Howard Marks, who has been writing his popular investing memos for 35 years, attributes his success to focusing on the essentials of investing: understanding risk and psychology. In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen, he said the philosophy emphasizes judging “where we are” in the market cycle rather than predicting the future, analyzing investor sentiment and behavior to identify extremes of optimism or pessimism. (See the full interview above.) He recalls pivotal moments like his warnings before the 2000 dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis, when he urged investors to buy amid panic. In today’s AI-driven market, Marks says valuations are “high but not crazy.” He doesn’t see the “mania” that defines real bubbles. His writings have become required reading on Wall Street and have even received glowing support from Warren Buffett himself: “When I see Howard Marks memos in my mail, it’s the first thing I open and read. I always learn something,” Buffett once said.
