Howard Marks: Much Better Prospects For Bargain Hunters In This Changed Environment

In his latest memo titled – Sea Change, Howard Marks explains why we can expect much better prospects for bargain hunters in this changed environment. Here’s an excerpt from the memo:

As I’ve written many times about the economy and markets, we never know where we’re going, but we ought to know where we are. The bottom line for me is that, in many ways, conditions at this moment are overwhelmingly different from – and mostly less favorable than – those of the post-GFC climate described above.

These changes may be long-lasting, or they may wear off over time.  But in my view, we’re unlikely to quickly see the same optimism and ease that marked the post-GFC period.

We’ve gone from the low-return world of 2009-21 to a full-return world, and it may become more so in the near term.  Investors can now potentially get solid returns from credit instruments, meaning they no longer have to rely as heavily on riskier investments to achieve their overall return targets.

Lenders and bargain hunters face much better prospects in this changed environment than they did in 2009-21.  And importantly, if you grant that the environment is and may continue to be very different from what it was over the last 13 years – and most of the last 40 years – it should follow that the investment strategies that worked best over those periods may not be the ones that outperform in the years ahead.

That’s the sea change I’m talking about.

You can read the entire memo here:

Howard Marks Memo – Sea Change