By now, many are familiar with value investor Bruce Berkowitz and his investment firm, Fairholme Capital Management.

For years, Berkowitz had been widely known amongst value investors as one possessing all the qualities that define a successful investor: patience, discipline and most importantly an intense conviction in his ideas, regardless of whether or not the crowd agrees with him.

At It Again
Last year, Morningstar anointed Berkowitz the fund manager of decade. As a result, Fairholme's popularity soared and assets swelled to over $14 billion. Morningstar bestowed this title on Berkowitz after Fairholme delivered a return of 12.6% a year over the past 10 years ending June 30, 2010. To put this in perspective, The Fairholme Fund was the best performing fund in its category over the past 10 years.

We all know that past performance is no guarantee of future results. And know that Fairholme's coffers have swelled to $14 billion, the company's playing field has significantly shrunk. Nevertheless, Berkowitz has made some huge bets that can only be explained by his high conviction.

Finance, Finance, Finance
In a recent SEC filing, Fairholme disclosed that it now holds nearly 25% of troubled insurer AIG (NYSE:AIG). Unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you know the drama behind AIG since the financial crisis. Yet it's clear thus far that the government will not let AIG fail - the government is its largest shareholder and Fairholme is the second largest. With a market cap of nearly $5 billion, Fairholme's stake represents over $1.2 billion, or nearly 10% of the fund's assets.

In addition, Fairholme bought $700 million worth of Citigroup (NYSE:C) earlier this year. And when Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) shares tanked 30% after news of an SEC investigation, Fairholme began buying shares of this legendary investment bank. Until Fairholme discloses is quarterly holdings in August, we won't know if it sold stakes in any of the other financials to make room for AIG. But until then, Fairholme is invested heavily in financials. The fund had 4.7% of its assets in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) earlier this year.

Bet Big or Go Home
Along with the big bet on AIG, it looks like Fairholme has over 20% of its assets, over $3 billion, invested in the country's biggest financial names. Such high conviction from one of the world's premier investors should not be overlooked.