2025 Value Investing Seminar: Top Fund Managers Share Their Favorite Stocks [Full PDF]

The 2025 Value Investing Seminar took  place on Thursday and Friday, July 3-4, 2025. The conference is now in its 21st year and occurs annually.

This intensive two-day seminar is rooted in the timeless principles of Keynes, Graham, Buffett, Fisher, Singleton, Munger, and insights from over 1,000 businessmen and investors who have participated throughout the years.

UPDATE: 07/07/2025 05:25PM EST - Our entire 135 page report on the 2025 Value Investing Seminar can be found at the very bottom of this page in both plain vanilla and interactive PDF format. We hope you enjoy!

Founded in 2004, the event is hosted by Ciccio Azzollini, Whitney Tilson—founder of Empire Finance Research in New York City—and Il Valore Conta, an Italian independent investment advisory and e-learning platform.

Format:

Each speaker has 20 minutes to:

• Share insights on where the best opportunities lie.
• Present their favorite investment idea(s).
• Teach lessons learned from past mistakes.
• Recommend impactful books they’ve read recently.
• Engage in Q&A with the audience.

See a short summary of each speaker from the conference followed by a link to an in-depth article on the presentation. Additionally, at the very bottom of this post readers can find a full PDF of the event in both regular PDF and interactive flipbook format.

2025 Value Investing Seminar Coverage

Christoph Hilfiker, Senior Fund Manager with LLB Asset Management AG

During the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he detailed his value investing philosophy, which centers on identifying and investing in companies protected by enduring competitive advantages, or "moats". He outlined seven types of moats, including strong brands, technology, and high switching costs.

Hilfiker presented several European companies as prime examples of these moats: a Dutch technology company critical to artificial intelligence, a German sportswear company renowned for its strong brand, a French luxury goods conglomerate with an expansive portfolio, and a Spanish defense technology company vital for European security. Beyond specific investments, he stressed the importance of staying invested in quality companies, continuously learning, and applying a disciplined, checklist-driven approach to investment decisions.

See: Christoph Hilfiker Of LLB Likes These Four European Stocks For Their Wide Moats

Christopher Fitzwilliam-lay, founder of Bloxham Capital

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he provided insights into Vietnam's rapidly growing investment landscape, positioning it as a future emerging market powerhouse. He highlighted that Vietnam's "Doi Moi" policy (1986) opened its economy, leading to substantial growth driven by strategic government reforms and a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly in high-tech sectors.

Fitzwilliam-lay underscored Vietnam's strong demographics, including a youthful, literate workforce, a rapidly expanding middle class, and significant urbanization, which fuels growth in real estate and construction. He emphasized that Vietnam is approaching an "inflection point" where its GDP per capita is expected to surge, historically signaling dramatic economic transformations.

See: Bloxham Capital’s Christopher Fitzwilliam-lay – How to Invest in Vietnam

Nicolas Van Broekhoven, Managing Director of Olija Holdings

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he shared insights on navigating Asian investments, focusing on long-term wealth creation. OH, a Singapore-based private investment holding company, achieves stability by investing over 50% of its assets in non-listed operating companies that generate consistent cash flow, mitigating the volatility of Asian public markets.

He advocates for a less risky, diversified approach to commodity exposure through convertibles, a strategy employed by a Hong Kong-based, Canada-listed company. This company invests across the commodity spectrum, with significant allocations to uranium, copper, and gold, offering investors risk protection, upside potential, and an annual dividend. He noted this entity is entering a "harvest phase" to recycle capital and demonstrate its model.

See: Nicolas Van Broekhoven Of Olija Holdings On Avoiding Scams And Why He Likes This Royalty Stock

Norman Rentrop, a veteran German investor

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he detailed his investment philosophy and recent opportunities, now operating as a private investor. Rentrop discussed his early affinity for public companies and how he learned to trust his own judgment, concentrating investments in areas he deeply understands. He highlighted his current focus on the burgeoning space technology sector, identifying it as the "fifth division" of warfare and noting the significant reduction in launch costs. He invested in a publicly listed space tech venture capital trust in England, which provides direct access to space tech ventures and holds investments in numerous companies. Rentrop also raised concerns about cyber security risks, noting substantial financial impacts from attacks, and lamented the slow pace of innovation within the European defense sector due to bureaucracy.

