!! Tks, S

-$400 million combined debt -Berkshire ownes $300M and Fairfax ownes $100M -Interest rate is 10% USG is redeeming $325M of notes. Will they be redeeming all of Berkshire's notes and partial notes owned by Fairfax? I am not sure of the mix. Tks, S

I am humbled by other individuals gains as my 2013 portfolio returned only 46.58% for the year. I am very impressed with the gains being shown on this board, great job guys!!!! (My gains do not include forex) I have made HUGE returns in BAC, AIG, DELL, SHLD and a few others. My losers have been PM and FFH. Sanjeev, thanks for having a wonderful board as I learned to compound at a high rate of return and made numerous friends in the process. Thanks again! :) Tks, S

"bringing its total holdings in the company to 7,066,100 Class A Shares or approximately 13.8% of the total Class A Shares outstanding." Their ownership is now 13.8%. I am not that thrilled about this investment as I do prefer they focus their attention on higher quality assets but this is probably one of the analysts picks. Retail is a tough business that we could do well or get slaughtered e.g. Eddie Lampert :) (Sorry, just joking) Tks, S

http://www.fairfax.ca/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2013/Fairfax-Announces-Acquisition-of-Shares-of-Reitmans/default.aspx Fairfax Announces Acquisition of Shares of Reitmans 12/20/2013 Download this Press Release (PDF 62 KB) TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 20, 2013) - Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited ("Fairfax") (TSX:FFH)(TSX:FFH.U) announced today that it has acquired, through its subsidiaries, 2,000,000 Class A non-voting shares ("Class A Shares"), representing 3.9% of the outstanding Class A Shares of Reitmans (Canada) Limited ("Reitmans"), bringing its total holdings in the company to 7,066,100 Class A Shares or approximately 13.8% of the total Class A Shares outstanding. The shares were purchased through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange at a price of $6.35 per Class A Share for investment purposes. Fairfax continually reviews its investment alternatives and may purchase additional shares of Reitmans from time to time in accordance with applicable laws. Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a financial services holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management. Contact Information: Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited John Varnell Vice President, Corporate Development (416) 367-4941

+1!!! (It's 25% of my portfolio...)