High-powered investors and industry experts in the latest green growth industry will gather at a conference in Denver, Colorado next month to discuss IPOs, revenue generation, hedge funds, the challenges of government regulation… and marijuana.
The Marijuana Investor Summit 2015, to be held April 20-22, comes amid growing investor interest in a homegrown industry that until now has been associated more with street corners and surfer culture than the Crowne Plaza and stock listings.
A study in October last year by GreenWave Advisors, which analyzes the marijuana industry, concluded that US marijuana sales could reach $35 bn a year if all 50 states legalize the plant. The study also predicted that US federal law will change to fully permit marijuana sales, adding that the medical and adult-use marijuana industries would merge to create large players in the sector.
The Colorado gathering, which will draw investors, analysts and fund managers including Poseidon Asset Management, GreenWave’s hedge fund analyst Matt Karnes, 1845 Capital Management and New Frontier Financials as well as publicly traded companies such as Surna, American Cannabis Company, Terra Tech and Heliospectra, offers further indication that the marijuana industry has evolved far beyond the college dorm dealer or dodgy street sales.
‘With a preconference boot camp, full trade show, and star-studded speaker lineup, this is a premier event for cannabis investors, business owners and fund managers to attend and take advantage of the many networking and learning opportunities,’ notes the Cannabis Financial Network (CannabisFN), which says it is the world’s largest financial network dedicated to the cannabis and medical marijuana industries.
Investor boot camp sessions will focus on ‘navigating the complex legal cannabis investment landscape with ease’ and will feature discussions on ‘the difference between [physically dealing with the plant] and ancillary businesses as well as risk management and structuring deals,’ CannabisFN says in a press release.
