Chuck Royce (Keynote Speaker)

Chuck Royce is the Chairman and CEO of the Royce & Associates, LLC. The firm manages Royce Funds, which is a family of mutual funds that focuses primarily on small-cap investing, and has been considered one of the industry's most experienced smaller-company stock pickers.

Chuck Royce invests in primarily micro-cap and small-cap companies using disciplined, value-oriented approaches. He looks primarily at balance sheet strength, cash flow characteristics, and returns on invested capital when choosing stocks for the funds he manages. His firm emphasizes long-term, absolute (as opposed to relative) performance.

Mario Gabelli

Mario J. Gabelli is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GAMCO Investors, Inc., the firm he founded in 1977. A 1965 summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University's College of Business Administration, he also holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and honorary doctorates from Fordham University and Roger Williams University.

He was Morningstar's Portfolio Manager of the Year in 1997. He was named Money Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor for 2011 and is a member of Barron's All Star Century Team.

Francisco Garcia Parames

Francisco Garcia Parames is the Chairman and CIO of Cobas Asset Management. He is a self-taught follower of Warren Buffett's investment approach. His asset management style is based on strictly applying the principles of value investing within the framework of the Austrian business cycle theory.

His track record of 25 years near the top of performance rankings make him one of Europe's leading asset managers in the "value" school.

James Fletcher

James Fletcher, CFA, is the Director of small and midcap EM equities at APG Asset Management based in Hong Kong, where he manages a concentrated portfolio of stocks with a long-term focus towards high-quality, wide-moat businesses.

James is also the founder of a non-profit organization, Young Investors Society, that brings investing fundamentals and financial literacy programs to high-school students. James earned a B.S. in Finance from Brigham Young University, where he graduated summa cum laude and with University Honors.

Craig Thrasher

Craig Thrasher is a Portfolio Manager and a Senior Research Analyst at Kayne Anderson Rudnick. Craig has been with Kayne Anderson Rudnick since 2008 and has managed the Virtus KAR International Small Cap mutual fund since inception in 2012. He has 14 years of equity research experience and earned a B.S. in Business and Public Administration, concentration in Finance, from the University of Arizona, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

Christopher J Karlin, CFA

Christopher Karlin is Chief Investment Officer of Aquitania Capital Management, a value-oriented independent investment firm. Prior to founding Aquitania in 2012, Christopher held positions as a Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager at First Pacific Advisors, Kestrel Investment Management and Fairview Capital Investment Management.

He began his career with Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors which later became a part of Blackrock. Christopher received his BBA from the University of Wisconsin in 1990 his MBA from Yale University in 1998 and has held the CFA designation since 1994.

John Dorfman

John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, an investment management firm he founded in 1999. Mr. Dorfman worked for Dreman Value Management in 1997 through March 2002, and considers David Dreman his mentor and a formative influence. He was a Senior Vice President at Dreman from September 1997 through 2000, and a Managing Director in 2001-2002.

Mr. Dorfman has written nine books, including Family Investment Guide (Atheneum, 1981) and The Stock Market Directory (Doubleday, 1982).

Steven Kiel

Steven Kiel is the Chief Investment Officer for Arquitos Capital Management and Chief Executive Officer for Enterprise Diversified (OTCQB:SYTE). Steven is also a Judge Advocate in the Army Reserves, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and currently holds the rank of Major. Prior to launching Arquitos Capital in 2012, Steven was an attorney in private practice. He is a graduate of George Mason School of Law and Illinois State University and is a member of the bar in Illinois (inactive) and Washington, DC.

Adam Sues

Adam Sues is a Portfolio Manager at Yacktman Asset Management. He joined the firm in 2013 and is portfolio manager for the AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund. From 2010-2013, he was the founder and author of Value Uncovered, an investment website focused on value-oriented stock research and fundamental analysis. Adam holds a B. A. in Business Administration from Mount Union College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Chuck Akre (Keynote Speaker)

Chuck founded Akre Capital Management (ACM) in 1989 after 21 years in the securities business at NYSE member firm Johnston Lemon & Co. At J&L he managed various parts of the business including branch management, research, and asset management. Beginning in June of 1993 Chuck operated ACM under the umbrella of Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. Taking the business private again in 1999, he moved the firm to the rural village of Middleburg Virginia.

Chuck is well known for managing the FBR Focus Fund for the first 12 and half years of its life. and more recently (since 8/31/09) as the founder and PM of the Akre Focus Fund.

James O'Shaughnessy

James O'Shaughnessy is the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. He is also responsible for the development of OSAM's existing strategies and directs the team on idea generation and specific initiatives to improve the models and develop new factors and products. Prior to founding OSAM, Jim was the Director of Systematic Equity at Bear Stearns Asset Management and a Senior Managing Director of the firm.

James O'Shaughnessy is the author of four books on investing including What Works on Wall Street, a BusinessWeek and New York Times Business bestseller

William Smead

William Smead is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Smead Capital Management where he serves as Lead Portfolio Manager on the firm's concentrated, high-quality, U.S. large-cap value equity strategy. He has worked in the investment industry for more than 30 years, including senior positions with Wachovia Securities, Smith Barney and Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Mr. Smead is regularly featured in the media, including CNBC and Bloomberg. He received a B.A. in Economics from Whitman College in 1980.

