Key insights
- The author expresses frustration with the superficial nature of most in-person investing events, which focus on hot stock picks and macro predictions rather than in-depth analysis. They propose a smaller, more selective format requiring participants to present well-researched investment theses. This sentiment suggests a potential disconnect between the quality of online investment discourse and real-world events, possibly indicating a need for more rigorous due diligence and critical thinking among retail investors.
I keep running into the same problem with investor meetups and gatherings. The format almost never matches the audience.
Value investing communities online (places like this one) and the Berkshire events tend to operate at a certain level. People are reading 10-Ks, building models, thinking about competitive advantages and capital allocation. The discussion is actually helpful.
Then you show up to an in-person investing event and it immediately drops three levels. It becomes all about hot stock picks, macro predictions and surface-level takes dressed up as analysis.
I’ve been thinking about what a genuinely helpful in-person format would look like for serious investors. The closest I can imagine is something small (maybe 20–30 people) where the entry requirement is a prepared thesis with explicit assumptions and a real bear case without pitch decks and irrelevant predictions.
Does something like this already exist? And if not, why do you think the format keeps defaulting to the lowest common denominator?