The Intellectual Investor Conference by Vitaliy Katsenelson

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 3, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Vitaliy Katsenelson (“I,” “me,” or “my”) collects, uses, and shares information when you visit conference.investor.fm (the “Site”), apply to attend The Intellectual Investor Conference, attend the conference in person, contact me, or subscribe to my newsletter.

The Intellectual Investor Conference (formerly known as VALUEx Vail) is an invitation-only, not-for-profit annual gathering of value investors held in Vail, Colorado. The Site and the conference are my personal projects and are separate from my work as an investment adviser at IMA. Nothing on this Site or at the conference constitutes investment advice.

1. Who I am

The Site and the conference are operated by Vitaliy Katsenelson personally.

Contact: Vitaliy Katsenelson Email:

If you are an EU, UK, or Swiss resident and prefer a postal address for privacy correspondence:

Investment Management Associates 5690 DTC Blvd, Suite 140W Greenwood Village, CO 80111-3232 United States

2. Information I collect

2.1 Information you give me directly

  • Conference application: when you apply to attend at /apply/, I collect the information you provide on the application form, which typically includes your name, email address, phone number, firm or organization, professional background, investment experience and approach, what you would like to share about yourself, any presentation idea you wish to propose, and any other details you choose to share about why you would like to attend. I use this information to evaluate your application against the conference’s invitation criteria. Applications are recorded in a Google Sheet (Google LLC) and a corresponding contact record is created in monday.com (monday.com Ltd.), where I review and track applications; your “about yourself” and “presentation idea” responses are stored alongside that contact record. The transfer of application data between the form, the spreadsheet, and monday.com is automated using Make.com.
  • Contact form: your name, email address, and the content of your message when you submit the form at /get-in-touch/. The form is protected by Google reCAPTCHA (see Section 2.2).
  • Newsletter subscription: your email address, and optionally your name, when you sign up for conference updates. Subscriptions are managed in Mailchimp (Intuit Inc.). Subscribers also receive my weekly reflections on investing, life, and classical music — this is the same newsletter offered on investor.fm, imausa.com, soulinthegame.net, and myfavoriteclassical.com. If you are already subscribed elsewhere, you will not receive duplicates.
  • Information you share if you attend: if your application is accepted and you attend the conference, I may collect additional information necessary to host you, including dietary restrictions, accessibility needs, accommodation preferences, and emergency contact information.
  • Correspondence: if you email me or message me on social media, I receive whatever information you choose to share.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, I and my service providers may automatically collect:

  • Device and browser data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, screen size, referring URL, language preference.
  • Usage data: pages visited, time on page, clicks, scroll depth, downloads, dates and times of access. This is collected primarily through Google Analytics (Google LLC).
  • Bot-detection data: Google reCAPTCHA (Google LLC) is used on the application and contact forms to detect and prevent automated abuse. reCAPTCHA collects information about your interaction with the Site, including hardware and software information, and sends it to Google. For more information, see Google’s Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
  • Approximate location: to determine whether to display the cookie consent banner to you, my consent management tool checks the country associated with your IP address. This check happens on my own server using information already present in the request, and your IP address is not stored for this purpose.
  • Cookies and similar technologies: see Section 6 below.

I do not use the Meta Pixel or any other advertising or behavioral-targeting tracker on this Site.

2.3 Information from third parties

  • Mailchimp engagement data: Mailchimp tells me whether and when newsletter emails are delivered, opened, and clicked, and whether they bounce or are marked as spam.
  • Social media: if you engage with my content on Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, or YouTube, those platforms may share information with me in accordance with their own settings and policies.

2.4 Photographs and recordings at the conference

If you attend the conference, photographs and (occasionally) video and audio recordings may be taken throughout the event for the purposes of documenting the conference, promoting future conferences, and sharing on the Site (including on the /photos/ page), in newsletter communications, and on social media. Photographs of attendees engaged in conference activities — sessions, meals, hikes, group photos — may be published. Section 10 explains how you can opt out.

2.5 Information about presenters

If you present at the conference, your name, firm, presentation title, and the content of your presentation (slides, recordings if made, and a summary) may be published on the Site (including on the /presentations/ page) and shared in newsletter communications. By accepting an invitation to present, you consent to this publication unless we agree otherwise in writing.

