Slides from the Fairfax Financial Holdings 2015 annual meeting.
Fairfax – Guiding Principles
Objectives
- We expect to compound our book value per share over the long term by 15% annually by running Fairfax and its subsidiaries for the long term benefit of customers, employees and shareholders – at the expense of short term profits if necessary
Our focus is long term growth in book value per share and not quarterly earnings. We plan to grow through internal means as well as through friendly acquisitions - We always want to be soundly financed
- We provide complete disclosure annually to our shareholders
Structure
- Our companies are decentralized and run by the presidents except for performance evaluation, succession planning, acquisitions and financing, which are done by or with Fairfax. Cooperation among companies is encouraged to the benefit of Fairfax in total
- Complete and open communication between Fairfax and its subsidiaries is an essential requirement at Fairfax
- Share ownership and large incentives are encouraged across the Group
- Fairfax head office will always be a very small holding company and not an operating company
Values
- Honesty and integrity are essential in all of our relationships and will never be compromised
- We are results-oriented — not political
- We are team players — no “egos”. A confrontational style is not appropriate. We value loyalty — to Fairfax and our colleagues
- We are hard working but not at the expense of our families
- We always look at opportunities but emphasize downside protection and look for ways to minimize loss of capital
- We are entrepreneurial. We encourage calculated risk-taking. It is all right to fail but we should learn from our mistakes
- We will never bet the company on any project or acquisition
- We believe in having fun — at work!
Ready for the Next Decade – Building on Fairfax’s Strengths
- Our guiding principles have remained intact
- Excellent long term performance
- Demonstrated strengths
- Strong operating subsidiaries focused on underwriting profitability and prudent reserving
- Conservative investment management providing excellent long term returns
- Well positioned for the future
- Fair and friendly Fairfax culture
See full PDF below.
