Robert “Everyone is entitled to be wrong about their opinions, but no one has the right to be wrong about their facts.” -Bernard Baruch. The Florida Land Boom of the 1920s stands as one of the most remarkable economic bubbles in U.S. history. In 1925, the Sunshine State became the epicenter of a speculative frenzy. Florida … Read more
The portfolio’s largest position remains a gold exchange-traded fund sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management. J.P. Morgan and ICBC Standard Bank provide physical custody of the gold bars in vaults in London and Zurich. Equity participations trade at twelve times expected net profits over the next year, while market capitalization is less than the portfolio’s stated … Read more
The oil and gas industry loosely operates in three separate spaces: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Upstream exploration and production companies find and extract oil and natural gas, while downstream companies process hydrocarbons and turn them into valuable products like fuel and petrochemicals. Upstream and downstream companies make money in slightly different ways. Still, each tends … Read more
“You have to know the past to understand the present.” -Carl Sagan. Between 1900 and 1914, Britain viewed Germany as the main threat to its empire. Germany’s leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II, pursued a policy of building a naval fleet to rival Britain’s. The Royal Navy was by far the most powerful fleet in the world … Read more
The portfolio’s largest position is a gold exchange-traded fund sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management. J.P. Morgan and ICBC Standard Bank provide physical custody of the gold bars in vaults in London and Zurich. Equity participations trade at twelve times expected net profits over the next year, while market capitalization is less than the portfolio’s stated … Read more
FRP Holdings is a real estate developer in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. FRP’s largest real estate asset comprises five properties in southern Washington, D.C., in various development stages. The company also leases mining royalty land that generates almost $12 million in annual revenue from fourteen properties in the southeastern U.S. In May 2018, the Company … Read more
Markel is a diversified financial holding company that operates in three distinct segments: Insurance (60% of 2023 revenue), Investments (5%), and the Company’s private equity division, Markel Ventures (35%). In 2023, Markel generated a total of $14.3 billion in revenue and $1.6 billion in adjusted operating income (11.1% margin), and on December 31, 2023, book … Read more
“You can’t predict. You can prepare.” -Howard Marks. Shepherd 2024 Q1 Meteorologist Edward Lorenz is best known for the “butterfly effect,” the idea that a slight disturbance, like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, can provoke enormous consequences. As told in the book “Chaos,” in 1961, Dr. Lorenz ran weather simulations using a simple computer … Read more
The portfolio’s largest position is a gold exchange-traded fund sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management. J.P. Morgan provides physical custody of the gold bars in vaults in London and Zurich: Bullion bar list Equity participations trade at twelve times expected net profits over the next year, while market capitalization equals the portfolio’s book value. The total … Read more
E-L Financial Corporation is a Toronto-based life insurance holding and investment company controlled by the Jackman family, which is now in its third generation of stewardship. They are beneficiaries of one hundred years of compounding with the 2023 centenary of the “E-L” piece – Empire Life Insurance Company, based two and a half hours north-east … Read more