Hoodlum Posted March 6 Posted March 6 I thought this was a very interesting hire in late 2025. It will be interesting to see how her role evolves. We are pleased to report that late in 2025, Hafize Gaye Erkan joined Fairfax as President of Banking and Insurtech. She has a wealth of knowledge of the banking sector through senior positions at Goldman Sachs & Co, Co-CEO 11 and President of First Republic Bank and most recently as Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey. Hafize will initially provide oversight to our banking operations and assist with developing opportunities in the Insurtech space. A big welcome to Hafize.
ValueMaven Posted March 6 Posted March 6 'We paid $4.2 billion for Allied World in 2017. Since then, under Lou Iglesias’s outstanding leadership, they have earned $4.8 billion' !!!!!!!!!!!
Maverick47 Posted March 7 Posted March 7 I appreciated the comment that Standard and Poor’s financial strength and debt ratings are at an all time high, and that the company looks forward to improving their ratings over time.
nwoodman Posted March 7 Posted March 7 (edited) 2 hours ago, Hoodlum said: I thought this was a very interesting hire in late 2025. It will be interesting to see how her role evolves. We are pleased to report that late in 2025, Hafize Gaye Erkan joined Fairfax as President of Banking and Insurtech. She has a wealth of knowledge of the banking sector through senior positions at Goldman Sachs & Co, Co-CEO 11 and President of First Republic Bank and most recently as Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey. Hafize will initially provide oversight to our banking operations and assist with developing opportunities in the Insurtech space. A big welcome to Hafize. Yep, that caught my eye too. She has a fascinating back story, smart as a whip. A couple of minor red flags - early departures. However, I am 100% confident in Fairfax not pulling the trigger on a hire unless they are confident in the cultural fit. I managed to grab Peter Clarke’s ear on this last year at the AGM and it’s not just the individual it’s “their people” that may bring in that also have to be a fit. I get the feeling that that while they will preserve autonomy/decentralisation there is some real advantages to scale that they are now or soon will be, able to leverage. https://www.fairfax.ca/corporate/gaye-erkan-hafize/ Edited March 7 by nwoodman
djokovic1 Posted March 7 Posted March 7 I know this has been discussed on the board before re. the imprecision of using book value, Prem called it out explicitly in the letter. i.e simplistically using P/B as a measure to value Fairfax significantly understates how cheap it is. "In the past, we used book value per share as a first measure of intrinsic value. Those days are long gone! Our intrinsic value is way above our book value now!"
Parsad Posted March 7 Posted March 7 36 minutes ago, djokovic1 said: I know this has been discussed on the board before re. the imprecision of using book value, Prem called it out explicitly in the letter. i.e simplistically using P/B as a measure to value Fairfax significantly understates how cheap it is. "In the past, we used book value per share as a first measure of intrinsic value. Those days are long gone! Our intrinsic value is way above our book value now!" Not according to Brett Horne! Still a "no moat" company trading well above intrinsic value. Cheers!
