Eighteen Five-Star Stocks from World-Class Investors

We think that investment companies can make great investments. Unlike most open-ended mutual funds, investment companies benefit from significant managerial ownership and a long-term time horizon that allows equity investments to benefit from the effects of compounding. What's more, owning shares in an investment company allows investors to profit from the investment acumen of some of the best money managers around--without the exorbitant fees of many mutual and hedge funds. 

While we regularly profile the investments of  Berkshire Hathaway  (BRK.B) and  Markel  (MKL), we also think many investors can benefit from learning about the portfolios of  Alleghany (Y) and  Leucadia National  (LUK). In addition, similar to the way many investors routinely pore over Warren Buffett's shareholder letters, we also recommend that investors review both Leucadia's shareholder letters and Alleghany's Web site for useful information on investing.