The University of Virginia Investing Conference (UVIC)

For me, the Investing Conference is the top event at Darden. Period.

Granted, I’m a finance nerd but the quality of the speakers in this event and the insights that they share with us are invaluable.

The topics covered in its latest edition ranged from cyclical economic crises throughout history (presented by a Pulitzer Prize recipient, no less) to the challenges of investing in the current environment and the outlook for the future presented by top hedge fund managers and financial analysts.

Each speaker was amazing in his/her own way. To mention a few, George Tenet, former CIA Director, has an imposing presence and an impressive knowledge of every geographic region in the world; Kyle Bass was candid and even entertaining while presenting a very gloomy economic outlook and Paul Singer presented like the finance guru that he is, dropping pearls of wisdom.

Although most of the speakers foresee a challenging environment, I left the conference hopeful about the future. It may be naïve, but for me the greatest take-away was that the world won’t come to an end, that the economy is resilient and it will eventually start growing again, and that the following years are going to be hard but there will still be new opportunities ahead.

Like all great events, the UVIC presented cutting edge ideas and out-of-the-box world views but most importantly it also planted seeds in our minds to keep thinking about relevant issues to produce our own, well-informed opinions.