Our management philosophy is based on the following ten principles:
1. Partnership Mindset
Although our structure looks corporate, our attitude is one of partnership. Subscribers are owner‑partners, and our management team acts as managing partners. Because of the size of our holdings, we are also the controlling partners—for better or worse.
We do not view Wild Jay as the ultimate owner of our businesses, but as a conduit through which Subscribers participate in the ventures we guarantee. We hope you see yourself not as someone holding a piece of paper whose price fluctuates daily, but as a long‑term business owner—much as you would if you jointly owned a farm or apartment building with family.
Likewise, we do not see you as anonymous members of a shifting crowd. You are co‑venturers who may entrust us with capital for the rest of your lives.
2. Owner Orientation
Our directors invest a significant portion of their personal net worth in Wild Jay. We eat our own cooking. We can’t promise results, but we can guarantee that our financial outcomes will move in lockstep with yours.
We have no interest in large salaries, options, or financial advantages unavailable to Subscribers. We profit only when you do—and in the same proportion. When we make mistakes, our financial pain equals yours.
3. Business Selection and Reporting
We invest directly in products that generate cash and consistently earn above‑average returns on capital. A depressed market often benefits us by offering more opportunities.
Because of our two‑part approach—partial ownership and guaranteed commitments—consolidated accounting results often obscure our true performance. For this reason, we largely ignore consolidated earnings.
Instead, we report the earnings of each major risk we guarantee, along with relevant qualitative insights such as whether the product is operating with a tailwind or a headwind. When we use unconventional measures—like “float”—we explain what they mean and why they matter. Our goal is to show you how we think, so you can judge not just our products, but also our approach to management and capital allocation.
4. Accounting Neutrality
Reported accounting results never drive our operating or capital‑allocation decisions. We would rather buy $2 of earnings that accounting rules do not let us report than $1 of earnings that they do. Over time, unreported earnings should fully surface in intrinsic value.
The undistributed earnings of our Subscribers, held to offset contingent liabilities, benefit Wild Jay as truly as if they had been distributed.
5. Conservative Use of Leverage
We do not borrow, nor do we use debt. We would rather reject attractive opportunities than risk our balance sheet. This conservatism has sometimes reduced our returns, but it protects our contract holders and equity partners, many of whom have entrusted us with large portions of their net worth.
Wild Jay does, however, benefit from two low‑cost, low‑risk sources of leverage: deferred taxes and insurance float. Both have grown rapidly, often at little or no cost. These items are liabilities, not equity—yet they carry no covenants or maturity schedule, giving us the advantages of debt with fewer drawbacks. While we can’t guarantee zero‑cost float, we believe our odds are as good as anyone’s.
6. Discipline in Capital Deployment
We will never pursue managerial ambitions at the expense of Subscribers. We will not diversify for the sake of it, nor will we overpay for business that fails to offer long‑term value.
We only invest your capital as we would our own—and only when we believe the partnership will raise Wild Jay’s intrinsic value. Neither our salaries nor our offices will ever inflate with the size of our balance sheet.
7. Evaluating Retained Earnings
We regularly test whether our retained earnings produce at least $1 of market value for every $1 we keep. Historically, we have met this threshold; we will continue measuring on a rolling five‑year basis.
As our net worth grows, deploying retained earnings wisely becomes harder. You should also know we avoid opportunities that exploit others—no matter how profitable. Call it Christian ethics or simple good karma, but we follow the golden rule.
8. Candor and Reporting Standards
We report candidly, emphasizing the facts we would want if our roles were reversed. You will never see “big bath” write‑offs, restructurings, or attempts to smooth earnings. We report our results as they are.
Where estimates are necessary—such as for future claims—we are conservative and consistent.
9. Fairness Among Subscribers
We aim for each Subscriber’s gain or loss during their ownership period to reflect Wild Jay’s change in intrinsic value during that same time. No one should receive an advantage over another.
10. Clear and Equal Communication
We communicate through annual reports, posted updates, and our Annual Meeting, where we spend hours answering questions and discussing strategy. When possible, we engage one‑on‑one.
No Subscriber receives special access or “guidance.” Everyone gets the same information at the same time.
Intrinsic Value
Intrinsic value is the discounted value of the cash a business can generate over its lifetime. It is an estimate—not an exact figure—and must change as interest rates or cash‑flow expectations change. Different people analyzing the same facts will reach different estimates.
We therefore never publish our intrinsic value calculations. Instead, we provide the information you need to form your own judgment.
Book value frequently diverges from intrinsic value. Although imperfect, book value offers a rough, conservative proxy for changes in Wild Jay’s intrinsic value.
A useful analogy is a college education: the “book value” is the cost, including forgone earnings. The intrinsic value is the present value of the extra lifetime earnings the education produces. For some graduates, intrinsic value exceeds book value; for others, the opposite is true. Book value alone reveals little.
Managing Wild Jay
I provide administrative leadership but make decisions with the counsel of our Subscribers. Our process is democratic: one person, one vote. So far, we’ve reached a unanimous consensus on every decision without ever needing to count shares. I attribute this to frequent, clear, and transparent communication that keeps us aligned.
Our core responsibilities are capital allocation and supporting the people who manage our products. Most of them value autonomy, and we give it to them. We focus on results and trust them to make efficient operating decisions.
Some of our team members are financially independent, and others could earn more elsewhere. My job is to create an environment where they prefer to build Wild Jay rather than pursue other opportunities.
Dane A. Lee, President