In his book Mastering the Market Cycle, Howard Marks dedicates an entire chapter to Cycle Positioning. He explains, “Successfully positioning a portfolio for the market movements that lie ahead is dependent on what you do (turning aggressive or defensive) and when you do it (based on a superior understanding of what cycles … Read More
Howard Marks Trims the Fat: Top 5 Biggest Stock Reductions
Each week, we unpack the latest high-conviction trades from legendary investors — revealing what they’re doubling down on, cutting loose, or quietly walking away from. In the most recent quarter, Howard Marks significantly reduced several positions in his public equity portfolio. These reductions may reflect a reassessment of risk, valuation, … Read More
Howard Marks: You Must Deviate from the Herd AND Be More Correct
In a recent conversation with India’s CFA Society, Howard Marks, the Oaktree Capital co-founder explained why successful investing requires equal parts discipline, patience, and the willingness to stand apart. Marks, whose memos have become required reading for investors worldwide, began with a reminder of how extremes distort judgment. “In investor … Read More
Howard Marks Warns: You Can’t Repeal the Laws of Economics
In his latest memo, More on Repealing the Laws of Economics, Howard Marks doubles down on a warning he first issued last year: government efforts to override basic economic principles are not only misguided, but dangerous. “The best known is the law of supply and demand,” he writes. “These and … Read More
Howard Marks: How To Become An Above Average Investor
In a recent interview with The Motley Fool, Howard Marks reflects on decades of investing. He returns to a simple yet powerful idea: “Good company, bad balance sheet.” That’s the kind of setup his firm, Oaktree, looks for — situations where strong businesses are dragged down by too much debt. … Read More
Howard Marks: The Essence of Investing Is Risk for Profit
During his recent panel discussion at the 2025 Qatar Economic Forum on Bloomberg Live, Howard Marks said: “The essence of investing is appropriately bearing risk for profit.” In this conversation he laid bare how risk, uncertainty, and judgment shape the core of long-term investing. Marks emphasized the importance of understanding … Read More
Howard Marks on 30 Years of Oaktree: “Always Good, Sometimes Great, Never Terrible”
When Howard Marks reflects on 30 years of building Oaktree, it’s clear the firm’s success was never about chasing home runs—it was about doing things right. “We merely thought that we’ve done a good job for clients to date. If we can keep doing a good job, we’ll have a … Read More
Howard Marks on Luck, Integrity, and Being Unemotional
Listening to Howard Marks talk about his journey, you quickly realize he isn’t just sharing a career story — he’s explaining how to survive and thrive in investing and in life. One of the biggest lessons he repeats is simple but powerful: investing is a mental game. “Investment management is … Read More
Howard Marks: FOMO vs. Fundamentals
Howard Marks has this gift for cutting through the noise. At Global Alts Miami 2025, he didn’t come with a market prediction or some flashy hot take on tech. In fact, when asked about Nvidia’s big 16% drop thanks to a new Chinese chatbot, he shrugged and said, “I don’t … Read More
Howard Marks: “Excessive Certainty Is The Enemy”
Howard Marks is the kind of investor who challenges the way you think. In this interview, he shares insight after insight, all with the steady, grounded perspective that only comes from decades of navigating real markets. What really stands out is his consistent focus on risk. “The challenge, the real … Read More
Howard Marks: Why Do Investors Repeatedly Make The Same Mistakes?
Howard Marks has long warned of the dangers of short memories in finance. In his memo Hindsight First, Please (or, What Were They Thinking?), he underscores how easily investors repeat mistakes by ignoring history. As Marks puts it, quoting John Kenneth Galbraith, “the extreme brevity of the financial memory” is … Read More
Howard Marks on Tariffs, Market Risks & Opportunities
Howard Marks has navigated market cycles for decades, but his recent Bloomberg interview revealed even he finds today’s environment extraordinary. “This is the biggest change in the environment that I’ve seen probably in my career,” he says. The rapid shift from globalization to trade wars and tariffs has created unprecedented … Read More
Howard Marks: How Investing Psychology Creates Market Bargains
Howard Marks makes a pretty simple but powerful point in The Most Important Thing: bargains don’t come from things everyone loves. They come from things people are scared of, don’t understand, or just ignore. As he puts it, “the necessary condition for the existence of bargains is that perception has … Read More
Howard Marks: Why Successful Investors Are Often Lonely
Let’s be honest—most people are terrible at investing. They follow the crowd, buy what’s already popular, and wonder why they never make real money. Howard Marks nailed it in his memo Everyone Knows when he said, “Superior investors know—and buy—when the price of something is lower than it should be.” … Read More
Howard Marks: How to Overcome Fear and Greed in Investing
As someone who’s been investing for many years, I’ve realised that investing is a psychological battlefield, where the hardest decisions are rarely about numbers and valuations—they’re about emotions. Howard Marks captures this dilemma perfectly in The Most Important Thing, where he reflects on the tech bubble and the 2008 financial … Read More
Howard Marks: The Art of Holding
If you’re like me, one of the things I often struggle with is the question of when to sell. The instinct to lock in gains when something is up, or to cut losses when something is down, feels natural. But as Howard Marks recently explained on The Money Maze Podcast, … Read More
Howard Marks: Why History Always Rhymes In Markets
Howard Marks is one of the most insightful voices in investing. He recently spoke at Moneycontrol GWS 2025, discussing market behavior, cycles, and investor psychology. His reflections are a reminder that while the specifics of history change, human behavior remains remarkably predictable. As he quoted Mark Twain, “Well, of course, … Read More
Howard Marks: Why Credit is a Better Bet Than Stocks Right Now
Many investors love to argue over where the best returns will come from—stocks or bonds? Historically, equities have been the go-to for long-term growth, but right now, credit offers a compelling case that’s hard to ignore. In his recent memo, Gimme Credit, Howard Marks makes a strong argument that, at … Read More
Uncomfortably Idiosyncratic: Howard Marks on Smart Investing
In the latest episode of Behind the Memo, legendary investor Howard Marks shared his wisdom on navigating market cycles, particularly during speculative bubbles. His insights serve as a crucial reminder for investors: true success comes from independent thinking and resisting the herd mentality. One of Marks’ most striking points is … Read More
Howard Marks: Why Risk Is Perverse
Risk is often misunderstood, not because it is complicated, but because it defies intuition. As Howard Marks explains in his discussion on the character of risk, “risk is counterintuitive” and “risk is perverse.” The way we perceive risk can often be the exact opposite of reality, leading investors, policymakers, and … Read More