Howard Marks Quotes

It's worth noting that the assumption that something can't happen has the potential to make it happen, since people who believe it can't happen will engage in risky behaviour, and thus alter the environment.

There's only one way to describe most investors: trend followers.

In good years, defensive investors have to be content with the knowledge that their gains, although perhaps less than maximal, were achieved with risk protection in place, even though it turned out not to be needed.

•Scepticism and pessimism aren’t synonymous. Scepticism calls for pessimism when optimism is excessive. But it also calls for optimism when pessimism is excessive.

An accurate opinion on valuation, loosely held, will be of limited help. An incorrect opinion on valuation, strongly held, is far worse. This one statement shows how hard it is to get it all right.

The cautious seldom err or write great poetry.

the world becomes a better place – an easier place to navigate if we admit that even though there are opinions, they may be wrong.

No asset class or investment has the birthright of a high return. An asset is only attractive if it’s priced right.

Most people view risk taking primarily as a way to make money. Bearing higher risk generally produces higher returns...But it can’t always work that way, or else risk investments wouldn't be risky. And when risk bearing doesn't work, it really doesn't work, and people are reminded what risk's all about.

If one is approached with a deal predicated on cycles having ceased to occur, remember that invariably that’s a losing bet.

If you've settled on the value approach to investing and come up with an intrinsic value for a security or asset, the next important thing is to hold it firmly. That's because in the world of investing, being correct about something isn't at all synonymous with being proved correct right away.

An accurate opinion on valuation, loosely held, will be of limited help. An incorrect opinion on valuation, strongly held, is far worse. This one statement shows how hard it is to get it all right

Risk arises as investor behaviour alters the market. Investors bid up assets, accelerating into the present appreciation that otherwise would have occurred in the future, and thus lowering prospective returns. The ultimate irony lies in the fact that the reward for taking incremental risk shrinks as more people move to take it.

The most dangerous thing is to buy something at the peak of its popularity. At that point, all favourable facts and opinions are already factored into its price and no new buyers are left to emerge

Most people strive to adjust their portfolios based on what they think lies ahead. At the same time, however, most people would admit forward visibility just isn't that great. That's why I make the case for responding to the current realities and their implications, as opposed to expecting the future to be made clear.