The Memo by Howard Marks

In this episode of Behind the Memo, Howard Marks is joined by two special guests: Oaktree cofounder Bruce Karsh and the chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss Howard’s recent memo "The Indispensability of Risk" as well as the inspiration for that memo: Maurice’s Wall Street Journal article, "Chess Teaches the Power of Sacrifice." They consider the many parallels between chess and investing, including the lesson that not taking enough risk may be one of the riskiest strategies of all.

You can read the memo here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/memos/the-indispensability-of-risk.pdf?sfvrsn=52b45666_3).

In his latest memo, Howard Marks discusses the importance of avoiding expressions of absolute certainty when operating in fields subject to randomness and human emotion, like politics, economics, and investing. He suggests that it’s better to have humility and acknowledge that the smartest thing to say is often “I don’t know.”

You can read the memo here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/the-folly-of-certainty).

In a special edition of The Insight: Conversations, you’ll hear excerpts from multiple sessions held during Oaktree’s recent biannual client conference.  Oaktree co-chairman Howard Marks does a deep dive into his sea change thesis, members of Oaktree’s Global Credit team examine the most significant trends impacting the high yield bond and leveraged loan markets, and Oaktree’s Opportunistic Credit team explores key themes reshaping today’s restructuring environment.

Oaktree Co-Chairman Howard Marks (https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardmarksbook/) joined the In Good Company podcast with Nicolai Tangen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolai-tangen/).  They discussed Howard's investment philosophy, risk management, and how to determine the quality of a decision.

In his latest memo, Howard Marks examines the relationship between leverage and survivability, taking inspiration from a recent Collaborative Fund post by Morgan Housel. Howard explains why determining the appropriate amount of leverage should be about optimization, not maximization.

You can read the memo here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/the-impact-of-debt).

Where are we in the market cycle? Why is it healthy to be uncertain? And what does it mean to actually “be opportunistic”? In the latest episode of The Insight: Conversations, Howard Marks (Co-Chairman), Armen Panossian (Co-CEO), and David Rosenberg (Head of Liquid Performing Credit) discuss these and other topics from the recently published Performing Credit Quarterly 1Q2024: Unusually Uncertain.

In his latest memo, Howard Marks considers what chess can teach investors about the paradox of risk-taking. Drawing on insights from a recent Wall Street Journal article (https://www.wsj.com/sports/chess-teaches-the-power-of-sacrifice-221db7b7) by chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley, Howard explains why not taking enough risk may be one of the riskiest strategies of all.

You can read the memo here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/the-indispensability-of-risk).

In his 2020 memo You Bet!, Howard Marks explained what it means to “think in bets,” as he discussed the many parallels between investing and games of chance. Now you can listen to You Bet!, the first release from The Memo by Howard Marks: The Archive. We’ve received many requests for an audio library of the memos that Howard Marks has published over the last 34 years, so we’re going to begin building this archive by releasing audio versions of some of Howard’s most popular memos.

To hear more about Howard’s thoughts on this memo, listen to his conversation with former professional poker player and best-selling author Annie Duke, whose 2018 book Thinking in Bets was the inspiration for the memo. This special episode (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/insight-podcast/market-commentary/the-insight-conversations-special-episode-with-annie-duke-and-howard-marks) of the The Insight: Conversations with Howard and Annie was released in December 2023.

In this special episode of Behind the Memo, Howard Marks is joined by journalist and financial historian Edward Chancellor to discuss ideas from Howard’s recent memo, Easy Money, which was inspired by Edward’s book, The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest. They explore the history of interest rates, the profound impact they’ve had on financial markets, and the potential dangers of keeping them too low.

You can listen to "Easy Money" in the prior episode in this feed.

In his latest memo, Howard Marks considers what financial history can teach us about periods of easy money, the impact they have on investor behavior, and what happens when they end. He analyzes macroeconomic trends using insights from Edward Chancellor’s latest book The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest to argue that we’re unlikely to soon see the return of the permissive investment climate that prevailed in recent decades.

The memo is read by LJ Ganser.

You can read the memo here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/easy-money).