Courtesy of Vitaliy Katsenelson
The Second Annual VALUEx Vail will be held in Vail, Colorado, June 20th through 22nd.
VALUEx Vail is designed for serious investors to share ideas and learn from one another’s experiences, all 
while enjoying each other’s company and fun activities in the gorgeous Colorado mountains.
Here are my thoughts and pictures from VALUEx Vail 2011.
We’ll have about six brief presentations every evening (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) for about two hours, followed by dinner (we’ll alternate restaurants every night). In addition will have a “dessert speaker” who will do an informal talk and Q&A on an interesting subject. To conclude each day, the more adventurous types are welcome to join us at the bar for drinks.
Success of VALUEx Vail depends on participants’ presentations. Therefore, all attendees will be asked to share ideas, whether they will be shared in a 15-minute presentation, in a “dessert talk,” or more informally late at night in the bar. We’ll only have time for about twenty 15-minute presentations; therefore, while everyone should be willing to present, we’ll chose only twenty presenters. The presentation could be on any investment topic, including but not limited to stock ideas (long or short), geopolitical discussion, sector or industry analysis, insights into the investment process, etc. Once we finalize the attendee list, we’ll contact you about your presentation.
In the morning, if you can get up after the night before (!), please join the group for breakfast. Sometime after breakfast we’ll do a fun activity. Last year we did ziplining, had lunch at a ranch, and took a gondola to the top of the mountain (and got rained out and had lunch on top of the mountain). The location of the group lunch will depend on which fun activity we choose.
VALUEx is a perfect opportunity for a family vacation. Family members, including children of all ages, are encouraged to participate in fun activities during the day. I’ll bring my whole family.
My family has been going to Vail for almost twenty years. We spend a few weeks there every summer, riding bikes, going for long walks, riding the gondola to the top of the mountain, or simply doing nothing. Here are a few pictures I have taken in Vail over the years
Accommodations: In late April or early May we’ll send a list of recommended hotels. Mid-June is fairly slow in Vail, hotel prices are very reasonable, and you should not have a problem (with a reasonable lead time) finding a decent room. Almost everything in Vail is within walking distance. There are no cars allowed in Vail Village or Lions Head (the western side of Vail), so you either walk, ride the free bus (which comes along every 10 minutes), or ride a bike, which you can also rent nearby.
Dress code: very casual, comfortable clothes
Cost: This is a not-for-profit event. There will be a nominal fee ($200) to cover organizational/activity expenses. You have until May 1st to change your mind and receive a full refund; it will not be refundable after that.
Attendees will be responsible for hotel, food, and activities. It is important to note that we are not in the conference business. All we are doing is taking your hard-earned money and transferring it to the even more hard-working service providers (restaurants, activity providers, etc.) Last year the cost of exclusive use of the facility where presentations were held, plus food and drinks, averaged about $150 an evening per attendee. As we get closer to the event we’ll send you a link where you’ll be able to prepay for dinners and activities.
How to apply: Since all content is attendee-generated, we are more concerned about the quality of attendees than about quantity (also, for best flow of ideas, we limit size to 40 attendees). If you’d like to attend send me an email vk@imausa.com , and in a few paragraphs tell me about yourself, your experience, your areas of expertise, and a topic/idea you’d like to discuss at the conference. I understand that things may change in a few months, but this will give me a general idea. It is important to note that you don’t have to be a professional value investor to apply. Though we envision that the majority of attendees will be professional value investors, there is also value in a diversity of views, so if you are a die-hard nonprofessional value investor, please apply!
Contact information: If you have questions, please feel free to contact Cristy Reid at cr@imausa.com or (303) 796-8333.
