Pepperdine University Hosts Fireside Chat with Renowned Investor Howard Marks

On Tuesday, January 13, Pepperdine University hosted Howard Marks, the co-chair and founding principal of Oaktree Capital Management, at its Malibu campus for a fireside chat with students, faculty, staff, and friends of the University. Throughout the event, Marks engaged in a dialogue with Jeffrey Rohde, Pepperdine’s chief investment officer, covering topics such as his vocational and educational journey, financial philosophy, and factors affecting the market today. 

Smother's Theatre filled with attendees eager to hear Howard Marks

“It’s incredible to be able to hear and learn from Howard Marks on our campus,” said Spencer Mueller, a Seaver College senior, who serves as a student analyst for Pepperdine’s office of investments and as the cofounder of its Coastal Capital Club. “This was such a great opportunity, and it taught me that it’s not impossible to forge a career in finance . . . it’s something you can go out and earn.”

At the outset of the evening, Marks related how he began studying accounting based on a friend’s recommendation, applied to and was accepted at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania despite a naysaying guidance counselor, and rose to prominence in the finance world as a result of his diligence, curiosity, and aptitude for learning. 

“You shouldn't aspire to something just because it's a common inspiration,” shared Marks during the conversation, encouraging students to forge their own path and not to be afraid of standing out from the crowd.

The renowned financier traced his educational journey through both Wharton, where he earned his bachelor of science in economics, and the University of Chicago, where he earned his master of business administration. In doing so, Marks illustrated how the two degrees prepared him for success in investing. During his undergraduate studies, he was trained in the pragmatic, concrete concepts of economics; whereas during his graduate work, he was taught the theories behind how businesses and markets operate. Marks explained how these opposing approaches provided him with a balanced and informed perspective upon entering the professional market place.

“If either one of my degrees [were taken exclusively], it would have probably been a disaster,” he said. “But the combination of the two was very, very helpful.”

Rohde then asked Marks about his financial philosophies, inviting the financier to expand upon today’s market. Marks discussed his modified risk/return graph, explaining the misconception that riskier assets have exclusively high returns. He shared his view of the current interest rate environment and the role the Federal Reserve system plays in influencing the market and regulating the economy. He then related how he encouraged caution prior to the 2000 tech bubble and the 2008 financial crisis and managed those complex situations.

“The less prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we must conduct our own,” said Marks. “When other people are carefree and unworried, it warps the market, and we should be terrified.  It's only when people are terrified that we should turn and rest.”

More than half of the audience was comprised of students

The fireside chat concluded with Marks taking questions from the audience. During this segment, he commented on the concept of an AI bubble by describing the technology’s extreme market growth as “worrisome.” Asked about  gold and bitcoin, Marks responded that investments that don’t produce cash flow, such as fine metals and crypto currencies, are too difficult to value. And finally, when queried about his personal reading list, the financier encouraged attendees to read broadly and to challenge their own perspective by engaging with writers who see the world differently from them. 

Prior to leaving the stage, Marks offered insights into the values that have guided his career. “A brilliant rabbi once said, ‘If you're not for others, what are you? If you're not for yourself, who will be? If not now, then when?’” he said. “I was brought up with those ideas . . . you can't rest until you give back.”

Held in Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre, the conversation with Marks drew more than 400 attendees, and more than half of the evening's registrants were students.

“Howard is a legendary investor and one of the most trusted voices in the investment community,” said Rohde. “Tonight’s attendees gained deeper insight into the mind of one of the greatest investors of our generation."