David Dietze

David Dietze is the founder, President and Chief Investment Strategist at Point View Wealth Management, Inc. David manages stock and bond portfolios for his clients using a long-term, balanced, disciplined, and diversified investment philosophy.

Mr. Dietze graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with Honors in Economics from Dartmouth College and earned a law degree from The University of Chicago. David also holds the CFA and CFP designations.

Brian Yacktman

Brian Yacktman is the Founder, President and Chief Investment Officer of YCG, LLC and the adviser to the YCG Enhanced mutual fund. YCG has market beating performance since their inception and manages nearly $500 million for clients across the United States.

Prior to starting YCG, Brian Yacktman was an Associate at Yacktman Asset Management, the adviser to The Yacktman Funds. He joined them in 2004 from Brigham Young University where he graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Economics and an M.B.A with an emphasis in finance.

Wade Slome

Wade W. Slome, CFA is President & Founder of Sidoxia Capital Management, LLC and Lead Editor of the Investing Caffeine blog. He has worked in the investment industry for more than 25 years, including a stint at American Century Investments, where he managed their $20 billion flagship Ultra Fund from 2002 - 2007. In addition to separate accounts, Mr. Slome manages a concentrated long-short hedge fund that predominantly targets attractively valued growth investments.

Mr. Slome earned an MBA from Cornell University and a BA in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Bruce C. N. Greenwald

Professor Bruce C. N. Greenwald holds the Robert Heilbrunn Professorship of Finance and Asset Management at Columbia Business School and is the academic Director of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing.

Described by the New York Times as "a guru to Wall Street's gurus," Greenwald is an authority on value investing with additional expertise in productivity and the economics of information.

Daniel Pecaut

Daniel Pecaut serves as Chairman and CEO of Pecaut and Company, a value-oriented investment advisory firm whose philosophy emphasizes owning shares of owner/operator businesses. The company was founded in 1960; Daniel Pecaut is a third-generation owner.

He has authored the firm's newsletter for over 30 years and several books. The latest project, written with business partner Corey Wrenn, is University of Berkshire Hathaway. The book is a compilation of three decades of notes taken while attending the Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings which reflect the wisdom, insights, and humor of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.

Albert Saporta

Albert Saporta is the founding partner and managing director of AIM&R's, a leading global investment research boutique, advising some of the largest hedge funds and trading groups globally.

Prior to setting up his own investment firm in Geneva in 1995, Albert was running relative value global equity arbitrage strategies at London based IFM from the end of 1991 to early 1995. Before IFM, Albert was an Associate Director, running quantitative analysis and hedge fund sales for the Japanese institutional equity sales desk at UBS Securities in London from 1988 to 1991. In his career, Albert has lived and worked in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Geneva, Tokyo, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Tel Aviv.

Jean-Marie Eveillard (Keynote Speaker)

Jean-Marie became a senior advisor to the First Eagle Investment Management Global Value team in March 2009 and now serves as board trustee to the First Eagle Funds. From 1979–2004, Jean-Marie was the portfolio manager for the First Eagle funds. He then moved to an advisory position but returned as portfolio manager in March 2007 until September 2008 when he shared responsibility for the funds with Matthew McLennan, and moved again to the position of Senior Adviser in March 2009.

Jean-Marie was named Morningstar's International Manager of the Year in 2001, and in 2003 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Morningstar.

Thomas Russo

As managing member of Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC, Thomas A. Russo oversees in excess of $10 billion in discretionary individually managed accounts for individual trusts and endowments and in his capacity as General Partner of the Semper Vic Partners partnerships (in excess of $3 billion).

Mr. Russo's portfolios are concentrated (70 percent in ten largest holdings), international (over 60 percent of AUM), and are largely managed on behalf of wealthy families and taxable investors. His focus has been on companies in the consumer products industry and prefers companies in which founding families still retain control.

Charlie Dreifus

Charlie Dreifus is a portfolio manager at small-cap equity specialist, The Royce Funds. He manages the firm's Special Equity mutual funds that attempt to combine classic value analysis, the identification of good businesses, and accounting cynicism.

In 2008, Mr. Dreifus was named Morningstar's Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year and in 2009 he was a finalist for Morningstar's Fund Manager of the Decade.

Jeff Auxier

Mr. Jeff Auxier is President and Chief Executive Officer of Auxier Asset Management.

Mr. Auxier's investment process combines fundamental value investing with top-down macro approach. He has been a GuruFocus Premium Member since September 2007.

Mindy Perry

Mindy Perry, CPA, CFA, is the managing director and portfolio manager for Manulife Asset Management. She has built the Global Healthcare Strategy for the firm and grown the strategy from $5 million seed capital to well over $2 billion in eight years. She won the Benchmark Magazine Investment Manager of the year Award in 2015 and won the Bloomberg Weekly Magazine Top Fund Awards In Best one-year, five-year and since inception categories in 2015 and 2014.

