Mello is an event ran by private investor David Stredder, who can be found on Twitter at @carmensfella. It is an excellent community of serious investors, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t open to relatively new entrants to the market. Mello is an open and friendly event that brings together quality listed companies and investors alike; offering all the opportunity to converse in a transparent manner.
Mello’s latest event will see almost 60 companies come to the Clayton Hotel in Chiswick for a two-day occasion held over 12-13 of November. You can find a full list of confirmed exhibitors here. There will also be several keynote speakers, as well as industry experts and private investors offering their insights. Many will be keen to hear the thoughts of Gervais Williams, the managing director of Miton Group, which is regularly active in London listed small caps. Likewise, Lord John Lee, politician and one of (if not the) first ISA millionaires, will also hold a talk.
Presentations from a variety of companies will run throughout Mello’s event. They will have 20 minutes to present and a further ten to answer questions from attendees. Meanwhile, companies will also host stands, engaging throughout both days with shareholders and potential investors alike.
One of the great things, in my opinion, about Mello’s approach, is that you can really put management on the spot, calling them out on any rubbish. A good example came when an FD was telling me that he was hugely aligned with shareholders, something that is naturally subjective. After I asked him his shareholding and his salary, it turned out he had put in less than a month’s wages into his company’s recent placing. Not all executives are this sneaky though – many are pleasant and are very open about any recent failures or negative news – they know that if they want to rebuild trust they need to be honest and upfront.
I have been to all of the recent Mello Events and find them hugely entertaining – the bar is always packed, and for anyone who is addicted to stocks it is a great place to meet new, like-minded people, network, and generally have a fun time. It is a great crowd, and -if you can make it- it is an excellent investment of both time and money. I will be giving a short talk on risk management. However, I will also be frequenting the bar often enough, so I hope to meet you there!
For anyone wanting to come, I can offer you a 40% discount on tickets. You can book here, and when it asks for a discount code enter: MICT40
ShareSoc, a not-for-profit membership organisation created by and for individual investors, will also be at the event. ShareSoc’s goals are to improve the investment experience for private investors and represent private investor interests when needed. The society provides information and education, and it seeks to influence government and regulatory policy alike for the better.
Alongside ValueTheMarkets, ShareSoc was active in efforts to support investors in the wake of the Beaufort Securities scandal. The incident could have been a lot worse without ShareSoc’s involvement. If you believe in the work that ShareSoc do and are a private investor, you should consider becoming a full member at a fee of less than 90p per week. However, ShareSoc is free to join initially, but there are paid levels of membership too. The benefits of these can be found here.
ShareSoc runs regular growth seminars, which hosts four companies who give presentations and a question and answer session, with refreshments provided. These are hosted across the country, in London and as far north as Manchester.
Both ValueTheMarkets and I support the activities of ShareSoc, and I back the society as a full member, knowing my membership costs are reinvested into making changes for the better.