Oaktree Capital Management - Memos From Our Chairman

While browsing the net several months ago, I stumbled across a real treasure: Memos From Our Chairman, a series of essays by Howard Marks, Chairman of Oaktree Capital.

Memos From Our Chairman

The style of his writing is in the top tier.  It is excelled, however, by the power of his insights into all manner of things which affect the world of investors  ... and they are many.  The insights are the product of a distinguished academic background and, more important, experience gained through more than four decades of managing money.  

His memos address a variety of topics ranging from The Role of Confidence to Assessing Performance Records to On Regulation.  His insights are penetrating, going, as an esteemed former colleague of mine once used to say "beyond the beyond".  I especially appreciate Mr. Marks' ability to explore the relationship between the "institutional view" and the "individual view" (my characterization) and to arrive at some conclusions which have practical application for investors like me.  

You can subscribe to the memo series and receive updates via e-mail by accessing the above-noted link.  

I was so impressed by the quality of his writing and the strategies of the company that I decided to invest, especially after reviewing the resumes of key members of staff and checking them out further through a search on the Internet.  So far my faith has been supported.  Since the original purchase in early March 2013, the shares have risen in price by 10 percent.  This has been supplemented nicely by a dividend yield which is currently slightly north of 10 percent.  I'll leave it for you to undertake your own due diligence and arrive at your own conclusions.  

In addition to the company's regulatory filings, you can find a wealth of material about the company.  For example: insidermonkey.  A snapshot of the company is provided here: snapshot.

In this regard, you may wish to read one of his most recent memos,  The Outlook For Equities.  I am conducting an annual review of our portfolios and have incorporated some of the thinking in the memo as part of the process.