Questions and Answers with Bruce Berkowitz

Author's Avatar
Jan 11, 2011
GuruFocus readers, now you can ask your investment questions to Bruce Berkowitz.


GuruFocus has had the opportunity for our readers to ask questions to Bruce Berkowitz. If you have any questions about his fund, the stocks in his portfolio or his investment strategies, please ask your questions here.


Bruce Berkowitz is one of the most popular gurus on GuruFocus. This is not surprising at all because Mr. Berkowitz is considered one of the best fund managers of our time. He was named by our readers as ā€œInvestment Guru of 2009ā€, and Morningstar Fund Manager of the Decade.


Berkowitz has achieved stellar performance with his fund. According to the most recent press release by his firm, The Fairholme Fund (NASDAQ: FAIRX) earned 25.5% in 2010 versus a gain of 15.1% for the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Since inception on December 29, 1999 and through December 31, 2010, The Fairholme Fund earned 342.9% versus a 5.0% gain for the S&P 500 Index. At the end of last year, The Fairholme Fundā€™s respective 5 and 10-year annualized returns were 10.0% and 11.5% versus 2.3% and 1.4% for the S&P 500 Index.


We have previously written about Bruce Berkowitzā€™s investing style, you can read the details here: Concentrating his bets, BruceBerkowitz focuses on Berkshire Hathaway and Canadian National Resources . The key factors of his success can be summarized at the following:


Ā· Concentrate the bets on the best ideas

Ā· Focus on Free Cash Flow

Ā· Invest with Capable Owner Oriented Managers

Ā· Buying on One-time event:

Ā· Borrow Ideas from the Best

Ā· Willing to Hold cash


According to a recent Fortune article which profiles Bruce Berkowitz, there is a style drift with his investment style. His fund is moving more toward distressed investing, as it grew to a net worth of more than $16 billion.


A good question to ask Mr. Berkowitz might be about the drift of his investment strategies. Additionally, one could also ask questions about his investment in financial companies such as AIG or MBIA, or about St. Joe (JOE) and the famous clash with David Einhorn on JOE?


Please ask your questions below.