Hoodlum Posted March 7 Posted March 7 (edited) 11 hours ago, nwoodman said: Yep, that caught my eye too. She has a fascinating back story, smart as a whip. A couple of minor red flags - early departures. However, I am 100% confident in Fairfax not pulling the trigger on a hire unless they are confident in the cultural fit. I managed to grab Peter Clarke’s ear on this last year at the AGM and it’s not just the individual it’s “their people” that may bring in that also have to be a fit. I get the feeling that that while they will preserve autonomy/decentralisation there is some real advantages to scale that they are now or soon will be, able to leverage. https://www.fairfax.ca/corporate/gaye-erkan-hafize/ Yes, I am certain that Fairfax vetted this hire and that Gaye will be a good fit. Here is an interview from 2022 after leaving First Republic Bank and going to Greystone. You can certainly see how Gaye would be a good fit with the Fairfax culture and help with the growth of Kennedy Wilson. I also wonder if Fairfax has some other banking goals that we are not aware of. Edited March 7 by Hoodlum
nwoodman Posted March 7 Posted March 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hoodlum said: Yes, I am certain that Fairfax vetted this hire and that Gaye will be a good fit. Here is an interview from 2022 after leaving First Republic Bank and going to Greystone. You can certainly see how Gaye would be a good fit with the Fairfax culture and help with the growth of Kennedy Wilson. I also wonder if Fairfax has some other banking goals that we are not aware of. Thanks for this, burnt a few tokens with the usual vendors to generate some background notes. Pros and cons but this is where Prem and team shines, the look thru. Erkan Appointment Analysis.pdf Edited March 7 by nwoodman
TwoCitiesCapital Posted March 7 Posted March 7 18 hours ago, Hoodlum said: I remember there were previous questions on the employee stock plan. I don't remember this being shared previously. Fairfax also has an Employee Stock Ownership Plan that is available to essentially every employee in the company. The plan offers each employee the opportunity to take up to 10% of their salary annually in Fairfax shares. The company will automatically match 30% and then if certain targets are met (primarily underwriting profit), the company matches an additional 20%. The participation rates differ by company but generally for our large companies, we have a participation rate of approximately 60% and it has been increasing over time. I wish more companies would operate like this. Companies have three primary stakeholders - their stock/debt holders, their employees, and the communities that they operate in. Obviously, all three have conflicting goals for the company and each wants their cut of the benefit. By aligning the incentives by encouraging ownership of the company through employees and communities you simplify the equation quite a bit and better align incentives for EVERYONE to be working in the same direction to the same end. Is a better form of capitalism for the employees to be the primary stockholders IMO
yesman182 Posted March 7 Posted March 7 I am still working through the letter (kids), but it was news to me that the TSX has outperformed the S&P500 over that last 5 years. I am not Canadian so I don't really pay attention to the TSX, but that surprised me. From page 24 of the report. Fairfax (CDN$) TSX S&P500 5 years 45.8% 16.1% 14.4%
gfp Posted March 7 Posted March 7 12 minutes ago, yesman182 said: I am still working through the letter (kids), but it was news to me that the TSX has outperformed the S&P500 over that last 5 years. I am not Canadian so I don't really pay attention to the TSX, but that surprised me. From page 24 of the report. Fairfax (CDN$) TSX S&P500 5 years 45.8% 16.1% 14.4% Over those 5 years the returns of the TSX are almost exactly equal to the S&P 500. The difference is the currency. Canadian dollar based investors made 16% on the S&P500 US dollar based investors made 14.6% on the TSX
Redskin212 Posted March 7 Posted March 7 7 hours ago, nwoodman said: Thanks for this, burnt a few tokens with the usual vendors to generate some background notes. Pros and cons but this is where Prem and team shines, the look thru. Erkan Appointment Analysis.pdf 213.21 kB · 49 downloads Thanks for the great analysis. Answered all my questions and then some
treasurehunt Posted March 7 Posted March 7 Liked this from page 30 of the letter: "In our non-insurance investments and businesses, we find that we have often emphasized cheapness at the expense of quality and suffered often from promotional founders/CEOs who were ineffective managers. We are very much guarding against these mistakes in the future."
Maverick47 Posted March 7 Posted March 7 4 hours ago, TwoCitiesCapital said: I wish more companies would operate like this. Companies have three primary stakeholders - their stock/debt holders, their employees, and the communities that they operate in. Obviously, all three have conflicting goals for the company and each wants their cut of the benefit. By aligning the incentives by encouraging ownership of the company through employees and communities you simplify the equation quite a bit and better align incentives for EVERYONE to be working in the same direction to the same end. Is a better form of capitalism for the employees to be the primary stockholders IMO I agree wholeheartedly that Fairfax appears to have cracked the code of encouraging all employees to be owners, and hence encourages them to act like owners. Their management incentive plan grants shares, not options, to top management, with a five year vesting period. Unlike options that can be cashed out, this encourages managers to steadily build their Fairfax stake as they progress in their career. The stock ownership plan extends this to roughly 60% of employees who choose to participate in it. This is an intelligent way to transition from a controlling shareholder/founder situation to a future state where ownership is more broadly spread through the employees who will continue to drive the success of the company. I don’t think I’ve heard about anything this intelligent being done at Markel or Berkshire….