See: Famous German Entrepreneur Norman Rentrop On Investing In The Future Of Space Launches

Burak Alici, founder of QVIDTVM

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he discussed the critical impact of "noise" - unwanted variability in judgment - emphasizing its overlooked significance compared to more commonly studied biases. Alici illustrated how noise leads to wide disparities in expert judgments across fields like finance and medicine, noting that eliminating it can boost accuracy twice as much as mitigating bias.

To combat noise, he introduced "decision hygiene," a disciplined approach involving structured decision-making and continuous self-reflection. Practical strategies include deconstructing decisions into constituent parts, conducting blind review assessments, implementing checklists and guardrails, performing noise audits to track variability, and calibrating assumptions. Alici also highlighted Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a powerful emerging tool, acting as an unbiased second opinion to enhance decision-making.

See: QVIDTVM’s Burak Alici – How To Utilize AI To Reduce Noise In Your Investment Process

Manuel De Diego Prato CFA, Manager of Revalong Capital Investment Fund

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he explained his expanded view of value investing, asserting it should be a flexible foundation rather than a rigid set of rules. Influenced by Charlie Munger, Prato emphasized finding one's own optimal decision-making process through independent research. He strongly advocates for broadening the value investing focus beyond equities to include opportunities across the entire capital structure, specifically highlighting bonds and options.

Prato provided a case study where he uncovered significant value in perpetual bonds of a German real estate company by conducting thorough fundamental analysis despite market fears. He also detailed his strategy of selling put options, which allows him to acquire profitable companies at attractive prices below their historical lows or collect premiums, prioritizing market liquidity in his option trades.

See: Revalong Capital’s Manuel De Diego Prato – Using Options To Achieve Above Market Returns

Thomas Goetsch, an Associate at Hoop Capital and Board Member of Hoop Club

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he detailed an activist value investing opportunity in an Italian small-cap company. This historic tour operator, though appearing uninspiring superficially, held significant hidden value in its proprietary real estate assets spread across various subsidiaries, which were vastly undervalued by the market. Goetsch’s team discovered a massive discrepancy between the company’s implied market value per room and comparable transactions.

Recognizing the operational inefficiencies and an impending succession issue with the aging majority shareholder, he initiated an activist strategy. This involved building a 30% shareholder pact to force engagement, publicly releasing a position paper, and applying continuous pressure. These efforts have already led to a significant appreciation in the stock price and forced management to address value concerns.

See: Hoop Capital's Thomas Goetsch On Unlocking Massive Value In A Forgotten Italian Small-cap

Piyari Paienjton, Analyst at United World College Endowment Management

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, she presented her thesis for a European holding company, dubbed "the Dutch Berkshire Hathaway". Her confidence is rooted in long-term interest alignment with the controlling family, its remarkably low investment cost, a double margin of safety due to a significant discount to an understated Net Asset Value, and a proven track record of capital allocation excellence.

The company’s strategy involves taking significant stakes in market-leading private companies and public interest companies, including the world's largest non-Chinese dredging company, the largest independent terminal storage provider, and a fast-growing e-commerce company specializing in tech materials. Despite acknowledging risks like past missteps and limited transparency, Paienjton views the holding company as a valuable long-term investment, expecting continued Net Asset Value compounding.

See: Piyari Paienjton Of UWC Endowment Likes This Cheap & Well-run "Dutch Berkshire Hathaway"

Naomi Tang, Investment Analyst at United World College Endowment Management

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, she explained how investors can gain access to private markets through publicly traded investment trusts and listed holding companies. Tang highlighted that these vehicles offer liquidity (trading like stocks) and transparency, bridging the gap between traditional private equity and public market accessibility. She discussed how trusts employ various methods to access private markets, such as acting as limited partners or engaging in co-investments.

Tang also addressed fee structures, noting potential "double layer" performance fees in some trusts, while highlighting that certain holding companies maintain very low costs with no such fees. She provided case studies of a top-performing investment trust focused on private equity with significant exposure to technology and business services, and an established holding company providing access to digital transformation, consumer, and healthcare sectors.

See: Naomi Tang Of UWC – Invest In Top VC Funds Via These European Trusts

Leevi-Eemeli Lotjonen, an intern at UWC Endowment Management

At the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, he delivered an "elevator pitch" on the elevator industry. Lotjonen explained that the industry operates on a "razor and blade" business model, where the true profitability comes from high-margin, long-term service and modernization contracts after initial low-margin installations. He highlighted that urbanization and aging populations are key trends driving demand, while technology enhances contract stickiness by enabling sophisticated predictive maintenance.

