Ian Cassel is the CIO at Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management ("IFCM").  IFCM invests in the smallest public companies in the world. They focus on businesses that are run by management teams who are capable of growing those businesses while benefiting stakeholders. Ian also founded MicroCapClub.

 

In this episode Ian discusses how he became a microcap investor. One of his first successes was XM Satellite Radio. He discovered the company when it was a microcap trading for $2/sh and didn't have any contracts with car manufacturers yet. Ian saw they were presenting at a conference in NY, got in a car, and met with the CEO. After that meeting Ian became obsessed with turning into a full time private investor.

 

Ian stresses the importance of doing deep due diligence, remaining rational, and keeping personal expenses "variable." He invests in a concentrated manner (only a few stocks at a time), which is very Buffett like. Unlike Buffett, however, Ian discusses the importance of remaining open to selling winners. This is because Ian is "fishing in a pond" of smaller companies and execution risk must always be monitored.

 

Ian is a refreshing voice in the investment community and we are happy to have him join the show!

 

Note: We reference Connor Haley's presentation in this discussion. That presentation can be found here