Parsad Posted March 7 Posted March 7 45 minutes ago, Redskin212 said: Thanks for the great analysis. Answered all my questions and then some Yeah, this analysis was really amazing! I think when we talk about transformational...this is one aspect that I don't think shareholders have really engaged in yet when it comes to Fairfax. We are talking about the expansion and growth of Fairfax's banking investments in Europe/Asia. Like suddenly owning a large economic interest in $30B of real estate and fixed income investments through KW, Fairfax is now a front-runner in Indian and Greek banking! Two of the few economies expanding and growing rapidly globally and certainly India for the next 30 years. Like he did with David Sokol, Prem doesn't mind looking at bruised fruit for that one golden shiny apple...Erkan may be another apple! Cheers!
Viking Posted March 7 Posted March 7 Planting Acorns: A Hidden Driver of Fairfax’s Insurance Growth - Part 1 An Underappreciated Strategy Behind Fairfax’s Long-Term Value Creation Introduction Great compounders often share a common trait: they plant many small seeds that quietly grow into very large businesses over time. Most seeds never become significant. A few fail. But occasionally one grows into an oak tree — and those few successes generate extraordinary value. Fairfax Financial has quietly applied this strategy for decades within its insurance operations. Fairfax grows its insurance business in three primary ways: Organic growth Acquisitions Planting small, early-stage insurance businesses with exceptional operators The first two are well understood. The third receives far less attention from analysts and investors. Yet historically it has produced some of Fairfax’s largest sources of value creation. Fairfax regularly backs talented entrepreneurs building new insurance platforms. These initiatives typically begin as small investments — what Fairfax leaders sometimes refer to as “acorns.” Over time, some of these acorns grow into very large businesses. And occasionally, when price and circumstances are right, Fairfax monetizes an oak tree and recycles the capital into the next generation of opportunities. This combination — incubation plus opportunistic monetization — is one of the least appreciated features of Fairfax’s business model. A short paragraph from Prem's letter in Fairfax’s 2025AR illustrates the strategy still at work today: “Now in its second year as a public company, Digit Insurance continues to excel under the leadership of Kamesh Goyal. Digit Insurance finished 2025 with $1.3 billion of premium, 5,000 employees and had $113 million in earnings. With the success of Digit Insurance, we have partnered with Kamesh again in India on Digit Life Insurance and a reinsurance company called Valueattics Re. We have invested $80 million for a 34% interest in Digit Life and $16 million for a 65% interest in Valueattics. It is still early days, but Digit Life wrote $185 million of premium in only its second year and Valueattics wrote $20 million of premium in just its first six months.” Fairfax Financial, 2025AR At first glance this appears to be a routine update on an investment. It is not. It highlights one of Fairfax’s most powerful — and least appreciated — competitive advantages. From Acorns to Oak Trees Fairfax’s history includes numerous examples where small initiatives eventually became very large businesses. Digit Insurance is a recent example. Fairfax invested in Digit in 2017 (cost $101 million), backing entrepreneur Kamesh Goyal to build a modern, technology-driven insurer in India. Less than a decade later, that investment was worth $2.039 billion at December 31, 2025. Fairfax’s Investment in Digit Cost (total investment less dividends received): $101M Fair value (Dec 31, 2025): $2.039B CAGR: 41.9% Operationally, Digit continues to scale rapidly: Premium: $1.3B Employees: ~5,000 Earnings: $113M (2025) Digit is now a major insurer in India and continues to grow under Goyal’s leadership. Fairfax planted a small acorn in 2017. Today that acorn has grown into a very large oak tree. Digit is not unique. Earlier generations of acorns produced similar outcomes. Acorn Outcome ICICI Lombard Sold from 2017-2019 for ~$1.6 billion First Capital Sold in 2017 for $1.7 billion C&F Pet Insurance Sold in 2022 for $1.4 billion Digit Insurance $2.039 billion fair value Ki Emerging digital Lloyd’s platform These successes are not frequent. But when they occur, the impact on Fairfax can be enormous. Planting the Next Seeds Importantly, Fairfax does not simply harvest success and move on. Instead, it reinvests alongside proven operators to build the next generation of insurance businesses. Following Digit’s success, Fairfax partnered again with Kamesh Goyal to launch two new ventures. Digit Life Insurance Fairfax investment: $80M Ownership: 34% Premium written (year 2): $185M Valueattics Re Fairfax investment: $16M Ownership: 65% Premium written (first 6 months): $20M Both businesses remain in their early stages, but early growth has been encouraging. Fairfax continues to plant the next generation of acorns. The Fairfax Acorn Framework Fairfax’s approach to building insurance businesses tends to follow a consistent pattern. 