Lotjonen emphasized the critical importance of achieving geographical density for companies to maximize margins. He made a compelling case for a Finnish elevator company as a major future winner, positioned to acquire a significant competitor, which would substantially boost its density and revenue, despite potential antitrust considerations.

See: This Stock Is Poised To Dominate The Elevator Industry

Peter Krah

Peter Krah, a commodity investor, employs a contrarian, ultra-concentrated investment strategy focused on gold mining. His approach is deeply rooted in discipline, patience, and extensive due diligence, particularly emphasizing management and board-level track records to ensure alignment. Krah's journey into the mining industry began during a gold bear market, where advising small-cap companies provided him direct access to executives, helping him spot what he terms "future five-baggers, future ten-baggers". He strongly favors the "gold development space" or "pre-production sweet spot," where an economic ore body has been defined, as it offers the greatest value upside when led by "excellent management teams".

He is drawn to the industry by high insider ownership (20-30%) and the potential for "unlimited" upside. Krah highlights a specific gold development company that achieved commercial production exceptionally fast and maintains significant insider alignment. He acknowledges risks such as early takeovers, gold price corrections, and single asset producer risk.

See: Peter Krah On Why This Quality Gold Miner Could Be A Multi-Bagger

Florian Weidinger, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of SLAM

Florian Weidinger, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of SLAM, was the first speaker for day II of the 2025 Value Investing Seminar. SLAM is a pan-Asian investment manager, practices "unapologetic value investing" with a strong focus on Asian markets. He emphasizes addressing the "time sink" error and the critical "question of alignment" between minority and majority shareholders in Asian companies. SLAM's strategy centers on identifying value, consistent dividends, and opportunities for productive dialogue with management to ensure value sharing.

Weidinger points to a "dramatic change" in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), with increased market principles, widespread management share option plans, and a significant rise in share buybacks, leading them to act more like "normal companies in practice".

His primary investment idea is a Chinese construction equipment manufacturer, which, despite domestic challenges, benefits from strong overseas growth and product diversification. He believes its current depressed valuation and dual-listing discount present a compelling opportunity, noting SLAM's engagement efforts are increasingly effective in driving shareholder value creation in Asia.

See: SLAM’s Florian Weidinger - Long This Cheap Asian Construction Stock

Daniel Bols, founder of Senso International and the Somnium Capital Fund

Daniel Bols, founder of Senso International and the Somnium Capital Fund, has an investment philosophy deeply influenced by his entrepreneurial experiences, believing that "value compounds best with good capital allocation – and time". His fund exclusively invests in public equities, seeking "rare capital allocators" that manage businesses with stable, predictable, and growing free cash flow, akin to well-managed rental properties.

Bols champions companies that buy back their own stock and are held for the very long term. His investment idea is a global offshore drilling company, which he sees as embodying his principles due to its market dominance, high barriers to entry (requiring massive capital investment), and significantly undervalued assets. Bols highlights strong free cash flow growth potential and industry tailwinds such as the decline of shale oil, rising offshore exploration, soaring day rates, and effectively frozen new supply.

He attributes the current depressed stock price to temporary project delays, not cancellations, which will eventually materialize.

See: Somnium Capital’s Daniel Bols Like This Energy Company With A Large Moat

Gianfranco Rosati

Gianfranco Rosati, a value and special situations investor, leverages his philosophy background to simplify complex situations and identify value. He presented a Swedish-based consumer packaging company that achieved a 7x return through smart acquisitions, transforming an older business into a "dynamic group of entrepreneurial consumer packaging companies". The company boasts a vast, diversified product portfolio and vertical integration across the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) value chain.

A key strength is strong insider alignment, with entrepreneurs and the CEO holding significant stakes, and the company notably rejected a private equity offer at double its current price. Despite a downturn from macroeconomic forces, Rosati believes the company is in a "very interesting" position due to consolidation, cost-cutting, and deleveraging. He sees it as significantly undervalued (13% free cash flow yield), with the market underappreciating its high return on tangible capital and valuable Nordic brands that could be worth more than its market capitalization.

