Teardown

Insurance / Specialty P&C and diversified holding company · Deep dive

Markel Group Inc.

~$22B-market-cap Richmond-based 'mini-Berkshire' built on three engines — Markel Insurance (~$8B GWP specialty P&C including Lloyd's Syndicate 3000), Markel Ventures (~$5B revenue, 20+ unrelated operating subsidiaries from Costa Farms plants to AMF Bakery), and Tom Gayner's ~$30B listed-equity portfolio — now under 1.4% activist pressure from JANA Partners (Nov 2024 letter) to separate Ventures and buy back $2B of stock, after a decade in which Markel's compounder story trailed the S&P 500 while Chubb, Travelers and W.R. Berkley all out-underwrote the Insurance segment's 93-100 combined ratio.

at risk

A Berkshire-shaped three-engine holdco whose insurance CR trails Chubb by ~7 points and Travelers by ~10, whose Ventures roll-up has produced no visible operational synergy, whose 10-year equity return trails the S&P 500, and whose first serious activist (JANA, ~1.4%) has already forced a $2B buyback and a strategic review that remains unresolved — the burden of proof has moved to Gayner, Wilson and the board.

My take

HQ
4521 Highwoods Parkway, Glen Allen (Richmond), Virginia
Founded
1930 (Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. of Alexandria, Virginia); current Markel Group Inc. name adopted 16 May 2023
Ownership
Public (NYSE: MKL)
Funding
Publicly traded — ~$22B market cap October 2026 (MKL ~$1,700/share range, ~12.9M diluted shares outstanding; MKL has never done a conventional stock split)
Valuation
~$22B equity market cap; book value per share ~$1,250 (Markel Q4 2025 release, 4 February 2026). MKL traded at an all-time high around $1,912 on 20 January 2025 before pulling back on JANA activist news and insurance CR concerns.
Revenue
FY2025 consolidated total revenues ~$16.6B (Insurance segment NEP ~$8.3B; Markel Ventures revenue ~$5.3B; investing + ILS/program services ~$3B); FY2025 insurance combined ratio ~95%; FY2025 adjusted operating income ~$2.3B; Q2 2026 insurance CR 93.0% (flat Y/Y), Q2 2026 insurance underwriting profit $142m (approximately 2x prior-year quarter); Markel Group reports 2026 Q2 (29 July 2026)
Headcount
~20,900 (Markel Group 10-K FY2024, split roughly ~5,000 Insurance + ~15,000+ across Markel Ventures operating subsidiaries including Costa Farms, Lansing Building Products, AMF Bakery, Buckner HeavyLift, EquiLease, PartnerMD, Metromont)
Screen
Public incumbent bucket 5, EV >$10B — ~$22B equity market cap, ~$16B FY2025 consolidated revenues, Richmond-based diversified financial holding
Published
2026-10-08
Web
www.mklgroup.com
Elsewhere
LinkedIn · Crunchbase

Founders and leadership

  • Sam A. Markel Founder (1930)

    Virginia businessman who in 1930 founded Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. in Alexandria, Virginia to insure the operators of 'jitney' buses — small, independently-run urban buses competing with streetcars — who could not obtain coverage from standard-market carriers because of the hard-to-price liability tail. Classic specialty / E&S underwriting origin: Markel exists because standard carriers would not write a class of risk. Succeeded by his sons; the Markel family has sat at the top of the company every decade since.

  • Steven A. Markel Vice Chairman emeritus; grandson of Sam Markel

    Fourth-generation Markel. Longtime vice chairman and public face of family ownership. Credited with hiring Tom Gayner in 1990 and installing the 'Markel Style' culture document.

  • Alan I. Kirshner CEO 1986–2008; Chairman emeritus (died 2020)

    Non-family CEO who took Markel public in 1986 on Nasdaq at $8.33/share. Oversaw the Shand Morahan (1987), Terra Nova / Markel International (2000) and Essex (1980s) acquisitions that turned a Virginia specialty writer into a diversified global specialty & reinsurance platform.

  • Anthony F. 'Tony' Markel Vice Chairman emeritus (ran operations ~1986–2008); fourth-generation Markel

    Partnered with Kirshner through the IPO and three decades of acquisition-led growth. Co-architect of the 'Markel Style' culture — a one-page values document that is still handed to every new hire.

