A
Gold Conference Organizer's View On
The Appeal Of Gold Stocks Now
By Sandy Lawrence, President
International Investment Conferences, Inc.
With
volatile equity markets, a reduction in hedge programs by gold
mining companies and changes in the supply side of gold due to
falling new gold production, conditions are again bullish for
bullion prices. I've been in the gold markets since 1987 and
I think we have a unique situation where the critical drivers
for gold are all pointing in the same direction toward
higher gold prices. The recent severe decline in world gold
mine production will mean prices must be significantly higher
before a new crop of mines will be coming into production.
IIC's history began
in 1988 with the first U.S. Gold Show at the Waldorf Astoria
in New York. Opening day was covered by NBC News and broadcast
across the country, bringing more than 400 investors out on a
cold, rainy January day to see what all the fuss was about.
The "fuss" was a $500 gold price, which has not been
seen since, and a handful of companies that set out to explain
to investors why they should consider investing in their company.
As a conference organizer
for the precious metals industry, recent attendance figures remind
me of the early stages of gold's last bull market, which began
in 1992. During the period of 1992-1995, although the gold price
did not reach the earlier highs of $500 per ounce, gold stocks
tripled in value, offering a 3 to 1 leverage over the gold price.
We are able to compare
attendance at our recent Conferences favorably to attendance
in early 1992, when, as now, public interest in the gold sector
jumped, and during which the greatest appreciation on stocks
followed over the next few years.
This year, for example,
exhibit booths for the metals companies are filled for Las Vegas
and New York programs and 95% filled for the November 2003 event
in San Francisco.
In the good old days, of course, our booths were sold out years
in advance. I think we're getting to the point where we again
are seeing burgeoning interest in precious metals and in the
"telling of the precious metals story" by the industry.
The largest audience
we hosted of 6,000 investors was just before the peak of the
gold price, when the price of the metal was approaching US$420
in late 1995. I remember investors lined up around the hotel
at 6 a.m. waiting for the doors to open. Not surprisingly, this
was the peak, and not long after, the implosion of Bre-X Minerals
damaged investors' faith in the sector. Still, those investors
that came in during the early stages of the bull market
back in 1992 benefited the most.
Now that our company
has more than 100 Conferences under its belt, many of the same
metal companies are still exhibiting at all of the programs,
fifteen years later. They are continuing to educate investors
and over time have provided good investment returns to those
investors. To date, more than 100,000 investors have attended
IIC Conferences in New York, Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco,
Miami, London, Sydney, Vancouver and Cape Town. Delegates from
75 countries and heads of state from some of the largest mineral
producing countries in the world have participated, and these
annual Conferences are recognized worldwide as being among the
top mining events in the world.
Gold mining companies
that increase their exposure by participating in these Conferences
develop a broader shareholder base of U.S. and international
investors. As the U.S. forms the largest base of the world's
investable funds (40%), IIC Conferences are essential to any
company that desires to build a shareholder base with breadth
and depth, minimizing volatility and risk to the individual investor.
Shareholders expect the companies they invest in to have an
international investor relations program, strong visibility among
a wide range of both institutional and retail investors, and
a strong communication program. IIC Conferences provides this
to metals companies, while also protecting the investor and providing
the most efficient means to raise capital for new projects.
The counter cyclical
nature of gold stocks in relation to the S&P Index, makes
gold stocks an excellent asset class for a diversified portfolio.
Gold investors are not just gold bugs any longer. These are
well-informed professionals who recognize attractive market fundamentals
by accessing the most current financial minds and investment
ideas to achieve an edge in today's sophisticated markets.
The history of IIC
Gold Conferences, the company I run, is closely integrated with
our ongoing commitment to lower the cost of capital in the development
of natural resources. This goal, essential for a healthy industry
and profitable investment environment, also provides opportunities
for the sophisticated investor to build wealth, preserve financial
security and assist in the modernization of technologies and
infrastructure where they are most needed in the world.
Our philosophy of lowering
the cost of capital for the development of natural resources
led to the creation of an extremely broad and diverse client
base. Our simultaneous focus is to provide value to all streams
of the gold community: 1) to the country that sources the gold
and permits development of the mineral in a sustainable way to
benefit the local community and the nation, 2) to the gold mining
companies that operate with integrity and responsibility to provide
the best opportunity for the investor and 3) as important, to
the investor, who through selectivity and education will fund
the projects with the greatest possibility of success, and thus
benefit from investment into this sector. The Gold Conferences
are the perfect vehicle to channel this philosophy. Investors
who return year after year, and attend multiple programs each
year, have their own success stories. The greater their knowledge
of the gold companies and management, the greater their financial
successes.
Market timing is very
challenging with war concerns and a depressed economy at home.
We bring together some of the best minds in the financial markets
to share their views with professional and individual investors.
Our next Conference will be The Las Vegas Precious Metals Conference,
April 26 and 27th. More than 60 speakers will give their views
on why the timing is right, right now. With Gold Conference
attendance again on the rise but not yet at the peak, our view
of the changing market signals a very strong "BUY",
and an invitation to one and all to come see what the "fuss"
is all about today.
Editor's Note: Sandy
Lawrence is President of International Investment Conferences,
Inc., 6310 Sunset Dr., Miami, FL 33143, sponsors of the largest
natural resource investment conference in the world. The
Bull & Bear Financial Report invites readers and their guests
to attend free of charge the Las Vegas Precious
Metals Conference, April 26-27, 2003 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel
in Las Vegas. Register online at www.iiconf.com or call 1-800-282-7469.
