Amendment Number 1 to Investment Agreement
Exhibit 10.46
Amendment
Number 1 to Investment Agreement
This Amendment Number 1 (“Amendment”) to the
Investment Agreement (“Agreement”) dated as
October 1, 2002, between Seneca Insurance Company, Inc. and
Xxxxxxx Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. and Fairfax Financial
Holdings Limited is effective as of January 1, 2005.
1. | Capitalized terms used herein but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement. |
2. | Schedule A is hereby amended to read in its entirety as attached hereto. |
3. | Unless specifically modified in this Amendment, all other terms and conditions contained in the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their
duly authorized officers to execute this Amendment as of the
date written below.
Xxxxxxx Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. | Seneca Insurance Company, Inc. | |
By: /s/ Xxxx
Xxxxxx Authorized Signature Xxxx Xxxxxx Printed Name Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Title |
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx Authorized Signature Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx Printed Name Chairman & Chief Operating Officer Title |
|
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited
|
||
By: /s/ Xxxx
Xxxxxx Authorized Signature Xxxx Xxxxxx Printed Name Vice President & Chief Legal Officer Title |
SCHEDULE
A
INVESTMENT
GUIDELINES
FUNDAMENTAL
OBJECTIVES
1. | Invest on a long-term basis in accordance with applicable insurance regulatory guidelines. |
2. | Ensure preservation of invested capital for policyholder protection, always providing sufficient liquidity for the payment of claims and other policy obligations. |
GUIDELINES
1. | Approach |
All investments are to be made using the long-term value
investing approach by investing in the securities of companies
and other entities at prices below their underlying long-term
values to protect capital from loss and earn income over time
and provide operating income as needed.
With regard to equity securities, the investment manager will
attempt to identify financially sound companies and other
entities with good potential profitability which are selling at
large discounts to their intrinsic value. Appropriate measures
of low prices may consist of some or all of the following
characteristics: low price earnings ratios, high dividend
yields, significant discounts to book value and free cash flow.
Downside protection is obtained by seeking a margin of safety in
terms of a sound financial position and a low price in relation
to intrinsic value. Appropriate measures of financial integrity
which are regularly monitored, include debt/equity ratios,
financial leverage, asset turnover, profit margin, return on
equity and interest coverage.
As a result of this long-term value investing approach, it is
anticipated that purchases will be made when economic and
issue-specific conditions are less than ideal and sentiment is
uncertain or negative. Conversely, it is expected that gains
will be realized when issue-specific factors are positive and
sentiment is buoyant. The investment time horizon is one
business cycle (approximately 3-5 years).
With respect to fixed income securities, the long-term value
investing approach is similar. The investment manager will
attempt to purchase attractively priced bonds offering yields
better than treasury bonds with maturities of 30 years or
less that are of sound quality, i.e. whose obligations are
expected to be fully met as they come due. Rating services are
not regarded as an unimpeachable source for assessing credit
quality any more than a broker’s recommendation on a stock
is necessarily correct. With any form of investment research and
evaluation, there is no substitute for the reasoned judgment of
the investment committee and the investment manager.
2. | Liquidity |
An adequate cash flow shall be maintained to ensure that claims
and operating expenses are paid on a timely basis. An operating
cash position is to be maintained at appropriate levels and will
be managed by the insurance company in accordance with an
approved list of liquid investments, as determined from time to
time by the investment committee. These securities will be
managed by the insurance company as part of the treasury
function and are primarily restricted to treasury and agency
securities of the U.S. government.
3. | Regulatory |
All applicable insurance regulations will be complied with.
4. | Diversification |
The portfolio is to be invested in a wide range of securities of
different issuers operating in different industries and
jurisdictions in order to diversify risk.
5. | Prudent Person Rule |
Prudent investment standards are considered in the overall
context of an investment portfolio and how a prudent person
would invest another person’s money without undue risk of
loss or impairment and with a reasonable expectation of fair
return.
6. | Investment Committee |
The board of directors of the insurance company shall appoint an
investment committee that shall consist of at least one member
of the board of directors of the insurance company and any other
members as the board of directors of the insurance company deems
appropriate. The investment committee shall meet at least once
each quarter to review the investments and loans of the
insurance company.
STRATEGY
1. | Maintain Adequate Liquidity |
A detailed review of portfolio liquidity is undertaken on a
periodic basis. This liquidity analysis determines how much of
each portfolio is in cash or can be converted into cash in a
given time period. The insurance company determines its near
term liquidity requirements and the liquidity of the portfolio
will be modified from time to time to match such near term
requirement.
2. | Asset Allocation |
The asset allocation will be determined by the investment
manager and will include short-term investments that will
generate appropriate cash flows and long-term investments such
as stocks and bonds, both domestic and foreign, that generate
investment gains. The asset allocation will be monitored from
time to time in order to comply with regulatory guidelines and
meet insurance policy liabilities.
3. | Foreign Exchange Risk |
The investment manager shall use its discretion to hedge any
foreign currency investments and exposures. The investment
manager may use a variety of methods to reduce such exposures,
including forward foreign exchange contracts, currency options
and natural hedging with foreign pay liabilities of the
insurance company. Un-hedged foreign investments will be limited
to 15% of admitted assets at cost, subject to adjustment to
conform with applicable insurance regulatory requirements.