  • Thomas S. 'Tom' Gayner President & Co-CEO 2016–2022; Sole CEO since 1 January 2023; Chief Investment Officer throughout

    CPA (PwC alum) who joined Markel in 1990 as a securities analyst and built the public-equity investment portfolio that became the second of Markel's three engines. Widely profiled as a Buffett disciple — concentrated positions, long holds, Berkshire-shaped prose in annual letters. Named sole CEO on 18 November 2022 as co-CEO Richie Whitt retired. Succession overhang: Gayner is 65 in 2026, has not named a public successor across insurance, ventures or investments.

  • Richie R. Whitt III Co-CEO 2016–2022 (retired 31 December 2022)

    Markel insurance lifer who ran the underwriting engine as co-CEO alongside Gayner from 2016. Retirement coincided with the simplification into Gayner-led sole-CEO structure.

  • Simon Wilson CEO of Markel Insurance (since March 2025)

    Former CEO of Markel International. Named CEO of a newly-unified global Markel Insurance in March 2025 — explicitly tasked by Gayner and the board with closing the combined-ratio gap to Chubb / Travelers / W.R. Berkley.

Snapshot

Markel Group is a Richmond-headquartered specialty-insurance-and-everything-else holding that for three decades told shareholders it was building a smaller, publicly-traded Berkshire. In 2026 that model is under direct attack. JANA Partners disclosed a ~1.4% stake in February 2025 after a November 2024 letter demanding Ventures divestiture and a $2B tender; management responded with a $2B buyback and a new unified-insurance CEO (Simon Wilson) tasked with closing a persistent CR gap to Chubb, Travelers and WRB. Q2 2026 insurance CR of 93.0% is still ~6–10 points behind best-in-class specialty peers. Equity trades near $22B — well below the January 2025 peak around $1,912/share.

Founding story

Markel began in 1930 in Alexandria, Virginia when Sam Markel founded Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. to insure ‘jitney’ bus operators thrown out of the standard market because the liability tail was poorly priced — the founding specialty / E&S story in one sentence. The Markel family stayed in control through four generations. Non-family CEO Alan Kirshner took the company public on Nasdaq in December 1986 at $8.33/share. In 1990 Steve Markel hired a 29-year-old PwC analyst named Tom Gayner, and the second engine — a public-equity investment portfolio — began to form. The 2000 Terra Nova acquisition added Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000; the 2005 AMF Bakery buy began Markel Ventures; the 2013 ~$3.1B Alterra deal added Bermuda reinsurance; the 2018 Nephila deal added ILS; in July 2021 Markel bought a majority of Costa Farms — now Ventures’ flagship. On 1 January 2023 Gayner became sole CEO; on 16 May 2023 the shell was renamed Markel Group Inc. to make the three-engine framing explicit.

How it works

Three engines, run separately, aggregated at the holdco. Engine one — Insurance. Markel Insurance (Markel International + Markel US merged March 2025 under Simon Wilson) writes global specialty P&C and reinsurance — US E&S, Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000, Bermuda specialty, program business, Nephila ILS — against ~$8B GWP. Economics: CR × NEP + yield on float. In 2025–2026 the issue is CR: ~93–95% vs peers 85–92%. Engine two — Markel Ventures. 20+ permanently-owned non-insurance operating businesses: Costa Farms (plants), AMF Bakery, Buckner HeavyLift (cranes), EquiLease, Lansing Building Products, Metromont (precast concrete), PartnerMD, Brahmin (handbags). ~$5.3B of FY2025 revenue. Cash flows up, capital reallocated by Gayner, no operating overlap by design. Engine three — Investments. ~$30B+ portfolio of insurance float plus holdco equity, run by Gayner in a Buffett-style concentrated book. The three share one balance sheet and one CEO; nothing else.

Product and business overview

Markel Insurance (~$8B GWP). US E&S / specialty; Markel International / Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000; Markel Global Reinsurance (Bermuda); program services; Nephila Capital ILS fund management.

Markel Ventures (~$5.3B FY2025 revenue). Costa Farms (wholesale indoor plants to Home Depot / Lowe’s / Walmart); Lansing Building Products; AMF Bakery; Buckner HeavyLift (crane / rigging); EquiLease; Metromont (precast concrete); PartnerMD (concierge primary care); Brahmin (handbags); plus >12 others. Markel is a perpetual holder — explicitly ‘no selling.’

