When Warren Buffett singles you out for praise, it might be fair to say you have summited the investment equivalent of K2, Annapurna and Kangchenjunga, the most challenging of mountain peaks!
In a capricious investing world, where success is often transient, reputations easily tarnished and hubris punished, to have not only stayed the course for 55 years, but thrived, built Oaktree Capital into one of the largest investors in distressed securities worldwide and cemented a vast loyal following is extraordinary.
His investment memos written over the years are world class: engaging, lucid and approachable. In this 1 hour conversation, Howard shares some of his most important investing lessons. It’s a conversation everyone interested in investing should hear.
Howard explains, why it’s not what you buy, it’s what you pay that counts, why you need to be contrarian to succeed in investing, why over confidence is the enemy of performance, and - given the inevitable nature of cycles - why he subscribes to Voltaire’s comment that “history never repeats itself, but man always does”.
And that is before he discusses the role of luck, the future of the US, the “illusion of knowledge”, and much more with one of the investment greats! Recorded in February 2025.
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TOPICS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:35 Career Beginnings
00:07:13 Lessons from the Nifty Fifty Era
00:11:25 Navigating Investment Challenges and Timing
00:15:00 When to Sell Investments: Evaluating Your Strategy
00:18:45 Understanding Stock Market Emotions and Fluctuations
00:22:52 The Impact of Overconfidence in Decision-Making
00:26:33 Preparing for Multiple Investment Outcomes in Uncertain Times
00:30:36 Impact of Declining Interest Rates on Private Equity
00:34:24 Changes in the Fed Funds Rate and Private Equity Outlook
00:38:11 Understanding Investment Strategies: Qualitative Insights vs. Quantitative Analysis
00:41:58 The Uniqueness of the American Economic System
00:46:00 From Public School to Wall Street Success
00:49:42 Understanding Importance Over Data
00:53:28 The Rise of Deficit Spending Post-Pandemic
00:57:52 Recommended Read: "A Short History of Financial Euphoria"
01:01:00 Conclusion
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DISCLAIMER
All content on the Money Maze Podcast is for your general information and use only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. In particular, the content does not constitute any form of advice, recommendation, representation, endorsement or arrangement and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other decisions. Guests and presenters may have positions in any of the investments discussed. The Money Maze Podcast is funded by third party advertising, with all episodes editorial - and not commercial - in relation to all interview content discussed. Please note, Money Maze Curated Podcasts do not contain third party advertising, and are instead funded by the featured interviewee and/or their business (these episodes are commercial, as opposed to editorial features).