Fairfax Financial
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : FFH : FFH.U OTCQB: |
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters |
95 Wellington Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|
Key people
|
V. Prem Watsa (Chairman & CEO) |
| Products | Property and casualty insurance |
| Revenue |
 US$10.017 billion (2014) |
|
US$1.966 billion (2014) |
|
| Total assets |
US$36.131 billion (2014) |
| Total equity |
US$9.743 billion (2014) |
|
Number of employees
|
8,200 (2010) |
| Website | www.fairfax.ca |
Fairfax Financial is a financial holding company based in Toronto, Ontario, which is engaged in property, casualty, and life insurance and reinsurance, investment management, and insurance claims management. The company operates primarily through several subsidiaries, including Odyssey Re, Northbridge Financial, Crum & Forster and Zenith Insurance Company.
Fairfax is led by Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa. Watsa controls nearly half of Fairfax; his value-oriented investing strategies have been compared to those of Warren Buffett.
Fairfax was incorporated as Markel Service of Canada on March 13, 1951 and continued under the Canada Business Corporations Act in 1976. The name was subsequently changed to Markel Financial Holdings Ltd.
In 1984, Prem Watsa left GW Asset Management to found his own asset management firm, Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. together with his former boss from Confed, Tony Hamblin. Tony was the Chief Investment Officer at Confed. The five founding partners were: Tony Hamblin, Prem Watsa, Roger Lace, Brian Bradstreet and Frances Burke.
In 1985, Watsa took control of Markel Financial, a Canadian-based specialist in trucking insurance. The company was controlled by the Virginia-based Markel family. The company was almost bankrupt, but Watsa figured it just needed a capital injection. Watsa hit it off with Steven Markel.
In May 1987, Watsa re-organized Markel Financial Holdings Limited and renamed it Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FAIRFAX: short for "fair, friendly acquisitions").
From 1985 to the end of 2010, Fairfax Financial had a compound growth rate of approximately 25% in book value per share (per year), it's about 243 times what Fairfax began with in 1985.
Prem Watsa has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (formerly Markel Financial Holdings) since 1985 and as Vice President of Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel since 1985. Mr. Watsa, directly, and indirectly through 1109519 Ontario Limited, The Sixty Two Investment Company Limited and 810679 Ontario Ltd., owns the controlling equity voting interest of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited("Fairfax"). He owns roughly 10% of Fairfax, which accounts for 99% of his personal wealth. His 10-for-1 multiple voting shares give him just over 50% ownership.
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Wikipedia