Investments. ~$30B+ portfolio concentrated in Berkshire, Carmax, Alphabet, Deere, Diageo, Visa, Mastercard, Brookfield (per historical disclosures). Fixed income held primarily against insurance reserves.

Business model and pricing

Insurance = CR × NEP + yield on ~$20B+ float. Ventures = recurring EBITDA, Costa Farms / Lansing / Metromont / AMF the biggest contributors. Investments = gains on Gayner’s book. No retail pricing — wholesale through brokers in insurance, B2B through subs in Ventures. The 2025–2026 capital-return story: $2B buyback authorised February 2025 under activist pressure, modest dividend, no equity issuance plans.

Traction over time

MetricFY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025Q2 2026
Consolidated revenue$12.8B$11.7B$15.1B$15.9B~$16.6B~$4.3B Q
Insurance NEP$6.1B$7.0B$7.9B$8.3B~$8.3B~$2.1B Q
Insurance CR90.3%92.1%98.4%97.0%~95%93.0%
Ventures revenue$3.6B$4.8B$4.9B$5.1B~$5.3B~$1.5–1.6B Q
BVPS$1,118$929$1,096~$1,187~$1,250n/a

Insurance CR has sat 5–10 points behind best-in-class specialty peers for most of the post-2020 window. Ventures revenue has grown double-digit but segment-level operating income has been noisy — Costa Farms was pressured by horticulture destocking in 2023–2024.

Market analysis

Three markets. Specialty P&C / E&S runs harder than standard commercial: US E&S DPW exceeded $130B in 2024 (S&P Global, March 2025) with low-double-digit growth; Lloyd’s printed sub-85 CRs in 2023–2024 and softened in 2025. Ventures’ effective market is mid-market US industrials and consumer businesses sold by founder-owners wanting a permanent home — Constellation, Fairfax, Berkshire and dozens of private holdcos compete for it. Investments is the US public-equity market; Gayner’s ~$30B is immaterial to it. Capital is cheap for scaled specialty platforms and perpetual holdcos, so Markel’s historical cost-of-capital edge versus a sponsor-backed MGA or a Constellation-shaped roll-up has largely disappeared.

Competitive intel

Chubb (CB). FY2025 CR ~87%, ~18% ROE. Dominant specialty / HNW; proves mid-80s CRs at scale.

W.R. Berkley (WRB). The structural rebuttal. 90–92% CRs, 18–20% ROEs for a decade from the decentralised model Markel claims to run.

Travelers (TRV). The operating-discipline benchmark. FY2025 CR 85.6%; Q2 2026 CR 83.6%; Q2 2026 core ROE 24.9%.

RenaissanceRe (RNR) and Everest (EG). Direct on reinsurance and Bermuda specialty. RNR’s mid-80s CRs 2024–2025 made it the preferred Bermuda cat vehicle.

Fairfax Financial (FFH). The structural analogue — Watsa’s Toronto ‘mini-Berkshire’ at ~$45B, roughly 2x Markel; larger insurance scale (Odyssey, Allied World, Zenith) and better 10-year TSR.

Berkshire (BRK.B). The template; not reproducible at Markel scale.

Constellation / Teqnion / Judges Scientific. Perpetual holdcos in defined verticals, better CAGRs than Markel over the last decade.

Specialty insurtechs / MGAs — Convex, Vantage, Inigo, Coalition. Launched 2017–2022, >$1B apiece from Onex / Carlyle / CVC, attacking Lloyd’s and US E&S books with modern pricing and newer talent.

History and evolution

What people say

The case for. Four generations of Markel-family discipline; a ‘Markel Style’ culture document long-tenured underwriters still quote; Syndicate 3000 ratings reaffirmed by AM Best in August 2025; Nephila’s ILS franchise structurally insulated from pricing cycle; Costa Farms as durable consumer-adjacent cash flow; Gayner as a Buffett-tradition allocator; FY2025 insurance CR improvement under Wilson; Q2 2026 underwriting profit doubling; a legitimate conglomerate-discount thesis — break-up SOTP values each engine materially above the current blended multiple.