See: Gianfranco Rosati Is Long This Top-Performing Swedish Consumer Stock

Sushant Bansal, a manager at Bain & Company's Technology, Media & Telecom

Sushant Bansal, a manager at Bain & Company's Technology, Media & Telecom practice and an active investor in Indian public equities, presented an Indian paper manufacturing company. He highlighted its strong historical financial performance and position as the lowest-cost producer with a deepening competitive moat. Bansal's thesis emphasizes "supply side dominance" and the company's depressed valuation. The company primarily operates in the writing and printing paper sector, a segment conducive to vertical integration and cost differentiation, allowing it to gain market share despite modest overall market growth. Its raw material advantage (agro-based waste) and deep vertical integration contribute to superior operating margins and a "flywheel effect" of reinvestment and competitive advantage.

Bansal addressed common market misperceptions, asserting the industry's growth headroom in India and the company's historical stability and strong cost-structure moat. He acknowledged "key man risk" but underscored the promoter's long track record of effective capital allocation.

See: Bain’s Sushant Bansal – This Quality Manufacturer Is Trading At Dirt Cheap Multiples

Sunny Han

Sunny Han, a value investor and manager at a family office, adheres to the core belief that "Investing means own part of the real business. Business make profit. They solve real problem". Her investment lessons include never offering conviction without understanding, structured buying and selling, and prioritizing business quality and management. Sunny focuses on "critical but underappreciated" opportunities, identifying semiconductor equipment manufacturers as "unsung heroes" essential for chip production, believing they are trading "much below their intrinsic value" despite "essential high energy recurrent demands".

She also sees consumer brands in emerging markets as significantly undervalued, trading at historically low prices, and offering a "predictable durable way" to benefit from rising consumer confidence. Her approach is long-term and fundamentals-driven. Among her largest holdings are major technology companies, with a particular focus on a search engine and AI leader due to its innovation, AI strength, and self-driving technology.

See: Long These Two “Unsung” Chip Heroes

Whitney Tilson

Whitney Tilson, co-organizer of the 2025 Value Investing Seminar, a well-known investor and publisher of financial newsletters, presented his "moonshot" investing philosophy, aiming for stocks that can rise by five to ten times in a short period. He focuses on market-leading companies in "sexy and exciting sectors" that capture public imagination, distinguishing them from established mega-caps. His current top "moonshot" bet is an electric flying air taxi company, which he believes possesses "incredible technology" and could be an acquisition target, offering reasonable downside protection with speculative upside. Tilson's second idea is a major search engine and AI company, his favorite among large technology stocks, viewing it as an "incredibly innovative company" and a clear "AI winner," with a "free call option" on its "totally dominant" self-driving car division.

His third pick is a cloud-based cybersecurity Software as a Service (SaaS) company with "fabulous economic characteristics" and stable, predictable cash flows, which he believes is undervalued despite a recent market selloff. Tilson encourages investors to be more open-minded, valuing companies not just on current earnings but on future growth potential.

See: Whitney Tilson - Long This 'Moonshot', Tech Giant, & SaaS Stock

2025 Value Investing Seminar Agenda

2025 Value Investing Seminar Day I: Thursday - July 3, 2025

• Christoph Hilfiker (Liechtenstein)
• Christopher Fitzwilliam-Lay (UK)
• Nicolas Van Broekhoven (Singapore)
• Norman Rentrop (Germany)
• Burak Alici (USA)
• Manuel De Diego Prato (Spain)
• Whitnet Tilson (USA)
• Thomas Goetsch (Italy)
• Piyari Paejunton (Pakistan) - Lena Cassidy (USA)
• Naomi Tang (Hong Kong) – Jaime Perez (Nicaragua)
• Leevi-Eemeli Lotjonen (Finland)

2025 Value Investing Seminar Day II: Friday - July 4, 2025

• Florian Weidinger (Singapore)
• Gianfranco Rosati (Italy)
• Sushant Bansal (India)
• Peter Krah (Germany) – Jane Wang (China)
• Daniel Bols (Netherlands)
• Sunny Han (USA)

The Value Investing Seminar was Europe’s first-ever international value investing conference and has become a key gathering for top investors and capital allocators worldwide.

The event takes place in the beautiful and historic town of Trani, located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea and renowned for its stunning cathedral, exquisite restaurants, and charming beaches. Trani is only 30 minutes from Bari International Airport (BRI).

Attendance is limited to 60 participants to keep the environment friendly and warm.

The full PDF for the  2025 Value Investing Seminar will appear below after the conference is over.

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Subscriber only PDF report of the 2025 Morningstar Investment Conference can be found below.