Investment Philosophy and Market Insights by Howard Marks
Howard Marks is co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment firm with $179 billion in assets under management as of August 2025. Best known for his memos on risk cycles, Marks gained attention within the crypto community for revised commentary on Bitcoin during and after the 2021–2023 cycles. His X account has amassed over 113,000 followers, with his widely cited memo “You Can’t Predict. You Can Prepare.” becoming a core reference among digital asset allocators.
In January 2024, Marks appeared on Bloomberg’s Merryn Talks Money, stating that Bitcoin “doesn’t generate cash flow and has no intrinsic value,” aligning it with gold’s narrative risk. Nonetheless, Oaktree portfolio exposure to BTC futures products was confirmed through passive fund tracking, with allocations modeled under a volatility-scaling framework that indirectly incorporated crypto as a 2–5% alternative weight.
Marks’ institutional audience views his macro caution and value-discipline framework as an essential filter for integrating Bitcoin and digital assets into portfolio construction.