1. Back Exceptional Operators Fairfax partners with talented entrepreneurs who want to build an insurance business but require capital and long-term support. Examples include: Kamesh Goyal — Digit Mark Allen — Ki Andy Barnard — Odyssey Marc Adee — Crum & Forster R. Athappan — First Capital 2. Provide Permanent Capital Unlike private equity firms, Fairfax does not operate under short investment time horizons. This allows operators to build businesses patiently through insurance cycles. 3. Maintain Decentralized Control Entrepreneurs retain operating autonomy, which attracts strong leaders who prefer independence over bureaucracy. 4. Allow Time for Compounding Insurance businesses often take years to reach scale. Fairfax’s long-term orientation allows promising initiatives to mature. 5. Monetize Opportunistically and Recycle Capital Fairfax is not dogmatic. When an acorn matures into a business that is worth far more to a strategic buyer — or when the facts change — Fairfax will sometimes sell, realize the gain, and redeploy the proceeds into new high-return opportunities. This final step is critical. It turns the acorn strategy into a repeatable capital-allocation engine. Fairfax as a Venture Capitalist Viewed through this lens, Fairfax operates partly like a venture capital firm embedded inside a global insurance company. A venture capitalist provides capital to promising early-stage businesses in exchange for equity ownership. Most investments produce modest returns. Some fail. But occasionally one succeeds spectacularly. Those few successes generate a disproportionate share of total returns. Fairfax applies this same logic within the insurance industry. Instead of funding technology startups, Fairfax backs: insurance entrepreneurs niche underwriting platforms new insurance markets innovative distribution models The company provides: capital credibility infrastructure patience time And when the moment is right, Fairfax may also monetize the investment and recycle the capital into the next opportunity. That is not traditional insurance-company behavior. It is much closer to venture capital. Fairfax as an Insurance Incubator Over time, Fairfax has quietly become an incubator of insurance businesses. Across the organization, talented operators are given: autonomy capital long-time horizons This decentralized structure attracts entrepreneurs. Marc Adee, CEO of Crum & Forster, described this strategy in his 2024 book Once and Future C&F as “planting acorns that grow into mighty oaks.” Within C&F alone, several specialty divisions began as small initiatives launched by entrepreneurial leaders and eventually grew into large underwriting businesses writing hundreds of millions — and in some cases billions — of premium. Occasionally an acorn becomes valuable enough to monetize. For example, C&F’s pet insurance business was sold in 2022 for $1.4 billion. Acorns Can Be People Too Sometimes the acorn is not a business. It is a person. Prem Watsa highlighted this idea in Fairfax’s 2008 Annual Report when he described hiring Chandran Ratnaswami in 1995: “This may be an acorn for a future oak tree.” Over the following decades Ratnaswami helped build Fairfax’s entire Indian platform, including: ICICI Lombard Fairfax India Thomas Cook India Fairbridge Capital What began as a single hire eventually produced an entire ecosystem of businesses. Another oak tree. This point matters. Fairfax is not simply good at buying assets. It is good at identifying people, trusting them, and giving them the runway to build. Scroll to next post for Part 2 1
