The Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing at the Ivey Business School at Western University held its annual Value Investing Conference virtually on April 14, 2021.
The mission of the Conference was to promote the tenets of value investing as pioneered by Benjamin Graham, to expose Conference participants to the various value investing methods used by practitioners, and to encourage and support academic research and study in the area of value investing.
The Conference provided a forum to explain, discuss and debate the principles, practices and various applications of value investing from a global context.
Normally, we do not have a theme for our Conferences. However, we made an exception this year in light of all the recent criticisms that value investing has received and the inferences that “this time it is different”. The theme was “In Celebration of Ben Graham in a World that Questions Value Investing”. Moreover, to emphasize our Conference theme, we did not have the usual CEO panel, but instead, we celebrated Tweedy, Browne Company’s 101-year anniversary (1920-2021) with a speech by Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr., one of the company’s Managing Directors. His presentation was followed by a Q&A session with the company’s executives conduced by Jeff Stacey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stacey Muirhead Capital Management.
Media Coverage
"Understanding the value of open-mindedness for investors"
Ivey News, April 23, 2021
Note: Unlike previous years, we have decided to post videos of Conference presentations this year because the event was fully virtual.
Conference Organizer and Chair
George Athanassakos, Managing Director, Ben Graham Chair in Value Investing, Ivey Business School
PowerPoint Presentation
Watch Video ("Is this the End of Value Investing or the Beginning of a Golden Period for Value Stocks?”)
Morning Keynote Speaker
Presenter: James Grant, Financial Journalist and Historian, Founder and Editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, New York, NY, USA
Topic: “Sometimes You Have a Bad Decade”
PowerPoint Presentation Not Available
Watch Video
Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Presenter: Howard Marks, Co-Chairman, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., Los Angeles, CA, USA
Topic: "Value Investing: A New Look"
PowerPoint Presentation
Watch Video
Afternoon Keynote Speaker
Presenter: Larry Culp, Chairman and CEO, General Electric Co, Boston, MA, USA
Topic: "GE’s Multiyear Transformation Story: A Value Opportunity"
PowerPoint Presentation Not Available
Watch Video
Value Investor Session
Presenter: Dianne K. McKeever, Chief Investment Officer, Managing Member and Co-Founder, Ides Capital Management LP, New York, NY, USA
Topic: "Values Investing: ESG Frameworks that Minimize Risks and Maximize Returns"
PowerPoint Presentation
Watch Video
Presenter: Francisco García Paramés, Chairman and CIO, Cobas Asset Management, Madrid, Spain
Topic: "Some Stocks (Mostly European) Ben Graham Would Love"
PowerPoint Presentation
Watch Video
Presenter: Evan Vanderveer, Managing Partner, Vanshap Capital, Arlington, VA, USA
Topic: "Investing in Capital Constrained Markets"
PowerPoint Presentation
Watch Video
Presenter: Mohnish Pabrai, Managing Partner, Pabrai Investment Funds, Irvine, CA, USA
Topic: "From Ben Graham to Phil Fisher"
PowerPoint Presentation Not Available
Watch Video
Presenter: Guy Gottfried, Founder & Managing Director, Rational Investment Group, LP, Boston, MA, USA
Topic: "Many Happy Returns: A Value Perspective on Return on Investment"
PowerPoint Presentation
Watch Video
Watch Value Investor Session Q&A Video
Tweedy, Browne Company LLC Session
Presenter: Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr., Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
Topic: "Tweedy, Browne 1920-2021: Celebrating 101 years of value investing"
PowerPoint Presentation
Video Recording Disclaimer
Watch Video
Conversation with Tweedy, Browne Company Executives
Moderator: Jeffrey D. Stacey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stacey Muirhead Capital Management, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Executives:
Roger de Bree, Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
Jay Hill, Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
Thomas H. Shrager, Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
John D. Spears, Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr., Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
Video Recording Disclaimer
Watch Video
Selective Testimonials
“Outstanding George! Another home run!! Congratulations”
~ Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., Toronto, ON, Canada
“Congratulations to you on yesterday’s online Value Investing Conference. Howard Marks was sensational. He made a really unique presentation and brought a different perspective to value investing vs growth. Very insightful.”
~ Tony Fell, Retired Chairman, RBC Capital Markets & Former Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Securities, Toronto, ON, Canada
“Great conference George, as usual!”
~ Marlena Zabielska, Portfolio Manager, Sionna Investment Managers, Toronto ON, Canada
“Congratulations on holding a successful Value conference a couple of days ago. One of many issues in investing is reconciling security selection with portfolio management and that's why I asked my question to Monish / panel re: concentration risks if we have one or two exceptional securities accounting for a large share of a portfolio.”
~ Gregory Kocik, TD Asset Management, Toronto ON, Canada
“I wanted to send along a note to congratulate you on another successful Value Investing Conference. I thought everything turned out magnificently and the Zoom platform worked well for both events from a technology standpoint. WELL DONE!!!!!!”
~ Jeffrey D. Stacey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stacey Muirhead Capital Management, Waterloo, ON, Canada
“Thank you for the excellent conference yesterday. I enjoyed most the speeches.”
~ Reinhard Krakauer, President, Krakauer Management GmbH, Vienna, Austria
“Congratulations on a wonderful conference, and thank you so much for including Tweedy, Browne in what was a rich and insightful program, chock-full of wisdom and advice from a coterie of value luminaries. The great success of your conference under such challenging circumstances is not only a testament to the incredible work of you and your team, but also to the continued efficacy of Graham's gift to all of us. I'd like to also thank you for your steadfast commitment to value investing and Graham's teachings. The Ivey Business School, the Value program, and its students are so fortunate to have such a thoughtful and effective leader.”
~ Conference Presenter: Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr., Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, Stamford, CT, USA
2021 Virtual Value Investing Conference Gallery
Opening Remarks
Morning Keynote Speaker
Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Value Investor Session
Afternoon Keynote Speaker
Tweedy, Browne Company LLC Session
Thank you to our Donors
We would like to thank our donors Burgundy Asset Management Ltd., The Center for the Advancement of Value Investing Education, Sionna Investment Managers, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc., and Tweedy, Browne Company LLC. for their generous support.
REGISTRATION CLOSED