Investment Education Workshop

Join us for an informative Investment Education Workshop. This workshop is offered by the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of BetterInvesting (BI), a national non-profit that is volunteer-based and member driven. BetterInvesting focuses on learning sound, practical skills and strategies that can enable individuals to become successful long-term investors.

This in-person workshop is a learning opportunity for both new and experienced stock market investors. All classes are provided and taught by Doug Gerlach. For more than 30 years, Doug Gerlach has been helping individual investors make smarter investing decisions. Within BI (BetterInvesting), he has been an investment club member, volunteer, national advisory board member, website and software developer, and now full-time staff member of BI and its ICLUB Central subsidiary. He is the author of six financial books, including Investment Clubs for Dummies and The Armchair Millionaire and serves as editor of three stock newsletters -- the award-winning Investor Advisory Service, the market-beating SmallCap Informer, and the new Dividend Informer. Doug has presented at hundreds of online and in-person events around the world from Berlin to Honolulu, including for many AAII and BI local chapters and their national conferences.

Date: Sat June 27, 2026

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)

Location: Diablo Valley College, 321 Golf Club Rd., Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 - Business and World Languages Building adjacent to Lot 7 (free parking in unmarked spaces) Room: Community Conference Center (BWL CCC)

Info: It's commonly said that there are strong stock buys in any market but finding them is not always easy. Fortunately, Doug has some ideas for individuals and investment clubs taken from the two market-beating newsletters that he edits. First is the Investor Advisory Service which was named for 16 consecutive years to the "Hulbert Investment Newsletter Honor Roll" and which celebrated its 50th year in 2023. Second is the SmallCap Informer celebrating its 14th year in 2026 with a long-term track record outperforming the small-cap stock indexes.

Info: Using the SSG (Stock Selection Guide) and other BI tools, it is possible to determine optimal buy and sell prices. Unfortunately, those prices often don't provide enough justification by themselves to make confident decisions. Stocks can languish in the "maybe" zone. Weak company fundamentals make a stock appear to be too cheap to pass up. Stocks that have seen huge price run-ups may be approaching their sell prices on the SSG but still can be prudently held in a portfolio. With a better understanding of the five different levels of valuation, investors can make better decisions about handling the under-, over-, or hyper-valued stocks in their portfolios.

Info: This will be a survey of startlingly common mistakes made by both experienced and beginner investors when analyzing stocks. See examples of what NOT to do when using the SSG to examine companies for your portfolio.

Info: Get a quick overview of the many resources BetterInvesting offers to its individual and investment club members.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Diablo Valley College, 321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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