Value Investors Unite!

Readers,

This past weekend I hosted an event that included 14 other value investors, most of whom are from the Los Angeles area. The dinner went very well and in an attempt to keep our momentum going I have created a LinkedIn group for the value investors in Southern California. The group is called SoCal Value Investors. If you would like to join and be on the list for upcoming events such as idea and 10-K review dinners, please email me or search for the group on LinkedIn. For right now, we are trying to limit the group to people who either are currently working in the investment management industry or have in the past. However, I view value investing as a non-exclusive discipline. As such, if you don't fit the above criteria please email me at inoculatedinvestor@gmail.com and maybe we can figure something out.

Of course, regardless of what I try to do to build my network, I am always being outdone by my good friend Miguel Barbosa of Simoleonsense. Miguel is organizing an event for January 27th at 6pm for value investors who work on the buyside in Chicago. Here is the link to the event if you are in the area and want to attend. You can also email Miguel at miguel@simoleonsense.com if you want details. It sounds like he is expecting a lot of people so it will probably be a great networking event. I encourage anyone who can to attend.

In any case I really like this trend of value investors getting together. Despite what you may hear on CNBC or from US government officials, the global economy and financial markets are still on a little bit of thin ice. Accordingly, every investor should be looking for ways to protect his or her investments from unexpected events. Therefore, I think establishing a network of people to bounce ideas off of is invaluable.

Good luck in 2011,

Ben