Mastering The Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side

by Howard Marks

Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

The legendary investor shows how to identify and master the cycles that govern the markets.

We all know markets rise and fall, but when should you pull out, and when should you stay in? The answer is never black or white, but is best reached through a keen understanding of the reasons behind the rhythm of cycles. Confidence about where we are in a cycle comes when you learn the patterns of ups and downs that influence not just economics, markets, and companies, but also human psychology and the investing behaviors that result.

If you study past cycles, understand their origins and remain alert for the next one, you will become keenly attuned to the investment environment as it changes. You’ll be aware and prepared while others get blindsided by unexpected events or fall victim to emotions like fear and greed.

By following Marks’s insights—drawn in part from his iconic memos over the years to Oaktree’s clients—you can master these recurring patterns to have the opportunity to improve your results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358108481
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	72,484
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

HOWARD MARKS is cochairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, a leading investment firm responsible for over $120 billion in assets. His previous book on investing, The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, was a critically acclaimed bestseller. He lives in New York City.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I Why Study Cycles? 9

II The Nature of Cycles 22

III The Regularity of Cycles 39

IV The Economic Cycle 46

V Government Involvement with the Economic Cycle 67

VI The Cycle in Profits 74

VII The Pendulum of Investor Psychology 82

VIII The Cycle in Attitudes Toward Risk 101

IX The Credit Cycle 136

X The Distressed Debt Cycle 161

XI The Real Estate Cycle 169

XII Putting It All Together-The Market Cycle 185

XIII How to Cope with Market Cycles 207

XIV Cycle Positioning 246

XV Limits on Coping 262

XVI The Cycle in Success 270

XVII The Future of Cycles 285

XVIII The Essence of Cycles 294

Afterword 317

Index 325

Editorial Reviews

Howard Marks, among the world’s most successful investment managers as well as an intellectual leader of the profession [has written a new book].  Mastering the Market Cycle is . . . wise . . . A careful reading can make us better investors and protect us from the all too frequent errors that ruin investment results.” —Burton G. Malkiel, Wall Street Journal

“Howard Marks’s Mastering the Market Cycle is a must-read, because the cycles covered in this book are important and because Howard is one of the investing greats of his generation.” —Ray Dalio, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Co-Chairman, Bridgewater Associates
 
“I always say, ‘There’s no better teacher than history in determining the future.’ Howard’s book tells us how to learn from history . . . and thus get a better idea of what the future holds.” —Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway
 
“While most investment professionals take the standard out—that ‘you can’t time the market’—in Mastering the Market Cycle Howard Marks, a living investment legend, takes the contrarian point of view that not only can you time markets, but it’s imperative that you do so.” —Bill Gurley, General Partner, Benchmark
 
“Mastering the Market Cycle reveals how cycles not only coincide with, but also cause, financial market risk and opportunity. Written in plain English, Howard Marks’s hard-earned wisdom will help readers tilt the odds in their favor.” —Jeffrey Gundlach, Founder, DoubleLine Capital
 
”If you’re uncertain as to whether there will be a correction in the market—or if you think there’s no reason to worry because ‘it’s different this time’—you have to read this book before you make a move.” —Carl C. Icahn, Chairman, Icahn Enterprises
 
 
                 Praise for Howard Marks’s THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
 
“When I see memos from Howard Marks in my mail, they’re the first thing I open and read. I always learn something, and that goes double for his book.”  —Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

From the Publisher