Fairfax Financial - Volume 2 - 90 of the Best Posts All in One Document

[UK]

4 hours ago, whatstheofficerproblem said:

@Viking, I think a 'thank you' would be too little to express what I am feeling right now. I thank god for all the detours that led me to this forum, I started reading the 500 pager at 12 AM, stopped at 6 AM. I can't recall any moment in my lifetime ever where I spent that amount of time reading. This is now my holy book. Your dedication and passion inspires me and your knowledge overwhelms me. Thank you.

+1

[Viking]

On 10/23/2024 at 4:03 PM, whatstheofficerproblem said:

@Viking, I think a 'thank you' would be too little to express what I am feeling right now. I thank god for all the detours that led me to this forum, I started reading the 500 pager at 12 AM, stopped at 6 AM. I can't recall any moment in my lifetime ever where I spent that amount of time reading. This is now my holy book. Your dedication and passion inspires me and your knowledge overwhelms me. Thank you.

@whatstheofficerproblem, thanks for the kind words. Happy to hear you found the PDF useful  

[Viking]

Another update of my book/collection of posts on Fairfax is attached below. The big updates were to Chapter 2 (earnings) and Chapter 10 (consolidated equity holdings). Lots of other smaller updates have also been made - as this continues to be a working document for me.

 

I don't re-read the entire document when I post updated versions. If you see any big errors please let me know. The document is now almost 550 pages. My goal is not size - but I will continue to add material that I think adds value for those interested in learning more about Fairfax.  

 

Please note, not everything in the book has been brought up to date. That would have required a couple of months of work… and by the time it was done, much of it would be out of date again. My current plan is to keep updating parts of the document as time goes by. 

 

The bottom line, this document should be a much better resource for board members  / investors than what existed before. I hope you find it useful.

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For members who enjoy reading my posts on Fairfax I have attached at the bottom of this post two documents:

1. Fairfax - The Emergence of a Wonderful Company:
   • PDF file contains more than 90 of my best posts on Fairfax from over the past 2 years, organized into 17 chapters.
2. Excel workbook:
   • Companion document to the PDF file, contains 14 worksheets (see below for details).

Sanjeev, thanks for everything you do running this board. For all the members on this investing forum, ‘thank you’ for breaking bread on a daily basis and sharing your thoughts on investing and life. Over the years, it has been a life changing experience for me and my family. What is contained in this document is the collective wisdom of this group. Let’s hope i have captured it reasonably well.

 

I always appreciate getting some feedback… maybe one or two things you like and one or two things you don’t. What is missing? Thank you.

 

A message from the legal department: Both documents are incomplete and contain errors. What is contained in the attached documents is not intended to be investing/financial advice. Its purpose is to educate and entertain.

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The Excel file contains 14 worksheets:

1. FFH-24: lists and tracks many of Fairfax's equity holdings in real time 
2. Size: ranking of Fairfax's equity holdings by size 
3. Moves: detailed compilation of many on Fairfax's transitions going back to 2010 - organized by year
4. Earnings Estimate: detailed 2024 & 2025 earnings estimate
5. Premiums: the build for 'underwriting profit'
6. Interest: the build for 'interest and dividend income'
7. Associate Equities: the build for 'share of profit of associates'
8. Consolidated Equities: Non-insurance Consolidated Companies
9. Investments: the build to calculate the return on the total investment portfolio
10. Shares: reviews 'effective shares outstanding'
11. Excess of Fair Value over Carrying Value: for the non-insurance associate and consolidated holdings
12. Float: the build for float
13. 13yr View: A 13 year view of many key metrics for Fairfax
14. IFRS 17: Effects of discounting and risk adjustment - quarterly summary of historical numbers used in earnings forecast

Fairfax Financial Volume 2 - Dec 2 2024.pdf Fairfax Dec 1 2024.xlsx

[Maverick47]

@Viking  I always appreciate the opportunity to revisit the Fairfax investment thesis in your book of posts!

 Doing so last night revived my excitement for the future prospects of the company…and this morning as I was tweaking my retirement portfolios (selling some of it to generate cash for the coming year’s income requirements) I also took the opportunity to sell some of the names I’m less confident of, and redeployed some of the additional funds into Fairfax.

 

 

 

 

[John Hjorth]

Lars [ @Viking ],

 

This is just so exceptional and outstanding!, - thank you for sharing it!

 

Most of the prior years, for now a long time, I've at this time of the year started stressing and thinking about what to do that particular year for the income / calendar year, with regard to tax planning for the year. This year, I made the decisions and carried out the actions needed for 2024 in that respect in august 2024. So, more time available for reading at this time of the year than earlier years.

 

This post by Crip [ @Crip1 ] hit me like a cub over my head with it's time for me personally to allocate more time and energy to Fairfax Financial Holdings now [, because it's likely a better fit to me personally now, than earlier - I really suck at trading around a stock] :

 

I'll take notes and share them with you. 

[Viking]

On 12/5/2024 at 8:09 PM, Maverick47 said:

@Viking  I always appreciate the opportunity to revisit the Fairfax investment thesis in your book of posts!

 Doing so last night revived my excitement for the future prospects of the company…and this morning as I was tweaking my retirement portfolios (selling some of it to generate cash for the coming year’s income requirements) I also took the opportunity to sell some of the names I’m less confident of, and redeployed some of the additional funds into Fairfax.

@Maverick47 , I was knee deep in writing my ‘Davis double play’ post when I read your comment. It put a smile on my face. What you are doing with your investment in Fairfax seems to me to mirror what Davis likely did with his top insurance investments back in his day - redeploy periodically / keep adding to your winners especially when they are trading at a cheap (or even reasonable) valuation. Best of luck. I hope it works out well for you and your family  

[Viking]

On 12/7/2024 at 6:34 AM, John Hjorth said:

Lars [ @Viking ],

 

This is just so exceptional and outstanding!, - thank you for sharing it!

 

Most of the prior years, for now a long time, I've at this time of the year started stressing and thinking about what to do that particular year for the income / calendar year, with regard to tax planning for the year. This year, I made the decisions and carried out the actions needed for 2024 in that respect in august 2024. So, more time available for reading at this time of the year than earlier years.

 

This post by Crip [ @Crip1 ] hit me like a cub over my head with it's time for me personally to allocate more time and energy to Fairfax Financial Holdings now [, because it's likely a better fit to me personally now, than earlier - I really suck at trading around a stock] :

 

I'll take notes and share them with you. 

@John Hjorth , I look forward to reading your notes. At the end of the day, we are all trying to improve our understanding of the company and make the best decisions we can with the facts as we see them. This is a great board and it is a honor to be able to discuss / debate with other investors like you. Tusind tak. 

Edited December 11 by Viking