By Andrew Bary
This article is an excerpt from "Amazon and 9 More Stocks to Buy for 2026," published on Dec. 12, 2025. To see the full list, click here.
Fairfax Financial may be the closest thing to a mini Berkshire Hathaway -- and it may be a better bet at this point.
The Toronto-based property and casualty insurer has strong insurance operations, an excellent investment record, and phenomenal long-term performance under founder and chairman Prem Watsa, 75. The company targets 15% annual growth in book value, against what's probably high-single-digit growth at Berkshire. It has a market value of about $40 billion, against Berkshire's $1.1 trillion, which makes it easier to grow.
"This is like investing in Berkshire in 1993," says investor Charlie Frischer.
Its current price/book ratio of 1.5 is in line with Berkshire's, but Frischer says the true figure for Fairfax is closer to a cheaper 1.25 times because some investments are carried below market value. It has an excellent portfolio of Indian investments such as a controlling stake in the Bangalore airport.
Fairfax even partners with a Berkshire alumnus, David Sokol, who was once viewed as a successor to Warren Buffett. Sokol runs a containership business in which Fairfax owns a 43% stake. The stock trades mainly in Canada, and has thinly traded U.S. shares now around $1,750.
Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com
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December 29, 2025 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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