Howard Marks

Oaktree Capital

Last Update: 2013-05-16

Number of Stocks: 88
Number of New Stocks: 7

Total Value: $4,912 Mil
Q/Q Turnover: 5%

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Howard Marks's Profile & Performance

Profile

Chairman of Oaktree Capital. Since the formation of Oaktree in 1995, Mr. Marks has been responsible for ensuring the firm's adherence to its core investment philosophy, communicating closely with clients concerning products and strategies, and managing the firm.

Web Page:http://www.oaktreecapital.com/

Investing Philosophy

Oaktree Capital is involved in less efficient markets and alternative investments. The firm invests heavily in debt, preferred stocks, and convertible bonds.

Total Holding History

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Top Ranked Articles

Howard Marks of Oaktree – What's Behind the Downturn

September 9, 2011

Re: What’s Behind the Downturn? In May, I observed in “How Quickly They Forget” that investors had returned to pro-risk behavior despite the lingering presence of significant macro worries. And then just three months later, a number of exogenous events caused the markets to undergo a significant decline and one of the greatest paroxysms of volatility ever seen. All of the reasons existed well before. Investors simply hadn’t taken them to heart. Read more...

The Problem with the Deficit? It’s Not Big Enough

October 5, 2011

Numerous quotes, commentaries, presentations, and letters by some great investors, such as Whitney Tilson, Howard Marks, and Arnold van den Berg, discuss the deficit, national debt, and the “unfunded entitlement” problems that are supposedly facing our economy. These great investors, who have been successful in analyzing businesses and corporate financial statements, make the mistake of applying their same reasoning directly to the U.S. Federal Government. This type of analysis leads to many errors because of one, crucial, overlooked detail: The finances of the Federal government in no way resemble that of a corporation. It’s like comparing apples to giraffes. Any comparison is illogical, impossible, and nonsensical. Read more...

12 Takeaways from Howard Marks’ Recent Memo: It’s All a Big Mistake

June 21, 2012

Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks is one of the clearest thinkers on Wall Street. He has excoriated the Efficient market Theory in his regular memos, and has stressed the importance of second level thinking in his memos and book, “The Most Important Thing.” Marks typically releases about a half dozen missives per year, in addition to the firm’s investor letters. On June 20, his most recent memo came out, entitled “It’s All a Big Mistake.” You can get Marks’ memos going back to 1991 on Oaktree’s website. I encourage you to do so. They will make you a better investor. Read more...

What is Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Worried About?

January 25, 2010

(GuruFocus, January 25, 2010) Oaktree Capital Management Howard Marks recently published a letter to his investors, entitled “Tell me I’m Wrong”. In the letter, Marks treated a subject he usually avoids: the future of the US economy, and in particular, he focused on the negative elements and reminded the reader once again that he is a worrier. Here are the things that worry him: Read more...

» More Howard Marks Articles

Commentaries and Stories

Currently 4.75/5

Rating: 4.8/5 (4 votes)

Howard Marks Gains 133% on Eagle Sell, Four Reduced in First Quarter

May 22, 2013

Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks, the genius memo writer preferred by other billionaire Gurus and Wall Street investors, sold only one holding as of quarter ending March 31, 2013. Investor Guru Marks made a gain of 133% on his sell out of the shipping company Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (EGLE). He also reduced four other positions, making solid gains there as well. Here are the details of his first quarter 2013 sells: More...

SHIPPING & PORTS, PAY TV, AUTO PARTS, SPECIALTY FINANCE, AUTO MANUFACTURERS

Currently 2.00/5

Rating: 2.0/5 (3 votes)

Oaktree's Howard Marks Weighs In on the Attractiveness of Equities Versus Bonds

May 13, 2013

Howard Marks agrees with Buffett that bonds are a terrible investment. What he is willing to say is that high-yield bonds are a lot less vulnerable to rising interest rates. More...

Currently 4.61/5

Rating: 4.6/5 (18 votes)

Book Review: The Most Important Thing

May 8, 2013

If Warren Buffett, Christopher Davis, Joel Greenblatt and Seth Klarman recommend a book, it might—just might—be worth reading. It certainly got my attention. Warren Buffett calls Howard Marks’ The Most Important Thing “that rarity, a useful book.” And as a researcher with a library of a couple hundred books myself, I couldn’t agree more. More...

Currently 3.67/5

Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes)

Liberty Media Buys Chunk of Charter, Oaktree Sheds

May 7, 2013

Guru Howard Marks, Chairman of Oaktree Capital, reduced his Charter Communications (CHTR) position as Liberty Media Corporation (LMCA) bought a 23.7% stake of the company at $95.50 per share. With investment funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, Apollo Management and Crestview Partners, Liberty Media acquired 26.9 million shares and 1.1 million warrants in Charter Communications Inc. for $2.6 billion, representing a 27.3% ownership in Charter, according to the Denver Business Journal. Liberty Media used $1.2 billion cash and $1.4 billion in margin loans for the purchase, the company said. More...

PAY TV, MEDIA

Currently 3.10/5

Rating: 3.1/5 (10 votes)

Howard Marks and the Temperature of the Stock Market

April 30, 2013

I’m a little frustrated at the moment as it is proving difficult to identify attractively priced businesses to invest in. My portfolio remains 100% in cash given the recent all-time highs reached in US equity markets, with the S&P 500 up nearly 11% for the year-to-date, and general exuberance in European equity markets – the Eurostoxx 600 is up about 5% year-to-date, which is also its highest level in nearly five years. So the contrarian in me is saying that now may not be the best time to invest in stocks, and my stock-screening and research to date appears to be confirming this also. More...