3. How I use your information

I use the information described above to:

  • Review applications and decide whom to invite to the conference.
  • Communicate with applicants, accepted attendees, and presenters about the conference.
  • Arrange accommodations, dietary needs, and other logistics for attendees.
  • Send you the newsletter and other communications you have requested.
  • Document the conference through photos, recordings, and written summaries.
  • Promote future conferences and share content from past conferences.
  • Operate, maintain, and improve the Site.
  • Detect and prevent spam, abuse, and security incidents.
  • Comply with legal obligations.

Application review is conducted by me personally; I do not use automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

I do not sell your personal information. I do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

4. Legal bases (for visitors in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland)

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, I rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR / UK GDPR:

  • Consent, for newsletter subscriptions and for non-essential cookies, including Google Analytics. If you visit the Site from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or Serbia, I obtain this consent through a cookie consent banner displayed on your first visit. Non-essential cookies are not set on your browser until you make a choice in the banner.
  • Performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures, where I am processing your application or arranging your attendance in response to a request you have made.
  • Legitimate interests, for evaluating applications, operating and securing the Site, documenting and promoting the conference, and similar core purposes. I have assessed that these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
  • Legal obligation, where I am required to retain certain records.

You can withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal. To withdraw cookie consent or change your choices, use the “Manage Cookie Preferences” link in the Site footer.

For transfers of personal information from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to the United States, I rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum where applicable), and on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and its UK and Swiss extensions where my service providers are certified.

5. How I share information

I share information only as described below. I do not rent or sell personal information.

Service providers that operate the Site and the conference on my behalf, including:

  • Mailchimp (Intuit Inc.) — newsletter delivery and email engagement analytics
  • Google Analytics (Google LLC) — Site analytics
  • Google reCAPTCHA (Google LLC) — bot detection on forms
  • Google Sheets (Google LLC) — conference application records
  • monday.com (monday.com Ltd.) — conference application review and contact management
  • Make.com — automated transfer of application data between the application form, the spreadsheet, and monday.com
  • WordPress hosting and infrastructure providers
  • Venue, hotel, and catering providers in Vail, Colorado, for attendees — limited to what is needed to host you (name, dietary needs, accommodation requirements)

Each of these providers is permitted to use the data only to deliver services to me.

Other attendees: the conference is small (capped at 40 attendees) and built around face-to-face interaction. By accepting an invitation to attend, you should expect that other attendees will see your name, firm, and the contributions you make to discussions. I may share an attendee list (typically including name and firm only) with other attendees before or at the conference to facilitate introductions. If you would prefer not to be included on the shared list, tell me before the conference.

Public publication: photos, presentations, and summaries may be published as described in Sections 2.4 and 2.5.

Legal and safety: I may disclose information when I believe in good faith that disclosure is required to comply with a legal obligation, lawful request from authorities, court order, or to protect my rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

6. Cookies and tracking technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies, including:

  • Strictly necessary cookies that enable core functionality (e.g., recording your cookie consent choices, protecting forms from spam).
  • Analytics cookies set by Google Analytics to help me understand how visitors use the Site in aggregate.
  • Functionality cookies set by Google reCAPTCHA and any embedded third-party content. These third parties set their own cookies that I do not control.

How I ask for your consent and how you can change it

If you visit the Site from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or Serbia, I display a cookie consent banner on your first visit asking for your permission to set non-essential cookies. Your location is determined automatically based on your IP address. Non-essential cookies are not loaded until you make a choice in the banner. Strictly necessary cookies are always set.

If you visit the Site from anywhere else, including all locations in the United States, the banner is not displayed and non-essential cookies may be set when you visit the Site, in accordance with applicable law. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the “Manage Cookie Preferences” link in the Site footer. The link is available to all visitors regardless of location, and any choice you make there is honored in the same way as a choice made in the banner.

If you are traveling or using a VPN, the banner’s behavior follows your detected location rather than your residence. You can always exercise the rights described in Section 11 regardless of where you are when you visit the Site.

Global Privacy Control

I honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal as an opt-out under California law and similar US state laws. I do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising in any case, but I honor GPC as an additional opt-out from non-essential analytics. When GPC is detected, non-essential cookies are not set and no banner is shown, because your preference is already clear.

7. Email newsletter and communications

If you subscribe to the newsletter, I will send you conference updates and my weekly reflections on investing, life, and classical music via Mailchimp. This is the same newsletter offered on my other websites; if you are already subscribed there, you will not receive duplicates.

Every email contains an unsubscribe link. You can also unsubscribe at any time by emailing me at . After you unsubscribe I keep a suppression record so I do not accidentally re-subscribe you.

8. Application process

I review applications personally to decide whom to invite. The criteria are subjective and centered on fit with the community of value investors the conference is built around. I do not use automated decision-making.

