With only 14 ShareStock seats September 5 still available, the annual investor gathering by the River Dee is close to a sell-out, and this year’s speaker line-up is arguably the strongest the event has assembled.
Of the 100 places on the lawn, 86 have already gone. The organiser describes this edition as either the last or the penultimate Sharestock, which gives the remaining seats a different weight.
Both Britain’s Buffetts on the Same Stage
In a typical year, one of the two investors nicknamed Britain’s Buffett headlines the day. This year both Jim Mellon and Nigel Wray are confirmed. The schedule is still being arranged around Nigel Wray’s rugby fixture commitments, and the agenda will be circulated once those fixtures are published.
Sharestock Seats September 5: What the Day Includes
There are now just 14 Sharestock seats September 5 left to fill, so the programme below is relevant to anyone still deciding.
The event runs on Saturday 5 September at a private venue between Chester and Wrexham, on the banks of the River Dee. Returning speakers include Lucian Miers and Evil Banksta. The food programme runs from the night-before pizza gathering through chef Vijay’s lunch to a cold salmon supper with home-made ice cream. Joshua’s croquet, a Welsh choir, Jaya’s plum and ginger cake stand, and Bara Brith at tea are fixtures of the day.
New to this year’s programme is Mark Slater, whom the organiser calls the most gifted small-cap fund manager in Britain. Slater co-founded Slater Investments in 1994 alongside Ralph Baber, and serves as Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. He is the son of financier Jim Slater, and in 1992 helped research and edit ‘The Zulu Principle’, Jim Slater’s book on identifying small to medium-sized growth companies.
The track record behind that reputation is worth examining. According to the Slater Growth Fund A Acc fact sheet for July 2024, the fund had delivered cumulative returns of 242.8% since inception, against 73.6% for the IA UK All Companies sector over the same period. As of that date, the fund held 42.5% in micro-cap stocks and 36.7% in small-cap stocks, a concentration at the smaller end of the market that both amplifies returns in good years and increases volatility in bad ones. The Morningstar profile for the fund carries further detail on holdings and fees for anyone considering it for an ISA or SIPP.
The Bitcoin and AI Sessions
A new session pits the organiser, a self-described Bitcoin bear, against Andrew Webley, chief executive of the Smarter Web Company, who will argue the bull case for holding Bitcoin on a corporate balance sheet. Webley is not speaking in the abstract. According to CoinTelegraph via TradingView, the Smarter Web Company expanded its Bitcoin treasury to over $82.6 million after adding $24.7 million to bring total holdings to 773 BTC. That is a live, real-money corporate position, which should sharpen the bear-versus-bull exchange considerably.
The final session the organiser singles out features Barry Downes and Brian Kinane on artificial intelligence: whether it constitutes a bubble, which listed companies face obsolescence as a result, and how it will reshape working life across industries. For investors holding positions in technology-adjacent stocks, that conversation has immediate portfolio relevance.
A Few Practical Notes
The event is on Saturday 5 September. Camping by the river is available for those travelling from further afield. Questions can be directed to the organiser by email.
With 14 Sharestock seats September 5 remaining and this described as potentially the final edition, the decision window is short. Bookings are at ShareStock.co.uk.