STOCK MARKET VALUATION

Currently 5.00/5

Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes)

Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference - Howard Marks

April 30, 2013

David Faber and Howard Marks sit down for a discussion at the Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference. More...

Currently 4.67/5

Rating: 4.7/5 (15 votes)

Howard Marks - Great Investors Are Characterized by Exceptionally Low Levels of Loss

April 12, 2013

Howard Marks thinks that the great accomplishment in investing is not making a lot of money, but it is making money with less than commensurate risk. More...

Currently 2.67/5

Rating: 2.7/5 (3 votes)

Cumulus Media Reports CFO Buy

April 3, 2013

The CFO of Cumulus Media (CMLS) made a significant insider buy last week. This buy comes after a press release reporting the hiring of a new Senior Vice President of National Sales as well as the contract extension of several favorite radio personalities nationwide. Senior Vice President, Treasurer and CFO Joseph P. Hannan bought 25,000 shares at a price of $3.30. His total transaction amount was $82,500. The CFO now holds 70,943 shares of company stock. More...

Currently 4.00/5

Rating: 4.0/5 (5 votes)

Oaktree's Howard Marks on Why Solving Europe's Problems Is So Difficult

April 1, 2013

Howard Marks thinks that a core problem in Europe that is going to make solving the crisis very difficult is that there is no mechanism in place to facilitate a solution. More...

Currently 3.63/5

Rating: 3.6/5 (16 votes)

The Case for Cash

March 19, 2013

Being long cash is something few investors can champion, yet the very best do just that. Both Seth Klarman and Warren Buffett are known to carry large piles of cash relative to their investment portfolio. Surely both like to invest their money and Buffett himself acknowledges he’d rather put the cash to use, but if investable assets are not priced attractively then as these two investors will argue, it is best to sit patiently. More...

Currently 4.00/5

Rating: 4.0/5 (2 votes)

Memo from Oaktree's Howard Marks - High Yield Bonds Today

February 22, 2013

Howard Marks of Oaktree released a new memo for his clients today on the state of the high yield bond market. More...

Currently 0.00/5

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

Howard Marks Likes Real Estate, Recovery in 'Early Days' (Video)

February 20, 2013

Howard Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital Group LLC, talks about credit markets and his investment strategy. He speaks with Erik Schatzker and Sara Eisen on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers." More...

Currently 0.00/5

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

Oaktree's Howard Marks Thinks the Recovery Is in The Early Days and He Likes Real Estate

February 19, 2013

Value investing legend Howard Marks oversees a cool $77 billion at Oaktree Capital. He thinks that investors are now hard up for yield and are taking on a lot more risk to get the returns that they previously did by owning secure investments. Marks thinks today is a time for caution, but he does see opportunities. He does not think we are in a bubble environment where we have to be worried about a crash in asset prices. More...

Currently 4.00/5

Rating: 4.0/5 (8 votes)

Howard Marks Latest Memo to Investors - Titled "Ditto"

January 9, 2013

Oaktree's Howard Marks is out with his latest letter/memo to investors. More...

Currently 3.25/5

Rating: 3.3/5 (8 votes)

Howard Marks’ Purchase of Dial Global, a Bust

January 4, 2013

Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks certainly took on a significant risk when he welcomed Dial Global (DIAL) to the fund’s portfolio in the third quarter of 2012. More...

Currently 3.33/5

Rating: 3.3/5 (15 votes)

50 Minute Interview with Oaktree's Howard Marks

December 2, 2012

I had seen bits of this interview, but certainly not the entire thing. Fifty minutes with Howard Marks -- what a Sunday treat! More...

Currently 3.83/5

Rating: 3.8/5 (12 votes)

GMO's James Montier - The 13th Labour of Hercules: Capital Preservation in the Age of Financial Repression

November 29, 2012

White Paper: For those of you whose Greek mythology might be a little rusty, Hercules was a demi-god, the result of one of Zeus's dalliances with mortal women. Hera, Zeus's divine wife, was not best pleased by her husband's lack of faithfulness, and thus decided to punish Hercules.1 She drugged him, and in his drug-induced state Hercules killed his wife and two children. When he recovered his senses, Hercules was, of course, full of remorse and begged for redemption. In order to earn forgiveness, he was set 10 "impossible tasks." On two of those tasks he got aid from family and friends, and thus was given two extra tasks. Had Hercules been around today, Hera may well have set him about the task of preserving capital in an age of financial repression. More...

Currently 3.14/5

Rating: 3.1/5 (7 votes)

Solid as an Oak - The Investment Case for Howard Marks' Oaktree (From Broyhill)

November 28, 2012

Solid As An OAK More...

Currently 3.40/5

Rating: 3.4/5 (5 votes)

Howard Marks Latest - A Fresh Start Hopefully

November 20, 2012

The latest quarterly memo from Howard Marks of Oaktree is out. More...

Currently 3.33/5

Rating: 3.3/5 (6 votes)

Billionaire Investor Howard Marks Buys Dynegy Inc. After Its Emergence from Bankruptcy

November 13, 2012

Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks has reported to adding energy stock, Dynegy Inc. (DYN) to its portfolio as of Nov. 2, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks, about a month after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. More...