CEM Montreal Conference June 16-18, 2023

June 19, 2023

This was another highly successful CEM Conference. A total of 57 corporate issuers met 57 investors in 20-minute one-on-one private meetings on Saturday, June 16. The CEO represented most companies.

In an investor group session that followed, each investor rated their top 3 of the 18 companies they met, and the results are tabulated.

In the table below, I marked the meetings I had, plus my rating of the top 6 taken from my notes. There were at least a dozen I liked.

I omitted the US listing, which most companies have, only for lack of time. Sorry.

I sorted the list by the highest investor ratings first and then by alpha for each tie.

The competition is always tough, and it certainly was this conference. Of the 57 companies, 19 did not receive a top-3 score, although I believe at least 50 deserve to be presented.

My third choice, Total Helium, received nine top-3 votes from the 18 investors in my stream. That was the 2nd best of 57 companies.

My number 1, 4, and 5 choices were tied for 9th, along with four others.

My number 2 choice was tied for 30th, along with five others.

All the investors are HNW investors or qualified professional advisors, investment managers, or brokers.

Some of the companies were not seeking funds currently, but all are early-stage companies that do require investment capital. They are all vetted by the CEM group, whose partners invest in each one.

The conference starts with a Friday evening reception. All the parties are free to meet during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and refreshment breaks on Saturday and again if attending the sports activities on Sunday. This Sunday was for the Formula One Montreal Grand Prix race. I did attend a year ago (for a few minutes anyway, (LOL), but returned home early to celebrate Father’s Day.

Because of hotel costs and next year’s four-day room booking requirement due to the big race, CEM will take this event to the Fairmont Princess In Bermuda. All the golfers will be booked early. If I attend, which is likely, that will be a week before our 55th wedding anniversary when Pat and I honeymooned at the famous Pink Sands Hotel near the Princess in Bermuda.

I now look forward to upcoming CEM events in Muskoka (near Toronto) in September and Nassau, Bahamas in January. I’ll skip Fort Lauderdale, FL, Whistler, BC, Kelowna, BC, and probably Scottsdale, AZ.

The CEM meetings in Bahamas, Florida, and Arizona do not include any or many mining companies. It seems that Canadians like their Miners, or maybe it’s a matter of the Miners liking Canadian investors. Of course, there are many American investors who attend CEM conferences.

This year, I spent private time with Page Tucker (Prostar Holdings: MAPS.V MAPPF), one of my favorite companies, but one I dropped in tax-loss selling due to disappointing sales revenue. I have been advised that sales are now coming. Page said, “It took me two years to get my first two customers, another year to get the next three, but my goal is 100 this year.” I replied, “Every billionaire tells us the first million was the hardest.”

Page is an outstanding manager with an outstanding product, and now he has recruited an outstanding board member who is also driving sales. His website is https://www.prostarcorp.com/ 

The latest corporate presentation:  https://www.prostarcorp.com/stonegate-capital-partners-updates-its-coverage-on-prostar-holdings-inc/

I will now start to rebuild my position.

I’m pleased to be able to continue attending these CEM conferences, although the required commitment and my age may come into play at some point. Managing 18 business meetings non-stop in a single day is not easy for any issuer or investor who attends. But, in my case, I do it because I love the business. I love to see wealth being created. This is capitalism at its finest.