Ms. Perry runs a relatively concentrated portfolio of stocks with strong emphasis on the quality of the businesses and downside protection. She graduated with an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BA from Beijing University.

David Sather

David Sather is president of Sather Financial Group. Sather Financial was established in Victoria, Texas in 1999, manages roughly $450 million in individual accounts.

Mr. Sather received his BA in business from Texas Lutheran University and an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is also an adjunct professor at Texas Lutheran where he developed the Bulldog Investment Company program. Bulldog Investment Company educates students in financial statement analysis with a value investing structure.

Vitaliy Katsenelson

Vitaliy N. Katsenelson, CFA, is Chief Investment Officer at Investment Management Associates in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of Active Value Investing (Wiley) and The Little Book of Sideways Markets (Wiley).

His articles have appeared in Barron's, The Financial Times, and Business Week, among others. He also writes a monthly column for Institutional Investor magazine. Mr. Katsenelson has close to 20 years of investment experience and has taught a graduate investment class at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Jilong Qiu

Jilong Qiu is the founder and portfolio manager of Shanghai-based Everlasting Capital. Everlasting Capital invests in under-valued Chinese equities trading at deep discounts to their net asset values.

Mr. Qiu was a former Portfolio Counselor of Orbis Investment Management, a Bermuda-based value manager with a long track record of alpha generation. He graduated with an MBA degree from London Business School and a BSc. degree from Peking University.

Jonathan Boyar

Jonathan Boyar is President of Boyar's Intrinsic Value Research (BIVR). BIVR is the publisher of Asset Analysis Focus (AAF). AAF specializes in uncovering intrinsically undervalued companies across the market cap spectrum.

Mr. Boyar is also a principal at Boyar Asset Management, which since 1983 has been managing money through various vehicles utilizing a value-oriented approach.

Timothy Hartch

Timothy Hartch has been a co-manager of BBH Core Select since October 2005. He has also been a co-manager of BBH Global Core Select, an investment partnership that invests in a select number of small and mid-cap providers of essential products and services, since its 2001 inception.

Mr. Hartch joined BBH in 1996 and became a partner of the firm in 2010. He received an AB from Harvard University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also received an MBA and JD from the University of Michigan

David Zhang

David Zhang is the co-founder and portfolio manager of Shanghai-based Ginkgo Capital.

David Zhang manages a highly-concentrated and low-turnover portfolio. He aims to find great companies in China for long-term compounding return.

Charlie Tian, Ph.D.

Charlie Tian, Ph.D. founded GuruFocus.com in 2004. He is the author of the value strategies and research tools on GuruFocus.com.

Prior to GuruFocus, Dr. Tian was a scientist and an inventor. He is credited with more than 30 US patents.

Donald Yacktman (Keynote Speaker)

Mr. Yacktman is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Yacktman Asset Management. Mr. Yacktman has been a value investor for more than 40 years. He was nominated for Fund Manager of the Decade in 2009 by Morningstar, and was also a finalist for Morningstar's Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year award in 2011.

Mr. Yacktman is one of the select few investors who outperformed the market in both 2008 and 2009.

Bruce C. N. Greenwald

Professor Bruce C. N. Greenwald holds the Robert Heilbrunn Professorship of Finance and Asset Management at Columbia Business School and is the academic Director of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing.

Described by the New York Times as "a guru to Wall Street's gurus," Greenwald is an authority on value investing with additional expertise in productivity and the economics of information.

James East

Mr. James East has managed the ACI Partnership Funds since its inception in 2007. He generated positive returns in 2008 by practicing a "cheap" and "safe" approach to stock selection.

Mr. East is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Aerospace Engineering.

Thomas Macpherson

Mr. Thomas Macpherson serves as Chief Investment Officer at Nintai Charitable Trust and consults with Dorfman Value Investments as Director of Marketing.

Mr. Macpherson is known for applying value investing through a multi-disciplinary lens. He has been a GuruFocus Premium Member since January 2008.

Sangjin Lee

Mr. Sangjin Lee is CEO at Shinyoung Asset Management in Korea, which manages over USD10bn in value and dividend-based funds, and is also one of the top 5 equity investors in Korea.

Mr. Lee's tenure of two decades at Shinyoung as CIO is one of the longest standing in the industry and is a testament to the growth and branding of the firm as a pioneering value investor in Korea.

Larry Pitkowsky

Mr. Larry Pitkowsky co-founded GoodHaven Capital Management in late 2010, and currently serves as a Managing Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager of GoodHaven Fund.

Prior to GoodHaven, Mr. Pitkowsky held a variety of roles at Fairholme Capital Management, including Portfolio Manager of the Fairholme Fund.

Chip Rewey

Mr. Chip Rewey is the Lead Portfolio Manager for Third Avenue's Value and Small-Cap Funds.

Before joining Third Avenue, Mr. Rewey spent more than ten years at Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC as Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager.

David Rolfe

Mr. David Rolfe, CFA, is Chief Investment Officer of Wedgewood Partners, which manages total assets of $10.5 billion.

Mr. Rolfe's investment style centers around a concentrated portfolio of high quality investments. He has been a GuruFocus Premium Member since January 2008.