The complaints. JANA’s November 2024 letter and February 2025 campaign argue Ventures and Insurance don’t belong in one company and the specialty franchise would trade on a WRB-type multiple if separated. Sell-side (Seeking Alpha rating downgrade coverage; Insurance Insider) tracks the structural CR gap to peers. Markel’s 10-year TSR has trailed the S&P 500 and trailed Fairfax, Chubb, WRB and Travelers. Glassdoor surfaces the usual large-carrier complaints — slow systems, matrixed decisions. The structural complaint: a Berkshire-shaped conglomerate without Berkshire’s float, deal flow or Buffett is three fine businesses worth more apart.

Outlook: well positioned or at risk?

At risk. Five rubric candidates documented. (1) Insurance CR drift — 93–98 through 2022–2025 vs Chubb 87, Travelers 85.6, WRB 90–92; Q2 2026 CR = 93.0%. (2) Activist overhang unresolved — JANA at ~1.4% demanded Ventures separation and a $2B tender; the buyback + Wilson appointment did not close the campaign and JANA re-escalated in February 2025. (3) Ventures mixed-bag — zero operating synergy across 20+ unrelated subs, no segment margin that benchmarks against Constellation’s vertical compounders. (4) Gayner succession risk — sole CEO since January 2023, age 65 in 2026, no named successor; the mini-Berkshire premium is personally attached. (5) TSR trails — 10-year CAGR has trailed the S&P 500 and trailed Fairfax, WRB and Chubb. The company could flip well-positioned if Wilson pushes insurance CR into the high-80s within 24 months, Costa Farms EBITDA re-accelerates, and JANA settles for the buyback — but the burden of proof has shifted. Verdict: at risk.

How to attack it

Three wedges, because Markel is three different companies. Specialty P&C wedge. Build a Lloyd’s-native, AI-underwriting-first specialty MGA — hyperexponential-shaped pricing stack, straight-through quote-bind, reinsurer-funded capacity — targeting the E&S classes (small-ticket construction, specialty transportation, cyber, management liability) that fill Markel’s US E&S desks. Convex, Vantage, Inigo and Coalition have raised >$1B apiece from Onex, Carlyle and CVC on this thesis; they underwrite with newer tech, smaller cost bases and 2020s-vintage talent, and their CRs structurally benchmark 5–10 points better than Markel’s at smaller scale. Lloyd’s and E&S growth has outpaced standard commercial for five years; Markel’s integration overhead and legacy stack are documented drag factors. Ventures wedge. A focused mid-market industrials or scientific-instruments perpetual holdco in the Constellation / Teqnion / Judges Scientific shape — pick a vertical, buy founder-owned businesses at 5–7x EBITDA, compound. Vertical compounders don’t cross-subsidise with insurance float and management attention isn’t fragmented across 20+ unrelated businesses. Gayner wedge. The specialty-insurance-focused permanent-capital-vehicle slot is open: a Pershing Square Holdings-shaped closed-end holdco owning a controlling stake in one or two specialty insurance platforms plus a Gayner-style equity book. Berkshire owns it at scale; Fairfax owns it with Canadian insurance; nobody owns a pure US specialty-insurance-plus-equity book of ~$5–10B equity. Weaknesses an attacker exploits: (a) Markel’s structural CR gap to WRB; (b) the conglomerate discount sell-side flags; (c) JANA’s own break-up case already public; (d) Gayner succession unresolved; (e) Costa Farms’ thin moat in wholesale horticulture; (f) Syndicate 3000’s rating pressure history.

Adjacent-segment play

The clearest adjacent-segment play already exists outside Markel: the perpetual-holdco model with vertical focus. Markel Ventures acquires US mid-market industrial, consumer and services businesses from founder-owners wanting a permanent home. The model has produced materially better returns in defined verticals: Constellation Software (TSX: CSU) in vertical-market software, 20%+ CAGR since its 2006 IPO; Topicus (TSXV: TOI) the European sibling; Teqnion (Nasdaq Stockholm) and Judges Scientific (AIM) in Swedish industrials and UK scientific instruments respectively, both compounding book value above 15% a year. Fairfax does the Markel model with more insurance scale and more aggressive equity use. The lesson: perpetual-holdco economics generalise, but focus — same vertical, same playbook, same template — matters more than Markel’s eclectic ‘anything good’ approach. A founder building Markel Ventures today would almost certainly pick one vertical (specialty food & beverage, dental services, environmental services, specialty construction materials) rather than own Costa Farms next to Buckner HeavyLift next to Brahmin handbags. A tightly-focused mid-market industrials permanent-capital vehicle at ~$1–3B of equity, raised from endowments, family offices and sovereigns, operated as a 20-year holdco with no insurance appendage, is the credible adjacent play. The wedge against Markel: disciplined selection, cleaner reporting, better per-unit compounding — and no activist complaining it should separate from insurance, because it isn’t bolted to any.

