Howard Marks: How to Take the Market’s Temperature

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In his memo titled – Taking The Temperature, Howard Marks discusses the importance of “taking the temperature of the market” by observing patterns and cycles driven by investor psychology. Study market history to recognize that extreme optimism or pessimism often leads to corrections. Cycles stem from excesses, where strong movements are … Read More

Howard Marks: When Investors Are Practicing Suspension Of Disbelief, It’s Dangerous

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During this interview with Real Vision, Howard Marks discusses the risks of excessive optimism in financial markets, emphasizing how imprudent behavior drives prices too high based on overly favorable expectations, creating a risky environment. He recounts the distressed debt opportunities in 2002 following the telecom meltdown and scandals, which presented … Read More

Howard Marks: 2 Reasons Exiting the Market Will Cost You Big

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During his recent interview with Bloomberg, Howard Marks discusses the importance of distinguishing between high and overpriced markets, suggesting that valuations should guide whether investors adopt a defensive or aggressive approach. He advises against making drastic decisions, like exiting the market entirely, as it often leads to missed opportunities. Marks … Read More

Howard Marks: Misconceptions of Risk in Investing

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During his recent interview with Barron’s, Howard Marks highlights a key misconception about risk: many attempt to quantify it using formulas, typically relying on volatility or standard deviation as proxies. However, he argues that these metrics fail to reflect the true nature of risk, which is the possibility of an … Read More

Howard Marks: The Secret to Achieving an Elite Investment Track Record

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In this interview with Kiatnakin Phatra Wealth Management, Howard Marks explains why effective risk control is essential to achieving investment success, summarizing his philosophy as “if we avoid the losers, the winners take care of themselves.” Rather than seeking extraordinary gains, Marks focuses on maintaining consistent, good-quality investments, aspiring for … Read More

Howard Marks: Choosing the Right Risk Level in Investing

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In his recent memo titled – Ruminating on Asset Allocation, Howard Marks argues that in an efficient market, the expected return rises proportionally with risk, meaning no position on the risk spectrum is inherently superior—all offer a similar risk-to-return ratio. This view assumes markets price assets fairly, negating the chance … Read More

Howard Marks: The Contrarian’s Edge In A Hot Market

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In his book – The Most Important Thing, Howard Marks reflects on the 2004–2007 period, where investors mistakenly believed that cutting risk into small pieces and distributing it could eliminate risk. This false sense of security contributed to the financial crisis of 2008. Popular strategies like absolute return funds, low-cost … Read More

Howard Marks: The Economic Lessons of Animal Farm

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In his latest memo titled – Shall we Repeal The Laws of Economics?, Howard Marks reflects on his early understanding of economic systems, shaped by George Orwell’s Animal Farm. He highlights the dangers of centrally planned economies, using the book’s motto—”From each according to his ability, to each according to … Read More

Howard Marks: The ‘Sitting On Your Hands’ Investing Strategy

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In his memo titled – What Really Matters, Howard Marks discusses the value of long-term investing over short-term market timing. He encourages investors to focus on holding quality investments rather than frequently trading, arguing that over-diversification and excessive trading often lead to suboptimal outcomes. He highlights Bill Miller’s insight that … Read More

Howard Marks – Top 10 Holdings – Latest 13F

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One of the best resources for investors are the publicly available 13F-HR documents that each fund is required to submit to the SEC. These documents allow investors to track their favorite superinvestors, their fund’s current holdings, plus their new buys and sold out positions. We spend a lot of time … Read More