Money and Finance
Link to Memo: Inspiration from the World of Sports
- Howard Marks Memo: What Does The Market Know?
Link to Memo: What Does the Market Know? My buddy Sandy was an airline pilot. When asked to describe his job, he always answers, “hours of boredom punctuated by moments of terror.” The same can be true for investment managers, for whom...
- Howard Marks Memo: On The Couch
Link to Memo: On the Couch I woke up early on Saturday, December 12 – the morning after a day of significant declines in stocks, credit and crude oil – with enough thoughts going through my mind to keep me from going back to sleep. Thus...
- Regaining And Clarity Of Mind After Making A Mistake...
From Josh Waitzkin in The Art of Learning: One idea I taught was the importance of regaining presence and clarity of mind after making a serious error. This is a hard lesson for all competitors and performers. The first mistake rarely proves...
- Howard Marks Memo: Risk Revisited Again
Link to Memo: Risk Revisited Again In April 2014, I had good results with Dare to Be Great II, starting from the base established in an earlier memo (Dare to Be Great, September 2006) and adding new thoughts that had occurred to me in the intervening...
- Howard Marks Memo: On Uncertain Ground
The world seems more uncertain today than at any other time in my life. That’s a simple sentence but one with significant implications. And it’s not just me. Here’s what The New York Times said on August 12 in an article about...
Money and Finance
Howard Marks Memo: Inspiration from the World of Sports
Link to Memo: Inspiration from the World of Sports
I’m constantly intrigued by the parallels between investing and sports. They’re illuminating as well as fun, and thus they’ve prompted two past memos: “How the Game Should Be Played” (May 1995) and “What’s Your Game Plan?” (September 2003). In the latter memo, I listed five ways in which investing is like sports:
· It’s competitive – some succeed and some fail, and the distinction is clear.· It’s quantitative – you can see the results in black and white.· It’s a meritocracy – in the long term, the better returns go to the superior investors.· It’s team-oriented – an effective group can accomplish more than one person.· It’s satisfying and enjoyable – but much more so when you win.
Another angle on the investing/sports analogy has since occurred to me: an investment career can feel like a basketball or football game with an unlimited number of quarters. We may be nearing December 31 with a substantial year-to-date return or a big lead over our benchmarks or competitors, but when January 1 rolls around, we have to tackle another year. Our record isn’t finalized until we leave the playing field for good. Or as Yogi Berra put it, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” It was Yogi’s passing in late September that inspired this memo.
- Howard Marks Memo: What Does The Market Know?
Link to Memo: What Does the Market Know? My buddy Sandy was an airline pilot. When asked to describe his job, he always answers, “hours of boredom punctuated by moments of terror.” The same can be true for investment managers, for whom...
- Howard Marks Memo: On The Couch
Link to Memo: On the Couch I woke up early on Saturday, December 12 – the morning after a day of significant declines in stocks, credit and crude oil – with enough thoughts going through my mind to keep me from going back to sleep. Thus...
- Regaining And Clarity Of Mind After Making A Mistake...
From Josh Waitzkin in The Art of Learning: One idea I taught was the importance of regaining presence and clarity of mind after making a serious error. This is a hard lesson for all competitors and performers. The first mistake rarely proves...
- Howard Marks Memo: Risk Revisited Again
Link to Memo: Risk Revisited Again In April 2014, I had good results with Dare to Be Great II, starting from the base established in an earlier memo (Dare to Be Great, September 2006) and adding new thoughts that had occurred to me in the intervening...
- Howard Marks Memo: On Uncertain Ground
The world seems more uncertain today than at any other time in my life. That’s a simple sentence but one with significant implications. And it’s not just me. Here’s what The New York Times said on August 12 in an article about...