Leucadia National (NYSE: LUK) is a holding company that has been compared favorably to a young Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A), and BloggingStocks’ Aaron Katsman has suggested that company as a good alternative to Berkshire for investors.

Apparently Leucadia has plus taken Buffett mentor Benjamin Graham’s mantra to heart: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when other are fearful.”

Leucadia has boosted its stake in AmeriCredit (NYSE: ACF) all the way up to 22.4%. It’s tough to think of a more contrarian investment in light of the consumer credit crunch: AmeriCredit buys auto loans from dealerships and makes its own loans through its dealership network —

Fears of a continuing rise in defaults have sent shares of the company down big by the past year. The stock is currently trading at a low P/E and a reduction to book value. The big question is whether all the naughty news is priced — it’s possible that the company will have to take additional losses on poor loans, just as many subprime housing lenders have.

To see what else Leucadia has in its portfolio, check out that page from StockPickr.

Original post by Zac Bissonnette

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