Markel Corp. (MKL)
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MKL Forum Topics
- All Comments on MKL
- General Discussion on MKL
- Markel Corp. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript [view article]
- Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
- The Next Berkshire Hathaway? [view article]
- Markel More Berkshire-like Than Ever [view article]
- Markel Looks Like Berkshire Hathaway Junior (MKL) [view article]
loading ...Recent MKL Articles
- Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's
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- Markel More Berkshire-like Than Ever
- The Next Berkshire Hathaway?
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- Markel Looks Like Berkshire Hathaway Junior (MKL)
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d_To_Beat
Markel Corp. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript [view article]
Sorry - make that MKL in the last sentence. Replyd_To_Beat
Markel Corp. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript [view article]
Thanks for posting this transcript.One important correction:
In the 3rd to last paragraph of Thomas Gayner's initial comments, the paragraph which starts: "Over the course of the last two and a half years we've been driving without foot on the brakes when it comes to allocating money to equities."
This should read "with our foot on the brakes"
The change makes for a very different meaning as the allocation to cash has grown over the past 2 years and that should serve MLK well when that cash is invested during this recession. Reply
Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
We need to keep in mind MKL does not pay a dividend. Capital appreciation is the only way to gain. I'm hoping this insurer moves ahead soon. Replyres
Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
You have been pumping this since it was in the 500+ range! Same old song and dance. At 350 I MAY buy... White mountain is below book value and I wont buy that unless it drops into very low 400 range..its the economy stupid! lol ReplyMarkel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
Any analsys of MKL has to start with what is it's moat? While BRK is unique in terms of capital strength in the BIG re-insurance market, MKL's specialty lines is much more competitive and easier to enter. At least it is easier to enter stupidly, putting pressure on revenues. Reinsurance sells to a small group of sophisticated (?) clients, while specialty lines are more consumer-price sensitive. OTOH, MKL is not facing a "Buffet retirement watch", or the relative flood of required stock sales (relative to float) as his 30 year donation to the Gates foundation gets monetized. But MKL is still a good long term investment, just not a proxy for BRK. ReplySchweitzer
Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
There is a difference in the policy of buying operating businesses and aggregating their results (ROC) etc., from picking good "investments"... in the form of stocks or interim capital provisions.However, there is something to be said for a program of investing premiums for gains rather than "yields" in the fashion of Carl Lindner. But even that can get snagged in things like Chiquita and Kroger.
Unique means what the dictionary says. Reply
Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
buffet is not the only one with a long-term outstanding track record.so missing buffet does not equal mediocre returns, necessarily.
barron's writing a positive article on mkl is somewhat disturbing to me (me being significantly long the stock) as Barron's has earned a reputation with me over the past 2 years as having tuned into one of the worst financial publications out there with a lot of unfounded made-up articles either pumping or bashing stocks. In many cases it was quite obvious that this was not just due to simple journalistic incompetence but rather deliberation. Reply
Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
Markel is only missing one thing, Warren E. Buffett. Lot of pressure to compare them to BRK. Replyng
Markel's a Buffett-In-Waiting - Barron's [view article]
Good article.These guys are a smaller much less efficent version of BRK ReplyThe Next Berkshire Hathaway? [view article]
What are the next global Berkshire Hathaways? I know Jardine Matheson is one contender. I look to hear of ideas.edison@smnet.net Reply
Editors
General Discussion on MKL
Is this a buy or a sell? ReplyMarkel More Berkshire-like Than Ever [view article]
I think this company out of the 18,000 publicly traded is the most like baby Berkshire than any other I have seen. The other second place would be Leucadia National, but the managers there are aging as well.Because Gayner is young, he should get wiser and better as he ages. His performance on the portfolio side is good, but not stellar. There are several professional value managers that can trounce his record. YOU ARE NOT BUYING THIS COMPANY FOR THE PORTFOLIO MANAGER. You are buying this company because of the "free and growing float" of the cash that keeps coming in.
If they even averaged an 11% S&P style return, add to the float along with organic growth of the business, you get a "leveraged" 11% to be more in line with 17%.
Buffett's stock picks on balance have not been home runs. Most people don't get that. They have been nice (don't get me wrong), but it's been the growth in internal cash flow that allows Buffett to invest the excess capital and a nice compounded rate! That is the magic here folks.
You get the same with MKL. Most of the Re-insurance companies invest heavy in bonds, and that is why their excess float growth has not translated to growth in book value as well.
This company is bullish long-term, and that my friends is the real reason that they should continue to earn excess returns. Reply
Markel More Berkshire-like Than Ever [view article]
My argument that the similarities have gotten "just a little bit stronger" refers to the fact (as I noted above) that Gayner, like Buffett before him, recently joined the Washington Post board. As I said in the note, it's just a small thing that I found interesting ... but I suppose the headline by itself is a bit of hyperbole. That's not why I bought shares most recently. I like Markel's specialty focus, their commitment to only selling profitable policies, and their use of long term growth in book value as a measure of success (and the fact that bonuses for management are based on 5-year book value growth, not on share price appreciation or reported earnings). The relationship between the book value and the share price has fluctuated significantly over the years, from priced under book to priced well above the current roughly 2X book, but as long as their underwriting performance and investment strategy continue to add to the book value I'm reasonably confident this investment will work out for me over the next ten to twenty years. ReplyMarkel More Berkshire-like Than Ever [view article]
It still doesn't make it "More Berkshhire like than ever" ReplyMarkel More Berkshire-like Than Ever [view article]
And that's how a market is made ... thanks for the comments.Markel doesn't techically have private equity investments, perhaps, I'm not the judge for what to call them, but has acquired interest in non-publicly-traded companies, both of which are local to their VA offices. It may end there, or it may not (my guess is that they will continue to explore this area, but I have no inside knowledge).
It is of course partly tongue in cheek that I refer to any company as "the next Berkshire" -- there is unlikely to be another one of those, nor another Warren Buffett, but I think Markel has enough of the right traits to make it an excellent investment for the long term. Whether today's price is too high is a matter for judgement and personal interpretation, but for my time horizon and outlook for the company, I consider it a fair price (I don't think it's hugely undervalued). Though they have exhibited spectacular performance in the past, I don't believe they've reached their maximum density -- they remain a fairly small company with, I believe, plenty of growth potential both in the US and overseas. Reply