The Most Important Thing

Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor

Howard Marks

• Publisher: Columbia Business School Publishing
• Year: 2011
• Topic: Business
• eBook ISBN:
  9780231527095
• Subtopic: Investments & Securities
• Index: Business

"This is that rarity, a useful book."--Warren Buffett

Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all readers can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor.

Informed by a lifetime of experience and study, The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways.

Marks expounds on such concepts as "second-level thinking," the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Frankly and honestly assessing his own decisions--and occasional missteps--he provides valuable lessons for critical thinking, risk assessment, and investment strategy. Encouraging investors to be "contrarian," Marks wisely judges market cycles and achieves returns through aggressive yet measured action. Which element is the most essential? Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, and each of Marks's subjects proves to be the most important thing.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Dedication
• Introduction
• 1 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Second-Level Thinking
• 2 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Understanding Market Efficiency (and Its Limitations)
• 3 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Value
• 4 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . The Relationship Between Price and Value
• 5 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Understanding Risk
• 6 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Recognizing Risk
• 7 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Controlling Risk
• 8 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Being Attentive to Cycles
• 9 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Awareness of the Pendulum
• 10 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Combating Negative Influences
• 11 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Contrarianism
• 12 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Finding Bargains
• 13 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Patient Opportunism
• 14 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Knowing What You Don’t Know
• 15 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Having a Sense for Where We Stand
• 16 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Appreciating the Role of Luck
• 17 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Investing Defensively
• 18 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Avoiding Pitfalls
• 19 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Adding Value
• 20 - The Most Important Thing Is . . . Pulling It All Together
• Copyright Page