Viking Posted March 7 Posted March 7 Planting Acorns: A Hidden Driver of Fairfax’s Insurance Growth - Part 2 Monetizing Oak Trees An important part of the Fairfax model is not just planting acorns. It is knowing when to harvest an oak tree. The market often misses this second step. Fairfax is willing to hold businesses for long periods, but it will also sell when the price becomes extraordinary or strategic circumstances change. Three recent examples illustrate the pattern clearly. ICICI Lombard: Pivoting When the Facts Changed ICICI Lombard is one of the best examples of what Fairfax does well as a company. Fairfax entered India early, partnering with ICICI Bank in 2001 to build a property and casualty insurer from scratch. Over time, ICICI Lombard became the largest private P/C insurer in India. Fairfax’s long-term patience, choice of partner, and decentralized approach all worked exactly as intended. But the most impressive part came later. When ICICI Lombard moved toward a public listing, Fairfax faced a choice: accept a much smaller ownership stake or pivot. Fairfax chose to pivot. From 2017 to 2019, it sold its entire position in ICICI Lombard for proceeds of roughly $1.6 billion, crystallizing approximately $1.3 billion of pre-tax value, while simultaneously seeding Digit with Kamesh Goyal. This was not a retreat from India. It was a strategic repositioning to preserve and expand Fairfax’s long-term exposure to the Indian P/C market through a new platform where it had greater influence and upside. First Capital: A Small Seed Becomes a Major Realization First Capital is another excellent example. Fairfax invested just $35 million in 2002 to back Mr. Athappan in building a P/C insurer in Singapore. Fifteen years later, First Capital had become the largest P/C insurer based in Singapore. In 2017, Fairfax sold the business to Mitsui Sumitomo for $1.7 billion and booked an after-tax gain of $1.0 billion — a stunning outcome from a single modest investment. The lesson is not simply that Fairfax found another winner. It is that Fairfax recognized when an asset was worth more to a strategic buyer than it was worth to Fairfax on a stand-alone basis. That willingness to monetize at an exceptional price — and then redeploy the proceeds elsewhere — is a major part of why the acorn strategy creates so much value over time. Pet Insurance: Opportunistic Monetization at the Right Time The sale of Fairfax’s pet insurance business in 2022 offers a third variation on the same theme. What began with the acquisition of Hartville in 2013 and Pethealth in 2014 eventually became a meaningful pet insurance platform within Crum & Forster. Then Fairfax recognized that industry consolidation and unusually aggressive valuations had created an opportunity. JAB acquired the business for $1.4 billion, generating a pre-tax gain of $1.2 billion and an after-tax gain of approximately $934 million. This transaction is especially important because it shows how Fairfax behaves when market conditions become unusually favorable. Management did not cling to the asset out of sentimentality. They sold when the price was extraordinary and redeployed the capital. That is classic Fairfax: open-minded, opportunistic, and rational. The Analytical Problem There is an important implication for investors. This capability cannot easily be incorporated into financial models. Analysts typically focus on near-term earnings drivers such as: underwriting profit combined ratios investment income interest rates catastrophe losses But the acorn strategy behaves very differently. Its outcomes tend to be: Characteristic Description Frequency Infrequent Predictability Low Size Often very large Timing Highly uncertain Impact Material when realized Because analysts cannot forecast these outcomes with precision, they generally exclude them from forecasts entirely. Value only becomes visible after an IPO, sale, or valuation re-marking. This creates a structural bias. Future value creation from these initiatives is systematically underestimated. Why This Matters for Investors Fairfax has compounded shareholder value at approximately 19% annually for nearly four decades. Two engines are usually credited for this performance: P/C insurance Investment management Both are correct. But they are incomplete. A third engine has quietly contributed to Fairfax’s long-term results: building, scaling, and occasionally monetizing new insurance businesses. The acorn strategy has several implications for investors. 1. Earnings Will Occasionally Spike When an acorn is monetized, the gain can be very large relative to Fairfax’s annual earnings. 2. Reported Earnings Understate Long-Term Value Creation Many acorns compound quietly for years before their value becomes visible in financial statements. 3. Traditional Models Miss This Value Because outcomes are unpredictable, analysts generally exclude them entirely. As a result, Fairfax’s long-term earnings power may be systematically underestimated. 4. Capital Allocation Is Better Than It Appears The full value of Fairfax’s capital allocation skill is easy to miss if an investor focuses only on quarterly underwriting profit or interest income. Some of management’s best decisions only become visible years later, when an acorn becomes an oak tree — or when an oak tree is sold at an exceptional price. The Bigger Picture This helps explain why Fairfax is often misunderstood. Many investors still look at Fairfax primarily through a conventional insurance lens. They focus on the combined ratio, reserve development, interest income, or near-term earnings estimates. Those things matter. But they do not capture the full economics of the business. Fairfax is not just an insurer. It is also an allocator of long-duration capital operating inside insurance markets around the world. That distinction matters. It helps explain why Fairfax has been able to create value in ways that are difficult to capture in a standard earnings model. It also helps explain why the company can look ordinary on the surface while something much more valuable is developing underneath. Much of Fairfax’s future value creation is likely already being built today in businesses that investors do not yet fully appreciate. Some of those businesses were planted years ago. Others are only just beginning. Most will develop quietly. A few will become very important. Summary Fairfax’s acorn strategy highlights an important truth about the company’s business model. Much of the value creation occurs quietly and over long periods of time. Fairfax plants small insurance businesses with talented operators, gives them capital and autonomy, and allows time and compounding to do the heavy lifting. Occasionally, one of those acorns becomes a very large oak tree. And sometimes Fairfax monetizes that oak tree and recycles the capital into the next set of opportunities. These initiatives share several characteristics: they are few in number they are difficult to predict they are monetized infrequently when successful, they are very large That is why they are easy to miss. But they should not be ignored. This capability has already created billions of dollars of shareholder value at Fairfax through investments such as ICICI Lombard, First Capital, Pet Insurance, and Digit. More importantly, it is still at work today. Across Fairfax’s global insurance operations, numerous acorns have already been planted. Some were planted many years ago. Others are only beginning to grow. Most will develop steadily. But every few years, one becomes an oak tree. And when it does, the impact on Fairfax — and its shareholders — can be transformative. Appendix: An Example of What is Happening within Fairfax’s Insurance Businesses In 2024, the Crum and Forster published a book, called The Once and Future C&F, to chronicle the company’s 200-year journey. Click the link to get a free PDF copy of the book: https://www.cfins.com/the-once-and-future-cf-landing/ From its humble beginnings as a New York fire insurance company to its status as a market leader in property & casualty, accident & health, and specialty insurance solutions, this book delves into the pivotal moments and the leaders that have shaped the company's legacy. What CEO Marc Adee had to say was very insightful to our “acorn” theory. From page 72 - Once and Future C&F (Marc Adee) Just like the founding fathers of Crum & Forster, I have a Dream Team. I have worked with most of my senior management team for a long time. We may only be part of the way to the 50 years that Lester Parsons’ Dream Team stayed together — since most of us squandered our teen years in school, instead of heading right into insurance — but I feel that some of the years in the trenches should count twice. While I would love to profile everyone here, it would probably get a little corny. I will embarrass a few people to complete the story of the acorns that grew into mighty oaks. Gary McGeddy started the A&H Division in his basement. In 2024, the A&H team will profitably write over $2 billion of gross premium. He and I started our careers with Fairfax the same month in 2000. Gary and his loyal team of associates and partners were along for the whole ride: TIG’s downgrade, Fairmont Specialty’s formation, the merger into C&F. All the while, Gary and his A&H team kept scrapping away — reinventing and upgrading, delivering results and developing their franchise and their people. If that were not enough, in early 2022 Gary noticed that the valuations for pet insurance companies were skyrocketing. While Fairfax is not usually inclined to sell any of their insurance businesses — especially one that was performing as well as Pet — they agreed to see what it might fetch in the marketplace. Thus was born C&F’s first unicorn: we sold the pet insurance business to JAB for $1.4 billion. Gary was good for two acorns (or