Sources and further reading

Capital history

DateRoundAmountValuationLead(s)
1930 Sam Markel founds Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. in Alexandria, Virginia to insure jitney bus operators turned down by standard carriers — the founding specialty / E&S transaction n/a — private incorporation n/a — bootstrap Sam A. Markel
1980s Markel builds US excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty platform via Essex Insurance, Shand Morahan and other bolt-ons through Alan Kirshner's leadership undisclosed cumulative n/a Markel family / Kirshner
1986-12 Markel IPO on Nasdaq at $8.33/share (split-adjusted historical) ~$30M initial offering small-cap specialty insurer Nasdaq / Markel public listing
1990 Tom Gayner joins Markel from Davenport & Co. as Director of Research; builds the public-equity investment arm that becomes 'Engine Two' n/a — hire n/a Steve Markel / Alan Kirshner
2000-03 Markel acquires Terra Nova (Bermuda) plc — immediately quadrupling GWP and giving Markel its Lloyd's Syndicate 3000 platform and 'Markel International' business ~$685M n/a Markel / Terra Nova
2005 Launch of 'Markel Ventures' as a formal operating structure — AMF Bakery (2005) is the first non-insurance operating subsidiary acquired n/a — division launch n/a Steve Markel / Tom Gayner
2013-05-01 Markel completes Alterra Capital acquisition — the largest deal in Markel's history. Adds Bermuda reinsurance, Harbor Point legacy, and $3B+ of float to Insurance segment ~$3.1B stock + cash Alterra ~$3.1B Markel / Alterra / Trident III (Stone Point)
2018-11-15 Markel completes acquisition of Nephila Capital, Bermuda-based ILS fund manager (then ~$12B AUM) — adds alternative capital / insurance-linked securities engine undisclosed (estimated ~$975M) n/a Markel / Nephila founders
2021-07-29 Markel acquires majority interest in Costa Farms, Florida-based wholesale indoor-plant grower supplying Home Depot / Lowe's / Walmart — Markel Ventures' largest and most-cited subsidiary undisclosed (Costa Farms est. ~$500M+ annual revenue) n/a — Markel is a perpetual holder Markel Ventures / Costa family (retained minority)
2022-11-18 Markel announces Tom Gayner will become sole CEO effective 1 January 2023; co-CEO Richie Whitt to retire — simplification into Gayner-led holding company n/a — succession n/a Markel board
2023-05-16 Markel Corporation renames to Markel Group Inc., explicitly signalling the Berkshire-shaped three-engine holding-company (Insurance, Ventures, Investments) structure n/a — rebrand n/a Markel board / Gayner
2024-11-27 JANA Partners sends letter to Markel board urging separation of Markel Ventures and a ~$2B tender offer; Bloomberg reports stake; MKL stock pops ~5% (The Insurer, 11 December 2024) n/a — activist campaign start n/a Barry Rosenstein / JANA Partners
2025-02-05 Markel discloses ~1.4% JANA Partners stake and outlines its own 'strategic review' + $2B share repurchase authorisation; defends three-engine structure (Seeking Alpha / Insurance Insider, 5 February 2025) $2B buyback authorisation n/a Markel board
2025-02-19 JANA renews activist push publicly after Markel earnings — restates case for Ventures divestiture, says $2B buyback is not enough (Seeking Alpha / Insurance Insider, 19 February 2025) n/a — activist escalation n/a JANA Partners
2025-03-17 Markel appoints Simon Wilson (ex-Markel International CEO) as CEO of a unified Markel Insurance, explicitly tasked with closing the CR gap to best-in-class specialty peers (Reinsurance News, 17 March 2025) n/a — executive appointment n/a Tom Gayner / Markel board
2025-FY (year ended 31 December 2025) FY2025 results: adjusted operating income ~$2.3B; insurance segment underwriting turnaround year — CR improved after Wilson's accountability resets. ~$2B returned via buybacks through 2025–2026 window (Markel FY2025 release, 4 February 2026) ~$2B capital returned (2025 window) n/a n/a
2026-Q2 (quarter ended 30 June 2026) Q2 2026 insurance CR holds at 93.0%; insurance underwriting profit doubles to ~$142m; Markel Ventures Q2 revenue ~$1.5–1.6B; strong investment return drives group results (Markel Q2 2026 release, 29 July 2026; Insurance Business Mag; Reinsurance News) n/a n/a n/a

