Good morning, it's Paul here!

I have limited time available today, due to preparing for the UK Investor Show this coming Saturday. 

I'll be on the main stage for half an hour, from 10:26 to 10:56, chairing a discussion on small caps with Nigel Wray, and Paul Jourdan of Amati (whose main fund has been a stellar performer).

Shortly after that, at 11:05 our own Ed Croft is doing a 35 minute session called "Data mining for stock market profits". I know Ed always puts in a great deal of preparation for his sessions, which are always lively & fascinating. So I'm looking forward to this.

Then from 12:00 to 12:40, it's my time to be interviewed, for a live "bearcast", with Tom Winnifrith. I'm not quite sure why I agreed to do this, and could well end up regretting it! Tom is under strict instructions not to be too obnoxious! Also, it would be nice if he actually lets me answer the questions this year, instead of using it as a platform to harangue me with his own views.

After that ordeal, I will probably be holding court in the Westminster Arms!

I'm looking forward to catching up with SCVR readers on the day - old friends, and hopefully some new ones too.

Then of course, next week, we have the long-awaited return of Mello Derby. The 2014 event was fantastic. This is a slightly smaller, and more exclusive investment show, run by serious investors, for investors, led by renowned small/micro cap investor, David Stredder.

I befriended David at an AGM in 2000, and have since watched him go from success to success, consistently making high portfolio returns. Like a lot of successful investors, he deserves to do well because he just works so hard at it - constantly researching companies, meeting management, etc. 

The community aspect of Mello is outstanding too - you couldn't meet a more friendly & supportive bunch of people. Many of us already know each other from online forums such as this, and Twitter of course. However, newcomers are also welcomed with open arms. So do come along if you can, and say hello to me & Graham.




IG Design (LON:IGR)

Share price: 417p (down 3.3% today, at 11:23)
No. shares: 63.88m
Market cap: £266.4m