If your application is accepted, I will contact you with an invitation and further details. If your application is not accepted, I may keep your information to consider you for a future year unless you ask me to delete it.

9. Data retention

I keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes described above:

  • Accepted attendees: for as long as you remain an active part of the conference community, plus a reasonable period afterward to retain attendance records and event documentation.
  • Rejected or withdrawn applicants: typically retained for up to 2 years to consider you for a future year, unless you ask me to delete it sooner.
  • Newsletter subscribers: for as long as you remain subscribed, plus a suppression record after you unsubscribe.
  • Contact-form submissions: typically for up to 3 years after our last interaction, unless a longer period is required by law.
  • Photographs and presentations published on the Site or in newsletters: retained indefinitely as part of the historical record of the conference, unless you request removal as described in Section 10.
  • Google Analytics data: retained for 14 months in identifiable form.

Application records are held both in a Google Sheet and in monday.com. The retention periods above apply to both, and a deletion request is actioned in both systems.

10. Event photos, presentations, and your right to opt out

The conference is documented through photographs and (occasionally) video and audio recordings. Group and candid photos of attendees engaged in conference activities are published on the Site, in newsletters, and on social media to promote the conference and document the community.

Before or at the conference: if you do not wish to be photographed or recorded, tell me before or at the event. I will do my best to keep you out of frame and will not knowingly publish images in which you are identifiable. (A small event makes this practical; please understand that incidental background appearances cannot always be avoided.)

After publication: if a published photograph identifies you and you would like it removed, email me at and I will remove it from materials under my control within a reasonable time. I cannot guarantee removal from third-party copies (such as photos other attendees may have taken and shared) and I cannot retroactively recall newsletter emails that have already been sent.

Presenters: if you presented and would like your presentation removed or redacted, email me at .

11. Your choices and rights

General rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights:

  • Access the personal information I hold about you.
  • Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Delete your personal information.
  • Restrict or object to certain processing, including direct marketing.
  • Data portability, for information you have provided to me.
  • Withdraw consent at any time.
  • Lodge a complaint with a data protection authority. In the EEA, that is your local supervisory authority; in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO); in Serbia, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection.

To exercise any of these rights, email me at . I may need to verify your identity before responding. I will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law (typically 30 days under GDPR/UK GDPR, 45 days under CCPA, extendable where permitted). You may authorize an agent to make a request on your behalf.

California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

In addition to the rights listed above, California residents have the right to:

  • Know the categories and specific pieces of personal information I collect, the sources, the business purposes, and the categories of third parties with whom I share it.
  • Opt out of “sale” and “sharing” of personal information. I do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising on this Site, so no opt-out is required. I honor Global Privacy Control as described in Section 6, and you can turn off non-essential analytics cookies at any time using the “Manage Cookie Preferences” link in the Site footer.
  • Limit the use of sensitive personal information. I do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that require an opt-out right.
  • Non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

EEA, UK, and Swiss residents

You have the additional right to withdraw consent for any processing based on consent, and the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling for direct marketing.

12. International transfers

I am based in the United States, and the conference is held in the United States. If you access the Site or apply from outside the United States — including from the EEA, UK, Switzerland, Serbia, or California — your information will be transferred to, processed in, and stored in the United States and other countries where my service providers operate. For transfers from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, I rely on EU Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (and its UK and Swiss extensions) where applicable.

13. Security

I use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access. No internet transmission or electronic storage is ever fully secure, however, so I cannot guarantee absolute security.

14. Children’s privacy

The Site and the conference are intended for adult professional investors. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided me with personal information, please contact me and I will delete it.

15. Third-party links and content

The Site links to and embeds content from external sites, including investor.fm, imausa.com, valuexvail.com (legacy domain for past conference materials), Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others. I am not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Please review their policies separately.

16. Educational content disclaimer

Content on the Site and presented at the conference is for educational and informational purposes only. Presentations reflect the views of the individual presenters and not necessarily mine. Nothing on the Site or at the conference constitutes investment advice, an offer to buy or sell securities, or a recommendation of any security or strategy. All investment decisions are made at your own risk. Copyrighted materials remain the property of their original owners.

17. Changes to this policy

I may update this policy from time to time. When I do, I will revise the “Last updated” date above. If changes are material, I will provide a more prominent notice — for example, by email to newsletter subscribers or a banner on the Site.

18. How to contact me

Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy or my handling of your personal information:

Vitaliy Katsenelson Email: