Is it Safe to Own Markel Corporation (MKL) Shares?

Vltava Fund, an investment management firm, published its third-quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. In its Q3 2022 investor letter, the fund mentioned that investors may have different expectations concerning inflation, interest rates, or economic growth, but, at the end of the day, what we buy will determine the portfolio’s return (and its risk). The fund also said that the need for capital investment over the long term has been, and will likely remain, higher than it anticipated. Try to spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings for you to have an idea about their best stock picks this 2022.

In its Q3 2022 investor letter, Vltava Fund mentioned Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1930, Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) is a Glen Allen, Virginia-based insurance company with a $15.5 billion market capitalization. Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) delivered a -6.05% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -6.48. The stock closed at $1,146.41 per share on October 11, 2022.

Here is what Vltava Fund has to say about Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“While it is true that Berkshire Hathaway’s unique and successful business model has for decades been apparent for all to see, it is interesting that almost no one has been able to replicate it. In fact, this should not be all that surprising, though, because, first of all, it would be very difficult to do so and, second, it would take an awfully long time. A company that is following in BRK’s footsteps and has probably gone the furthest down that path is Markel. Moreover, it is not doing badly at all. From its stock market listing in 1986 to today, Markel has returns only slightly lower than has BRK and substantially more than those of the index.

MKL’s business model, like BRK’s, is founded upon insurance companies that produce a growing amount of cash (so-called float) which can be invested over the long term into both publicly traded stocks and private companies. Markel CEO Tom Gayner therefore talks about the three pillars upon which the company is built. The first is insurance companies. These are very profitable in their own right over the long term and also produce the aforementioned float. This has enabled MKL to build up an investment portfolio of USD 26 billion (the second pillar) as well as a portfolio of private firms through Markel Ventures (the third pillar)…” (Click here to see the full text)

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Our calculations show that Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) was in 26 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 29 funds in the previous quarter. Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) delivered a -11.16% return in the past 3 months.

In August 2022, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q3 page.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.