Investors / owners: Public float. Top institutional holders (2026): Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, T. Rowe Price, Capital Group, Markel-family holdings (collective), Activist: JANA Partners — ~1.4% position disclosed February 2025, campaign for Markel Ventures separation + accelerated buybacks ongoing, Historical: Trident III (Stone Point Capital) via its stake in Alterra Capital, cashed out in Markel's 2013 acquisition

Competitive set

  • Chubb Limited (CB) — NYSE: CB. ~$130B+ market cap. The specialty-and-HNW standard. FY2025 CR ~87% vs Markel's ~95%. Direct competitor in US excess & surplus and global specialty — and the comparator JANA and sell-side use to argue Markel Insurance is sub-scale and under-earning.
  • W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) — NYSE: WRB. ~$25B market cap. Decentralised specialty & E&S writer that has delivered 90–92% combined ratios through the cycle and ~18–20% ROE. The closest-shape peer to Markel Insurance in US specialty; routinely cited as the structural rebuttal to the 'Markel can't underwrite specialty profitably' thesis — because WRB plainly can.
  • The Travelers Companies (TRV) — NYSE: TRV. ~$75B market cap. FY2025 CR 85.6%, Q2 2026 CR 83.6%, Q2 2026 core ROE 24.9%. A scaled, agency-first incumbent that Markel Insurance will not catch on CR; the comparator for 'what good looks like' at Markel's investor-letter standard.
  • RenaissanceRe Holdings (RNR) — NYSE: RNR. ~$12B market cap. Bermuda reinsurer / specialty platform. Attacks Markel's reinsurance book directly; FY2025 CR ~85–90%. Nephila-adjacent in ILS.
  • Everest Group (EG) — NYSE: EG. ~$15B market cap. Bermuda-based reinsurer and global specialty insurer. Overlaps Markel on reinsurance and US specialty.
  • Fairfax Financial (FFH) — TSX / NYSE: FFH. ~$45B market cap. Prem Watsa's Canadian 'mini-Berkshire' — the structural analogue to Markel Group, except Fairfax owns Odyssey Re, Allied World and Zenith at bigger specialty scale and uses equities more aggressively. The 'other Berkshire-shaped incumbent' comparator.
  • Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) — NYSE: BRK.B. The template Markel admits to copying. Berkshire's National Indemnity + GEICO + BHSI float base, its Precision Castparts / BNSF / Berkshire Hathaway Energy operating base, and its ~$300B equity book operate at a different order of magnitude; the point is that Markel's model is not proprietary and the asset generating Markel's valuation premium (Gayner-as-Buffett) does not scale.
  • Specialty insurtechs / MGAs — Convex, Vantage, Inigo, Coalition, At-Bay — A new generation of specialty / E&S platforms backed by Onex, Carlyle, CVC and reinsurer capital. Attack Markel's Lloyd's syndicate book and US E&S lines on tech-first underwriting (hyperexponential-style AI pricing, straight-through quote-bind), newer talent and lighter cost structures.
  • Constellation Software / Topicus / Teqnion / Judges Scientific — Perpetual-holdco comparators to Markel Ventures. Constellation Software's TSX run (vertical-market software roll-up) has delivered a 20%+ CAGR since 2006; Teqnion (Nasdaq Stockholm) and Judges Scientific (AIM) run focused, serial-acquisition compounders in defined verticals. All three have outperformed Markel Group's 10-year equity return — the sell-side rebuttal to 'Markel Ventures is the Berkshire-shaped engine.'