Fairholme Fund Conference Call Transcript

“In hindsight, we swapped from health insurers and defense to financials too early. Our companies continue to be priced for continuing stress and the price we paid reflects those stresses. And the prices we paid are quite cheap in our opinion compared to how these companies should perform in a more normal environment. Some people think we are spread too thin [and] we’ve slipped, but I must tell you we are smack dab in the middle of our circle of competence in financial services.”

Link

Bruce Berkowitz on WealthTrack

Fairholme’s Maxims: A primer to value investing.

1) A to Z (research all aspects of a company)
2) Back to front (dig into the minutiae)
3) Cash counts (it’s the only thing you can spend)
4) Don’t guess (know!)
5) Expanding universe (extend our competence)
6) Focus sharpens returns (only own your best ideas)
7) Get more than you give (our objective)
8) Happy is sad (you make your money in difficult times)
9) Ignore the crowd (don’t be a lemming)
10) Jam tomorrow today (the magic of compounding)
11) Keep it simple (focus on what’s important)
12) Lumpy over smooth (a lumpy 15% return beats a smooth 10)
13) Management (can’t do a good deal with a bad guy)
14) New new things (ideas taken to extremes cause pain)
15) Owners know best (“skin in the game”)
16) Price matters (buy with a margin of safety)
17) Quirky can work (consider the unusual)
18) Rip it up (try to kill ideas)
19) Surfing waves (get in front of the trends)
20) Talking and walking (we really do eat our own cooking)
21) Under our hat (it’s not in your interest for us to tell all)
22) Value is all that (…matters)
23) What they want? (understand who wants what)
24) X-ing the lines (research across disciplines)
25) You’re the one (we do what’s right for you)
26) Zero can’t grow (Don’t lose)