maybe one acorn and one unicorn). I am excited to see what he will come up with next. Tom Bredahl made the leap from a relatively safe reinsurance underwriting job at Odyssey Re right into the challenging environment that was First Mercury’s restructuring. Several months in, I moved on to run C&F, leaving Tom to complete the actual hard work of building a business. In 2024, the Surplus & Specialty Division will profitably underwrite $1.4 billion of gross premium. Tom and his team were ready with perfect timing to hit what has been an unprecedented shift in business to the non-admitted market — the Golden Age of Surplus Lines. At the same time, S&S developed an innovative niche to address the insurance needs of the dynamic gig economy, which supercharged their business. You don’t get more New York than Marc Wolin and Seneca. Like the original North River Insurance Company, Seneca stuck to its knitting for a long time. When Marc took over as CEO in 2013 (he started at the company in 1989), Seneca started pushing for ways to improve at the margins. By the time Seneca’s main market (New York City property) opened up, Marc and the team were ready. In 2024, Seneca will write $700 million of very profitable gross premium. Marc reinvigorated and reinvented a company that was relatively set in its ways — and is now taking Seneca to new heights. C&F has always straddled the line between the specialty and standard lines worlds. Our Commercial Lines and Executive Risk Division can trace its lineage far back into C&F history, so it is not one of the more recently planted acorns. However, John Binder and his team have breathed new life into some of the long-time C&F product lines — and added a few exciting new ones along the way. They will write $800 million of profitable gross premium in 2024. Culture and performance definitely form a virtuous circle. As I write this, we have an impressively diverse collection of specialty businesses. We have a 10-year track record of growth and underwriting profit - we have more than tripled in size and have a 10-year combined ratio of 98.
Txvestor Posted March 8 Posted March 8 11 hours ago, Hoodlum said: Yes, I am certain that Fairfax vetted this hire and that Gaye will be a good fit. Here is an interview from 2022 after leaving First Republic Bank and going to Greystone. You can certainly see how Gaye would be a good fit with the Fairfax culture and help with the growth of Kennedy Wilson. I also wonder if Fairfax has some other banking goals that we are not aware of. Looks like a good succession plan for Mr McMorrow at KW
Parsad Posted March 8 Posted March 8 4 minutes ago, Txvestor said: Looks like a good succession plan for Mr McMorrow at KW Like Andy Barnard, she may be the person to eventually oversee all of the non-insurance, financial businesses and probably a prospective replacement for David Johnston's global statesman presence representing Fairfax. Cheers!
Txvestor Posted March 8 Posted March 8 4 hours ago, yesman182 said: I am still working through the letter (kids), but it was news to me that the TSX has outperformed the S&P500 over that last 5 years. I am not Canadian so I don't really pay attention to the TSX, but that surprised me. From page 24 of the report. Fairfax (CDN$) TSX S&P500 5 years 45.8% 16.1% 14.4% That what it took to drag the 15yr average to 15.6! -5 to -15 ie 2010s was low single digits.
Txvestor Posted March 8 Posted March 8 2 hours ago, treasurehunt said: Liked this from page 30 of the letter: "In our non-insurance investments and businesses, we find that we have often emphasized cheapness at the expense of quality and suffered often from promotional founders/CEOs who were ineffective managers. We are very much guarding against these mistakes in the future." I loved this candid reflection and it made me feel slightly better about the KW acquisition. Tom Ward of Sandridge energy is one that comes to mind.
Munger_Disciple Posted March 8 Posted March 8 On 3/5/2026 at 12:16 PM, Marco Van Basten said: Usually there is. It seems more complex than that. This podcast discusses war related cover for ocean shipping: https://podcasts.apple.com/ky/podcast/lots-more-on-the-seaborne-chaos-around-the-strait-of-hormuz/id1056200096?i=1000753530408
Hsmpanl Posted March 8 Posted March 8 45 minutes ago, Txvestor said: I loved this candid reflection and it made me feel slightly better about the KW acquisition. Tom Ward of Sandridge energy is one that comes to mind. This is very, very accurate, but somehow people are still willing to give him money, first at Tapstone and now at Mach. Sucker born every day I guess….
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now