Un-hedged exposure above this amount must be approved by the
investment committee.
4. | Interest Rate Risk |
Interest rate risk will be minimized primarily through
investment in a variety of term to maturity fixed income
securities with maturities less than thirty years. Maximum fixed
income portfolio duration is limited to the equivalent of a
twenty year term to maturity treasury security.
INVESTMENT
CLASS EXPOSURE
The following exposure ranges established by the investment
committee shall be monitored and maintained by the investment
manager for the stated asset classes:
Class
|
Range | |||
Equities
|
0-25% | |||
Fixed Income
|
0-100% |
Within the fixed income portfolio, the taxable/tax exempt mix
will be determined relative to the consolidated tax position of
the insurance company and its affiliates and the relative
investment attractiveness of available tax exempt securities.
The investment committee will monitor the total asset class
exposure and, if deemed appropriate, will provide specific
direction from time to time to the investment manager with
respect to the asset exposure ranges.
RETURN
EXPECTATIONS
The foregoing asset class exposure is expected, on an annual
basis, to result in returns better than the Consumer Price Index
plus 3% over a ten year period before the disbursement of
investment management fees. However, in any one year the annual
return may be significantly above or below this expectation.
INVESTMENT
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVESTMENT MANAGER
The investment manager, subject to regulatory and insurance
company imposed constraints mentioned elsewhere, expects to
provide additional returns to those returns that would be earned
by the alternative of passively managing a surrogate market
index.
Measured over four year moving periods, performance of the
investment manager is expected to result in the following
returns:
All Equities
|
S&P 500 + 1% point | |
Fixed Income:
|
||
Taxable Xxxxx
|
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Intermediate Treasury Index + 0.25% | |
Tax-Advantaged Bonds
|
Xxxxxx Brothers 3 & 5 Year State GO Indexes |
AGGREGATE
INVESTMENT LIMITS, PERMITTED INVESTMENT CATEGORIES AND
INDIVIDUAL INVESTMENT LIMITS
PERMITTED
INVESTMENT CATEGORIES WITHIN ASSET CLASSES
The following are some examples of permitted investments within
each asset class:
Equity | Common shares, rights and warrants. | |
Fixed Income | Bonds, debentures, preferred shares, including those convertible into common shares. | |
Cash | Cash on hand, demand deposits, treasury bills, short-term notes and bankers’ acceptances, term deposits and guaranteed investment certificates. |
All of the above may be either U.S. domestic, Canadian or other
foreign investments.
Convertible preferred securities will be classified as equities
if the preferred dividend is not being paid.
Private placement issues in public companies are allowed.
INVESTMENT
CONSTRAINTS
All investments will be made in accordance with applicable
insurance legislation as amended from time to time.
INDIVIDUAL
INVESTMENT LIMITS
Any combination of investments in any one corporate issuer will
be limited to a maximum of 10% of admitted assets.
QUALITY
CONSTRAINTS
The investment manager may invest in permitted investment
categories subject to the following quality constraints:
Investments in money market instruments (less than or equal to
1 year term) will be limited to those included on the list
approved by the insurance company. This list will include money
market instruments of the U.S. Treasury, agencies of the U.S.
government, and as a minimum commercial paper rated A1 or higher
by Moody’s and rated P1 or higher by Standard &
Poor’s.
Investments in bonds and preferred securities will be limited by
bond rating category as follows:
LIMITS
AS % OF ADMITTED ASSETS
Bond Rating
|
% of Total | Min./Max. | ||||||
A or better
|
50% | Min. | ||||||
BBB
|
50% | Max. | ||||||
Less than BBB
|
20% | Max. |
The above limits are subject to adjustment to conform with
applicable insurance regulatory requirements.
Limits are determined on a cost basis and include convertible
securities.
Downgrades will be taken into account when making new
investments but will not necessarily result in the sale of
existing positions.
Securities which are not rated by any public rating agency must
be rated by the investment manager and included as part of the
categories above for the purposes of determining overall
exposure by bond rating category.
Any exceptions to the above must be approved by the investment
committee.
PROHIBITED
INVESTMENTS
In addition to any applicable insurance legislation prohibitions:
(a) | No Real Estate will be purchased without investment committee approval. |
(b) | No Mortgages on real estate will be purchased without investment committee approval. The exceptions to this are obligations issued by an agency of the U.S. Government, or by U.S. domiciled corporations that are issued as part of a registered public offering that also meet the minimum quality tier requirements. |
FOREIGN
INVESTMENT LIMITS
Foreign securities may be purchased in compliance with
applicable insurance legislation and with the policy on foreign
exchange risk outlined herein. Unless otherwise required by
applicable insurance legislation, Canadian securities shall not
be considered foreign securities and securities issued by U.S.
domestic companies or other U.S. domestic entities that are
denominated in foreign currencies shall not constitute foreign
securities.
OTHER
Derivative securities may be purchased up to 7.5% of the
portfolios cost at book, subject to adjustment to conform with
applicable insurance regulatory requirements. Use of derivative
investments is infrequent and primarily for hedging purposes.
The aforementioned limit on the purchase of derivative
securities shall not apply to traditional securities with
limited embedded derivative components such as convertible bonds
and optional maturity date bonds.