VALUEx Vail 2011

VALUEx Vail is designed for serious PROFESSIONAL investors to share ideas, learn from one another experiences, all while enjoying each others company and fun activities in the beautiful Colorado mountains.

VALUEx Vail 2011

I’d like to invite you to the first annual VALUEx Vail being held in Vail, Colorado, June 15th through 17th.  VALUEx Vail is designed for serious PROFESSIONAL investors to share ideas, learn from one another experiences, all while enjoying each others company and fun activities in the beautiful Colorado mountains.

We are only sending out this letter to a small number of people since the venues (restaurants) have limited room.  Space is limited to fifty people, so I encourage you to sign up quickly.  Once fifty people are registered, latecomers will be put on a waitlist.

VALUEx Vail was designed to replicate the very successful  VALUEx I attended in Zurich/Klosters in February 2011.  Saying that it was a terrific event is an understatement.  It was created by Guy Spier and John Mihaljevic, they succinctly spelled out the core principles of VALUEx in three paragraphs, which are at the heart of what I am trying to accomplish as well:

VALUEx is inspired by three bedrock principles.

 1. Berkshire Hathaway, Wesco, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Ben Graham et al.

A place(s) where like-minded individuals can develop their worldly wisdom, learn to be better investors, and become better people in the process.

 2. Wikipedia / Linux / Firefox and the Open Source Revolution

No one individual either owns or controls it.  The endeavor is not for profit.  Leadership comes from the group of individuals who are in the best position to contribute and who can best understand and develop the mission and the goals.

 3. Chris Anderson / TED / Ideas Worth Sharing

Content and speakers are selected using the same principle applied at TED, where the most successful talks are delivered by inspiring speakers in an inspiring way.  A strict time format ensures that the speakers deliver their most valuable ideas promptly.  The focus is on “Ideas worth sharing,” rather than pitching products / companies / one’s own services.

 We are still finalizing the agenda, but let me share with you what we have in mind.  We’ll have presentations every evening (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) for about two hours, roughly from 5 to 7 pm, then we’ll have dinner at the same restaurant right after presentations.

A presentation should be about 15 minutes long.  Everyone is encouraged to present, but presentations are not mandatory.  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 you register we’ll contact about presentations.

 Presentations will be followed by dinner (we’ll alternate restaurants every night, though).  After dinner the more adventurous types are welcome to join us at the bar for drinks. In the morning, if you can get up after the night before (!), join the group for breakfast.  Sometime after breakfast, we’ll do some of the following activities: hiking,  bicycling, whitewater rafting, Turtle Tubing, Frisbee golf, GPS Scavenger Hunt, and ziplining  The location of the group lunch will depend on which activity we do during the day.

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.

 Accommodations: 

Sonnenalp

One of Travel & Leisure’s Top 100 Hotels in the World 2010, it has such a unique “Vail” feel to it, it epitomizes, to me, no pretenses, just warmth and friendliness in beautiful surroundings.  Each room is rather unique and does not have the standard hotel feel at all and it is located right in the Village.  The fireplace in the spa is one of my favorites!

http://www.sonnenalp.com/

 The Lodge at Lionshead

For an option that includes having a kitchen, a condo may be more for you.  The Lodge at Lionshead is a short walk from the Village in Vail.

http://www.lodgeatlionshead.com/

 Arrabelle

This is a brand new resort in Lionshead, or Vail Square, which is what I believe the town is thinking of changing the name Lionshead to.  It has European-inspired architecture that really complements Vail and the service is wonderful.  Some of the larger suites do have a kitchen and look more like a condo, while other rooms are more like upscale hotel rooms with beautiful balconies that afford fabulous views of the mountains.

http://arrabelle.rockresorts.com

I’ll be staying with my family at the Lodge at Lionshead.

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.

 Dress code: very casual, comfortable clothes

 Cost: This is a not-for-profit event.  There will be a nominal fee ($100) to cover organizational/activity expenses.  Attendees will be responsible for hotel, food and activities payable directly to restaurants or activity providers.

Registration deadline:  May 18, 2011

Please read the following important disclosure here.

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