We continue our series in which we profile the infamous “value investors.” In our first post, we talked about David Einhorn and then we followed it up with a long piece on Seth Klarman. The patterns are very similar; two brilliant men who have amazing insights, yet are still falling for the “value investing” fallacy. In case you are wondering whether we are simply creating a big semantic mess, rest assured that we are not. Yes, this is about definitions, but it’s also much more than that. That definitional problem is precisely what takes society to an alternate reality where people “invest” in crypto and NFTs. In that paradigm, at least one and potentially many cryptos may end up escaping securities laws. It is also in that universe where the CFTC Chair can take a position that seems very much the exact opposite of three of his current or former colleagues. Simply put, the real-life financial and legal implications are enormous.
Today, our series continues with Howard Marks. Marks is the Co-Chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment manager specializing in alternative investments. Founded in 1995, Oaktree amassed $183 billion of assets under management, burgeoning from just $5 billion. He is the author of The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor and Mastering The Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side. Marks has also been writing memos since 1990, which you can find here.
Like others in this series, he is often described as a legendary “value investor.” So, what are his thoughts on value investing vs. growth investing?