Howard Marks, CEO of Oaktree Capital
Many young people harbor the dream of one day putting on a jacket and tie and conquering the profession of a trader or asset manager at an investment company on Wall Street.
But not everyone appreciates the importance of knowledge needed for successful stock trading. It's information about existing market research methods and techniques that enables consistent profits.
Some hodge fund owners even prefer to regularly publish training materials for their employees, thereby protecting their capital. One such innovator is Howard Marks.
Howard Marks was born on April 22, 1946. He spent his childhood and youth in New York, or to be more precise, in Queens.
It's worth noting that there's very little information about the billionaire's early years and parents, as Howard has rarely mentioned that period of his life in interviews.
Howard Marks studied at the very prestigious Wharton School, which operates at the University of Pennsylvania and provided the opportunity for further admission to this university.
Incidentally, he graduated from university with a degree in finance, and quite successfully, since he received a diploma with honors in 1967.
After university, he decided to enroll in the University of Chicago, where he was able to obtain an MBA degree.
Howard Mark was a very talented student, which earned him a scholarship. At 23, he had several letters of recommendation and an MBA. This education and drive opened doors to the largest firms in the investment world.
Career as a manager
To begin his career in finance, Howard Marks took the first crucial step: he moved to New York and sent his resume to numerous investment firms. His first job was at Citicorp, where he took a position as an analyst.
However, he did not stay in the analyst position for long, as his career progression led him to the position of vice president of the company.
It's worth noting that he worked at Citicorp for seven years, which allowed him to gain valuable experience in asset management and a good financial cushion for independent sailing.
In 1985, Howard Marks received an offer from TCW Group, where he transferred. There, he mastered a relatively new area: high-yield bonds.
At the company, he headed an entire department focused on bond trading and investment portfolio development. Most interestingly, Howard Marks worked at TCW for a full ten years and even served as president of TCW Asset Management Company.
Independent swimming.
In his leadership positions, Howard Marks not only gained the necessary experience but also established contacts and trusted partners. This allowed him, along with his partners and former subordinates, to leave TCW in 1995 and create his own investment firm, Oaktree Capital Management.
The company was actively involved in attracting investor funds to work with problem debts, as well as high-yield bonds.
In 2008, at the peak of the crisis, Howard Marks and Oaktree Capital managed to raise over $10 billion in capital for the fund, which in turn allowed them to acquire a huge number of distressed debt assets, which, after the US economy recovered, generated impressive capital. Howard currently manages over $100 billion.
In 2011, Howard Marks published his book, "The Most Important Thing: An Unusual Feeling for the Thoughtful Investor," in which he shared his asset selection methodology and outlined some rules for making certain decisions.
The book was highly rated Warren Buffett, as well as a number of other major investors. Currently, the company continues to operate; moreover, the fund has become a stock exchange member, allowing other traders to buy shares in the company. Howard Marks' personal net worth is estimated at $1.8 billion.
